So, let's take a look at what I witnessed last week. Direct Hit! came to Europe to tour for 3 weeks with the Priceduifkes. They're playing about 6 shows in Belgium, of which I managed to check out 3.
1) The first one was in Herenthout. 't Verschil was hosting an entire punk rock weekend, including a punk rock quiz on Friday. Our team, the Kings Of Metal, came in 2nd on that quiz, so that was cool. I also got really drunk, fell asleep and my teammates colored my head and arms with a red marker. That sucked.
Anyway, the next day was reserved for punk rock music. A nice little show of some of Belgium's coolest bands and the kick-off of the Direct Hit! tour.
First band up were de Tantras. They were not exactly in form (dutchism), oh dear. I like their songs but the performance wasn't up to scratch, unfortunately. The show had its ups and down, definitely. A couple of covers, a couple of songs from their own repertoire, possibly some new songs (I'm not sure, but if they were they sounded pretty good). So yeah, not a great show, but a fun band nonetheless.
Time for The Dutch Rudders. They sure have progressed. It was the first time I saw them as a four-piece, and it worked pretty good. Jelle is a good person. They played quite a few new songs and they ruled the pans of the roof (dutchism overload). Very strong Dopamines/Red City Radio kinda vibe. I loved it. Great show, great guyzz, and so on.
Face The Fax. Sharp as an axe. Everytime I see them I like them a bit more. They take some time to enjoy, because they're a sophisticated technical skatepunk band rather than a silly 3-chord poppunk band. But they're great. The new stuff is definitely cooler than the old stuff. Whoo!
The Priceduifkes were up next. First dance moves of the night to another classic PDS rock'n'roll show. They played all sorts of songs and people sang along and pushed eachother and danced around and all that jazz. Good show.
Direct Hit! finished the night, and boy, are they tight. They hit their guitars, drums and bass super hard yet delicate anough to be melodic and punk rock. It was really short set, though, but I very much enjoyed it. They've been one of my favourite bands ever since I heard Werewolf Shame off of the Mixtapes split. Super cool. Great singalong stuff, some dancing, a couple high-fives. I was a happy man.
The crowd attendance was rather low though, which sucked a bit. Well, that's what you get when you played 6 shows in a small country such as Belgium, I guess. Afterparty was still pretty cool, though.
2) The second show was in Roeselare. I probably wouldn't have though of going to Roeselare if it wasn't for Sidewalk Summer's third first show and the fact I could crash at Jef's place, but it was totally worth it.
Sidewalk Summer played their shit. 4 proper songs and a bunch of cool cover songs. They don't have a singer yet so Jef sang and he's not that good. Hopefully they'll find a singer soon! (If you live in West-Vlaanderen and you can sing, contact them!) I like their songs though. They have this 3-second song that's all like PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA and then there's this song that's slow at first and than faster but just has this really good riff and then there's these other songs that I don't remember how they go. Ricky (P)D(S) sang the Riverdales' I Don't Wanna Go To The Party Tonight cover. Anyway, fun show, couple o' mistakes, forgivable.
Tarmak played next. 80's style pissed of furious hardcore punk. Good show. Pissed off. Not much to add.
PDS played another good one. Started off with a Beastie Boys cover, coolness. Fun fun fun.
Direct Hit! also slayed again. Cool show, wack shit. I ripped my pants while I was holding the guitar dude on my shoulder's. Lotsa dancing. Super fun show, such a great band. Really, such an awesome band. I hung out with them later on and they're really nice dudes as well.
Afterparty was dope, homes. Great music by DJ Cubli/Tim/Creepface and great hangouts with people. I love punk rock shows.
3) Third time's a charm. The show was in Ghent. Cool.
The Dutch Rudders played again. Pretty much the smae shit, different day. Coolness!
The PDS also played. Same shit, Different day.
Direct Hit! also played. Same shit, different day.
Still all really awesome, though.
Also check out Devon Kay & The Solutions.
11-05-12
RPP is fucking dead.
Refused reunited this year and Refused Party Program is quitting their game.
Thursday night, 't Stuk gave the stage for the last performance of the Belgian tribute band to The Shape Of Punk To Come. I went to take a look and dance a dance.
I missed Arizona.
Homer played a good set. One of the best I've seen I think. I still can't pinpoint any genre. They're like a punk rock band with metal riffs and hardcore rhythms. I don't know. Somewhere in the between. The guitarist always looks angry, the bassist always looks happy.
So, great! The instrumental outro was wack!
Refused Party Program was, as expected, great! Although the entire album is pretty much amazing and genious front to back, it does have its highlights and it's mediumlights and that's particularly noticeable when it's played live. Nevertheless, the fact that these guys play such an accomplished, such a complicated album live in its entirity, is out of sight. The set was nearly flawless. The closing song was Rather Be Dead.
Well, Refused Party Program are fucking dead.
Thursday night, 't Stuk gave the stage for the last performance of the Belgian tribute band to The Shape Of Punk To Come. I went to take a look and dance a dance.
I missed Arizona.
Homer played a good set. One of the best I've seen I think. I still can't pinpoint any genre. They're like a punk rock band with metal riffs and hardcore rhythms. I don't know. Somewhere in the between. The guitarist always looks angry, the bassist always looks happy.
