Three Days of Insanity (aka shows #16-18)

#16

Skeletonwitch
Kylesa
Blacktusk
Gollum
Faith Collapsing

@ Luckys Pub 03/26/09

#17

United Blood Day 1:

Have Heart
Cold World
Trapped Under Ice
Bracewar
War Hungry
Cruel Hand
Reign Supreme
Title Fight
Foundation
Mother of Mercy
Heathens

@ Alley Katz 03/27/09


#18

United Blood Day 2:

Cro-Mags
Converge
Ceremony
Blacklisted
Coliseum
Rise and Fall
Bitter End
Pulling Teeth
Strength for a Reason
Alpha and Omega
Colin of Arabia
Convicted
Steel Nation
Bad Seed
Forfeit
Naysayer

@ Alley Katz 03/28/09



By far one of the most exhausting weekends I've had in a long time, and also one of the most memorable.


THURSDAY:

Let's start with the gig at Luckys. For starters, I got way too plastered, and way too quickly. Probably not a great start considering I had a long drive ahead of me the next day and many more bands to watch. Oh well. I ended up actually cutting myself off after Blacktusk were done, which is unusually early for me.

Faith Collapsing were up first, and there were a small handful of parts I liked, but I think they're better off playing covers than their own material. Sorry dudes.

I skipped Gollum for once, choosing to go to an ATM instead. They play constantly and I honestly don't care to watch them again unless, well, I've smoked cannabis. :X

Blacktusk rule. Plain and simple. I've seen them twice before, each time at a different venue in town, and the sludge trio impressed me every time. I suppose my only complaint would be that their merch is rather overpriced for a band that isn't signed to a big label. Guess that's what downloading is for...

My 4th time seeing Kylesa was by far the loudest time I've seen them. I was really worried that Lucky's couldn't handle their sound, and that proved to be partially true. Even with earplugs there were times that I was tempted to cover my ears. That being said, they ruled. Once again, they had a new bassist and he provided the backup "crusty" vocals that their old bassist Corey provided for their last two full-lengths. The new songs were absolutely crushing too. The only merch I ended up purchasing was their new album on vinyl and a limited 7" they had. Seeing em again for the 5th time next month with Mastodon and Intronaut.

Skeletonwitch were their usual awesome selves. Though the crowd for them this time (who were MOSHING for Kylesa. Weird) started to get on my nerves at times, it was often ignored. Their singer said he was slightly sick, but it didn't deter from the performance. I also noticed their all had brand new gear, with Skeletonwitch logos all over them. Somebody is getting big...Their new songs sounded killer too, especially the song "Reduced to Dust." Just come out with that Beyond the Permafrost LP reissue already...


FRIDAY:

I left the house at around 10:15 or so, and picked up a quick bite to eat before I hit the road for Richmond. I got there at around 2 and met up with my friends Mario and David. We walked to Alley Katz and also met up with a couple of other Wilmington folk who were going too. Unfortunately, for reasons that are still confusing to me, we were told by the staff of the venue when we got towards the front, that we'd have to go back to the end of the line because we weren't stamped (despite never even getting the offer, even after retreating to the end like they asked). This mishap made me miss Heathens, who sounded rather good from outside in the rain. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it rained when we waited in line. Blargh.

We got inside to catch Mother of Mercy, who put on a fine show. My second time seeing them (first was at Luckys with At Half-Mast and The Mongoloids) and they didn't disappoint. New record should destroy.

I know everyone was siked on Foundation, but I just didn't see what all the fuss was about. Yeah it was cool that they had 40 or so friends come up from Atlanta with them, but the music was too generic imo.

Title Fight was my surprise of the whole weekend. Considering that they didn't have a real "frontman," it was amazing to see that many kids go off for them and sing louder than the band at times. Very fun melodic hardcore, kind of like Lifetime or Crime in Stereo at times. Bummed they didn't have more merch though.

I got up front for Reign Supreme, and it was my second time seeing them this month. They delivered yet again, even though they played the same setlist as they did at the Madball gig. Heck Jay even gave the same speech! Nice little shoutout to Advent though. Made me smile.

