#22-#24

Yet again, I'm slacking on this thing. Might as well knock a few more out of the way though.

#22

Napalm Death
Kataklysm
Toxic Holocaust
Coliseum
Trap Them

@ The Soapbox 04/21/09

One of my most anticipated shows of the year for sure. At this point, it holds the position of being my favorite gig I've attended this year so far. I got down there mega early (at least 4 hours before doors opened), which I haven't done since I was in my 'teens. This time it was mainly for food reasons though, as my friends who were with me were quite hungry. We grabbed some pizza and bullshitted until doors opened up.

Trap Them were on first, and they proved yet again why they're probably one of the best bands in aggressive music right now. Great intensity combined with the best riffs and rhythms from Entombed, Dismember, Cursed, and Converge. It will be great to see them again soon with Victims in Raleigh. Oh and they closed with "Mission Convincers." Score!

It was my third time seeing Coliseum in a month-span, but they brought it like always. Ryan's got great stage presence and is one hell of a guitar player. No real big speeches like last time though, except for one before "Give Up and Drive." Always nice to hear them play "Set it Straight" as well.

Toxic Holocaust brought the thrash. They managed to get the first (and sadly only) circle pit of the night. The crowd seemed to dig it quite a bit and they seemed to dig us. It was a fairly well picked setlist, with an equal amount of old and new. They closed with "Nuke the Cross," which they apparently made a video for recently.

I haven't listened to Kataklysm in quite some time, and I was kind of worried they'd let me down, seeing as how they were actualy the weakest band on the bill. Well, they kind of did, and yet they didn't. I think their stage set up was quite unnecessary, but it was forgivable. It was mainly a "greatest hits" type of setlist. They played most of what I wanted to hear (and getting the mic for a couple of tracks was nice), they had good attitudes, seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the lackluster turnout (LESS THAN 100 PEOPLE. UGH)...and yet somehow I think I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was just that the three previous acts blew them away.

Finally NAPALM FLIPPIN' DEATH came on. I credit these guys as being one of the first bands in the "extreme" genre who helped expand my taste. I was so exicted to see them on a good bill, after what seemed like an endless stream of bad tours (Devildriver, Hatebreed). I felt like I broke my neck headbanging at this. Even with that, I still managed to snap a good amount of pics as well. Their setlist looked like a page out of an old novel, filled with what felt like close to 30 songs. Mind you that's NOT a complaint. Barney Greenway is also one of the most entertaining frontmen I've seen in a LONG time. He never seemed to stop moving, and had some of the most simple, yet greatest speeches I've heard in a while. I took some video footage as well, which is on myspace's video page. Such a good performance. Well worth the $16 price tag.




#23

Kontatto
Stinkbomb
Pavlichenko

@ East Coast Opera House 04/22/09

The day after Napalm Death and the like kicked my ass, this tiny crust/d-beat show occurred. I might be wrong but I believe this was Kontatto's first time in the states. Hope they liked NC enough to want to return one day. It was also my first time witnessing a show at East Coast Opera House, which normally never does shows like these.

Pavlichenko, the first band and partial organizers of this whole show, were on first. I caught their first gig and it was cool, but this was even better. They're getting much tighter and thrashier. Every guy in the band is a good person too. Support em whatever way you can.

Stinkbomb are an older band from Wilmington who decided to return from the dead and I'm glad they did. Just good fun loud 3-piece punk rock. I also noticed Steve Hart was playing guitar for em, which was cool. They did a couple of covers, though I only caught one of them (Motley Crue-Live Wire) due to having to step outside momentarily.

Due to the size of ECOH, Kontatto's singer performed on the floor while the band played on the actual stage. Total DIY I guess you could say. They absolutely ruled. Total crust/d-beat/raw punk in the vein of bands like Tragedy, Wolfbrigade, and Discharge. The crowd at times (at least those who were drunk/imbecilic) caused some problems, like knocking into one of the guitarists and knocking him and his amp over. Those were quickly dealt with though, and the show resumed. Taking pics was fun, but kind of hard at times due to all the lights hanging around. I also gotta add that it's awesome seeing women drummers, as they are a rare sight in the aggressive music scene these days, and even rarer in this specific scene.

#24

Against Me!
Off With Their Heads

@ The Soapbox 04/30/09

I had been sick for a few days before this, and my cold actually forced me to miss Amon Amarth/Goatwhore/Skeletonwitch/Lazarus A.D. the day before this, which I had already bought a ticket to. I think I was still cross walking into this one, but I figured this would be my only chance to see Against Me! play for $10. Well, THESE days at least.

I missed the first band, whose name I can't recall. I caught about 5 songs or so from Off With Their Heads, who were pretty okay, but I don't see the hype behind this band. Just kind of ho-hum.

After an HOUR long wait (seriously, WTF?), Against Me! finally came on and performed to the packed house. I actually stood away from the floor near the merch area, due to not wanting to potentially worsen my cold around a bunch of dirty hipster folks. I'm really glad I came out, because they ruled pretty hard. I still haven't listened to New Wave, their last record, but I recognized enough old material to be alright. The crowd seemed to be having a blast, as did the band. When a girl got knocked out by a stagediver, the band stopped and made everyone clear a path in order for her to be escorted out safely. Very cool of you guys. I'd be more than willing to watch them live again, and hopefully next time I can buy a few drinks and really get into it like everyone else was.