So, great! The instrumental outro was wack!
Refused Party Program was, as expected, great! Although the entire album is pretty much amazing and genious front to back, it does have its highlights and it's mediumlights and that's particularly noticeable when it's played live. Nevertheless, the fact that these guys play such an accomplished, such a complicated album live in its entirity, is out of sight. The set was nearly flawless. The closing song was Rather Be Dead.
Well, Refused Party Program are fucking dead.
07-05-12
We are the Copyrights, We are the Murderburgers, We are the Arteries
We are the Cashiers.
We are Delivery Boys.
Apparently I haven't blogged on what was the coolest show in a while. So here it is.
Imagine being a teenager, finding out about pop punk music. All sorts of bands. It's the coolest thing you've ever heard. And then... Remember MySpace? Well, it was on MySpace that I first heard the Copyrights. I clicked the play button and I heard a noise and suddenly I THOUGHT I'D NEVER EVER FIND HER, I THOUGHT SHE DIDN'T EXIST. I THOUGHT I'D NEVER EVER FIND HER, SHE TURNS IT, SHE TURNS IT UP.
Hooked. It was the best song I had ever heard. So loud, so fast and so catchy.
Other songs up on the MySpace were Weapons Of Math Destruction, Stuck In Springtime and maybe Kids Of The Black Hole. Not sure of the last one, though. Man, I played the shit out of that MySpace page.
They were a sort of gateway band to the music I now dearly love.
Some time later they announced a euro tour and I spent 4 months being siked to see 'em and I saw 'em and it was one of the best nights of my life. The played the Priceduifkes release for She Spells Disaster, Zatopeks and Murderburgers were also playing. Awesome.
Now I'm an adult. No wait, now I'm a 20-year-old teenager and I got to see the Copyrights at Groezrock, on a big-ass stage. And it still ruled the fuck out of everything else, despite the shitty sound.
Then I had exactly 4 days (rather than 4 months) to be siked for the next show, which is the one I really want to talk about.
This dude Lenny set up a 'secret show'. Relatively secret, yes. Because the Copyrights played Groezrock, I guess they weren't supposed to do another Belgian show (cause festivals work like that), but thanks to punk rock ethics it worked out fine, ending in a show in the chiro of Joeng Leive in Nijlen. Awesome.
After eating a big-ass friet, we arrived there pretty early. Some people were muurkeklopping, cool. After a while more people started showing up, and the place was supposed to be packed. I think less people showed up than expected, which is weird for one of the coolest line-ups/shows around, but anyway.
The Arteries were up first. Really cool band, but I can't really get into the vocal part. Kind of squeeky and I don't like that. But their set was great. Tight, on-the-spot, energetic and loud. Thank God I had my earplugs.
The Murderburgers are on tour with the Copyright dudes so they got to play next. I think it was just Fraser actually, I didn't recognize the bass player or the drummer. Not sure. Anyway, they played fast. Holy smokes, did they play fast. You know how they normally play fast? Well, imagine they played even faster. And they played faster than what you're imagining now. The show was basically Fraser yelling an incomprehensible song title followed by a shredding song with a fluttering stream of lyrics. Shit was off the hook. Awesome show, also: Braindead!
Lastly, the Copyrights. I felt the same way as I did a couple years ago in the Kroenkel, eagerly awaiting to sing along to some of my all-time favourite tunes. Started with Shit's Fucked, and well, shit was fucked. People went nuts and I remembered why I fell in love with them to begin with. Catchy riffs, strong songs, huge singalong stuff, anthematic choruses, and the motherfucking harmonies. Man, the harmonies. Beautiful. Anyway, they played a whole bunch of songs, all really good. No really old songs, but a nice mix of past and present. I was pleased as fuck, dancing as fuck, happy as fuck. They played an encore of 2 songs I think, the last one being Sleepwalker. Awesome.
"Tell me something new."
We are Delivery Boys.
Apparently I haven't blogged on what was the coolest show in a while. So here it is.
Imagine being a teenager, finding out about pop punk music. All sorts of bands. It's the coolest thing you've ever heard. And then... Remember MySpace? Well, it was on MySpace that I first heard the Copyrights. I clicked the play button and I heard a noise and suddenly I THOUGHT I'D NEVER EVER FIND HER, I THOUGHT SHE DIDN'T EXIST. I THOUGHT I'D NEVER EVER FIND HER, SHE TURNS IT, SHE TURNS IT UP.
Hooked. It was the best song I had ever heard. So loud, so fast and so catchy.
Other songs up on the MySpace were Weapons Of Math Destruction, Stuck In Springtime and maybe Kids Of The Black Hole. Not sure of the last one, though. Man, I played the shit out of that MySpace page.
They were a sort of gateway band to the music I now dearly love.
Some time later they announced a euro tour and I spent 4 months being siked to see 'em and I saw 'em and it was one of the best nights of my life. The played the Priceduifkes release for She Spells Disaster, Zatopeks and Murderburgers were also playing. Awesome.