Cruel Hand had possibly the most insane amount of crowd participation that weekend. I lost count of how many kids were climbing on each other and diving off the stage. It got to be too crazy and I went towards the back. They did well, but I guess being beaten around kinda left me a little disheartened.

Unfortunately, I didn't watch too much of War Hungry, mainly due to being fatigued and needing a breather after Cruel Hand's set. Hopefully I'll see them again in the near future.

I've never really liked Bracewar, so I decided to watch what I did from a distance. They opened with a bit from Helmet's "In the Meantime." That was cool. They closed with an Inside Out cover. That was cool. They definitely had the crowd going crazy, but then again they're from Richmond. I actually ran into the singer at the pizza stand in Alley Katz and talked to him for a bit. Nice guy, even asked if I could message him some info about trying to play Wilmington.

Sadly, I didn't see Trapped Under Ice. Too crowded to move around, especially if you weren't on the floor area. Lame.

Before Cold World went on, the fest organizer told kids to please not dive from the balcony anymore, seeing as how someone did it during Bracewar. As for Cold World, they did a good job, even though I'm not too huge on them on record. No Omega has some great songs, but I still haven't listened to the new one, minus about 3 songs. Oddly they didn't close with the song "Cold World." Singer is looking ridiculously white trash now btw.

Mario, David and I actually skipped out on Have Heart, again due to fatigue. I like them, don't get me wrong, but sleep>hearing probably only 4 songs from TTWC. We found an Econolodge about 12 minutes away (though with my GPS it took me 20+ to get there) and split it for the night. There was also a Waffle House next door, which we took advantage of as well.


SATURDAY:

This was the day I was truly excited about. There were quite a number of bands I had been waiting to see for some time, and I expected to buy quite a lot of merch as well.

We got there at around 11:30 or so, and surprisingly there weren't as many people there at this time. In fact, it was easier to move around this day than it was for day 1. Odd, but mind you that isn't really a complaint. We also found out who were our first (and only) band to drop off was: Trash Talk. Nobody was quite sure as to why, but it was a major bummer nonetheless. We got in there to catch the first act of the day, Naysayer, who had been praised highly (on stage) by Bracewar the day before. I'm not really sure why though, seeing how as I thought they were pretty weak and actually pretty immature (dude sure loved saying "faggot" on stage a lot). Oh well.

I skipped Forfeit in favor of food and merch, and I found both to be quite satisfying. I know they're coming down here sometime soon, so I think I'll catch them then.

Bad Seed had been touted as a potential "breakout" band for this show, and they sure as hell showed the people there it was a justified rumor. Musically, it's in the vein of all the early 90s metallic hardcore "mosh" bands with some good ol' "hate hate hate" lyrics. They shouted at the rowdy crowd to "destroy the normal!," which they gladly obliged to.

It was 2nd time seeing Steel Nation, and they did just as good a job here than they did at the soapbox. Alas, they still didn't have a frontman, so the crowd's participation and love wasn't as strong as it could have been.

Convicted was my second biggest surprise of the weekend, sounding remarkably like Ringworm and Integrity with a little more "mosh" thrown in for good measure. Had I not been watching from the side of the stage, I would have been tempted to get into the pit and throw down, just because of how musically pissed this band was.

Strength for a Reason was everyone's "break" band, and for good reason. They weren't terrible, but just nothing worth talking about. Most of the crowd who moshed for them was from PA, the band's home state. I think during this time I bought more merch.

Colin of Arabia was one of my most anticipated acts of the day, seeing as how they don't come down south a lot. There were quite a few notable things about this set: Colin's gnarly beard, punting a beer can from the stage all the way to the back of Alley Katz, telling the sound guy repeatedly to turn everything up as loud as they could, a somewhat botched dive towards the edge of the stage, and all the pissed as fuck songs. Colin also gave a speech about hope and change, which was more cynical than it was positive. Managed to talk to him afterwards at their merch table about beards and Wilmington. Good guy. You would see him raging in the pit later on for certain bands.

I didn't catch all of Alpha & Omega, but I caught enough that they impressed me more than they did at the Brewery. They opened with "Murdario Stomp" by One Life Crew, which certainly got the "stomp" started. I'll have to give another listen again. They had a shirt for sale which had "O-OMEGA" on the back, which couldn't help but remind me of Conquer Me.

By now, you should know about the pipe incident that occurred during Pulling Teeth's set, and I'm too damn tired of talking about it myself. Performance-wise, they did a bangup job and did the songs I wanted to hear them play most "Stonethrowers" and "Dead is Dead." These guys sure can fucking play. Hopefully there are no errors with their set when they play here in September.

Bitter End was another set I was looking forward to a lot, but the meatheaded crowd for them ruined the set for me. Just too many jockish type of fellas who liked beating on people. Plus getting my hoodie broken during their set put me in a foul mood for a bit. =/

Rise and Fall fucking rules. I wish I could have been up front for them, but the side of the stage was good enough for me. They played nothing but material from Into Oblivion, minus the one new song they had. Their bassist got pissed at the end of their set and threw down his bass after someone ran by and made his pants fall down. Quite funny.

I got up front for Coliseum, seeing as how I knew nobody was gonna mosh for them or cause any problems. They took quite a long time to set up, but it was worth it. They had the best drummer at the fest, even better than Ben Koeller in my humble opinion. Ryan gave a great speech that drew some much deserved applause about not letting really anything stop you from making music and taking your band far.

Blacklisted was my most anticipated set of the weekend. I adore this band, and considering they will probably never come to NC, I figured this would be one of my only opportunities to see them. I watched from the side of the stage for most of their set, but pulled my first (and only) stagedive of the night during "That Ain't Real Much." I guess I just wanted to be up front no matter what the cost. I back up Bannon's statement about them being the best band in hardcore right now. Seeing them live helps seal the deal. Closing with "Wish" was only the icing on the cake. Bravo guys. Hopefully another tour or album is in the works soon.

I moved back towards the side of the stage for Ceremony. I figured if the crowd was that nuts for Blacklisted, it would just get worse for them. They opened with their "Pressure's On" cover and up until they closed with "This is My War," that crowd didn't die down. I decided to play it safe and just sing and headbang (yeah I know) at the side. Stagediving and singing galore. What is up with that guitarist though? Such a strange fella. I also found out up close, Ross, their singer, sounds like my bud Josh Robbins and looks slightly like Bruce Campbell. Lulz, as they say.

I got up front for Converge, who, as stereotypical as it might sound, were my 2nd most anticipated act of the weekend. They took a bit long to set up too, but not as long as I would have thought. They opened with Plagues, which got some folks feeling pretty pumped. The crowd wasn't nearly as rowdy as I would have thought it'd be though. It got pretty zany during "The Saddest Day" and anything played from Jane Doe. Jake gave some pretty good speeches too, though I can't remember them vividly. They also played a new song, which was fucking monstrous. These guys are such underrated musicians, its scary. Closed with Concubine. Probably my favorite set of the weekend.

I was pretty exhausted at that point, so I decided to watch Cro-Mags from a distance and get some rest. They sure as hell had that crowd in the palm of their hand though. They mostly played material from "The Aqe of Quarrel" plus a couple of quick covers (Bad Brains and Leeway). John Joseph is the only original member in this lineup, but its forgivable I suppose. He gave a little speech about vegetarianism, which got on my nerves a little. Don't get me wrong, I don't give a shit what you put into your body, since its your body after all, but this came across as a little preachy. It was amusing seeing assorted band members mosh at their merch tables for them. I've heard there's a small chance of them coming down here soon, and if that happens, I'd definitely go see them again.

After the show was over, I walked outside to quite a scene. If you don't know about the whole "Street Justice" incident as I'll call it, ask me about it in person, seeing as how I'm too tired to talk about it here.

And thats it. I drove back (giving Tyler from A Shot Below the Belt a ride as well) and got back after 6 to my house. Sleep never felt so good.

My pickups from this were:

Bad Seed 7"
Extreme Noise Terror/Trap Them split
Convicted 7" and demo
Coliseum-Godddamage double 7"
COA/Pressure LP split (copy 8/30)
Ceremony-Still Nothing Moves You LP
Cursed-Hegoat shirt
Converge-Sinner Queen shirt (new design)