Now I'm an adult. No wait, now I'm a 20-year-old teenager and I got to see the Copyrights at Groezrock, on a big-ass stage. And it still ruled the fuck out of everything else, despite the shitty sound.
Then I had exactly 4 days (rather than 4 months) to be siked for the next show, which is the one I really want to talk about.
This dude Lenny set up a 'secret show'. Relatively secret, yes. Because the Copyrights played Groezrock, I guess they weren't supposed to do another Belgian show (cause festivals work like that), but thanks to punk rock ethics it worked out fine, ending in a show in the chiro of Joeng Leive in Nijlen. Awesome.
After eating a big-ass friet, we arrived there pretty early. Some people were muurkeklopping, cool. After a while more people started showing up, and the place was supposed to be packed. I think less people showed up than expected, which is weird for one of the coolest line-ups/shows around, but anyway.
The Arteries were up first. Really cool band, but I can't really get into the vocal part. Kind of squeeky and I don't like that. But their set was great. Tight, on-the-spot, energetic and loud. Thank God I had my earplugs.
The Murderburgers are on tour with the Copyright dudes so they got to play next. I think it was just Fraser actually, I didn't recognize the bass player or the drummer. Not sure. Anyway, they played fast. Holy smokes, did they play fast. You know how they normally play fast? Well, imagine they played even faster. And they played faster than what you're imagining now. The show was basically Fraser yelling an incomprehensible song title followed by a shredding song with a fluttering stream of lyrics. Shit was off the hook. Awesome show, also: Braindead!
Lastly, the Copyrights. I felt the same way as I did a couple years ago in the Kroenkel, eagerly awaiting to sing along to some of my all-time favourite tunes. Started with Shit's Fucked, and well, shit was fucked. People went nuts and I remembered why I fell in love with them to begin with. Catchy riffs, strong songs, huge singalong stuff, anthematic choruses, and the motherfucking harmonies. Man, the harmonies. Beautiful. Anyway, they played a whole bunch of songs, all really good. No really old songs, but a nice mix of past and present. I was pleased as fuck, dancing as fuck, happy as fuck. They played an encore of 2 songs I think, the last one being Sleepwalker. Awesome.
"Tell me something new."
30-04-12
Foefrock
So, Groezrock eh?
Okay, I have no clue what's the best way to review this fest but I think I'm gonna for the entire walkthrough of my experience as a real punk rock dude (from the new school).
I spent all Friday being anxious and hesitating whether I should go to the Lifetime/Cornflames show in Ham. I was unsure on how to get there and stuff so I opted out. I started regretting that decision as soon as I left for the festival, though. I hopped on the train to Diest, and I tried to go last-minute but the buses weren't stopping near the venue and I wasn't sure if I could get in. So anyway, I regret that, but that's life. Minus punk points.
Instead I went to the campsite. I had a tent/sleeping bag, a 24-pack of budget beer (it was cara, if you're interested), half a liter of whiskey (it was Jameson, if you're interested (it means that I'm not dead)), some extra clothes in case of rain, a big pack of cornflakes, 3 packs of rice wafers and a whole bunch of magazines. When I left I still had a big pack of cornflakes and 3 packs of rice wafers because I had beer for breakfast instead. I also still had a whole bunch of magazines, but thanks to the punk rock and my buddy/salesmanager Elias I also sold quite a few. Also gave some away, traded some and stacked some in the Shield records merch stand, who are really great people. I just really want to get them out to people, haha. 2 nice English girls even gave me 50 cents extra, which was really cool. One of them was really pretty. The other one was... not ugly.
This was the first year I got a reasonably good spot on the campsite. Not far from the entrance, not far from the toilets, etc. Cool. I put up the tent, drank a beer, spotted some Houthalen peepz near and went to hang out there because I was still on my own. I went to check out the acoustic shows as well, that were being held in the shower/bbq area, because PJ Bond was supposed to play. Apparently he would only arrive at around 3 AM, cause he had a show in Germany. Bottom line, I really wanted to see him but didn't, cause I was pretty fucked up by 3 am. I don't even know where I was at 3 am. Maybe I was sleeping already, I don't know.
I went to party in the party tent where there was a lot of nu-metal and stuff like that. Pretty good, pretty weird though. Got really drunk. Vague memories. Elias had arrived a bit later and we both have a tendency to drink lots of beer. So that's what happened.
"stoeme kut"
Woke up in my tent, without any clue on how I got there. Safe, though. First day of the festival. The syke was strong. The first band we went to see was Banquets. We saw the soundcheck, then decided it was taking too long so headed to the main stage for Chixdiggit! They ruled, of course. Kepi was on bass, he's a really good person. KJ is such a great frontman. So early, yet so vibrant and energetic and fun! Then we spend half an hour waiting for Mikey Erg's set. During those in-between breaks we would usually go get Leffe, talk to girls, ask them for jokes, laugh, be silly, go say hi to Shield Records, hang out with people, etc. Pretty basic, a whole lot of fun.
Mikey Erg played some songs on his, aside from touring/drumming with Off With Their Heads. The solo set was amazing. I love those songs so much. He played Hey Jealousy again, which is awesome. Great songs, a lot of singalonging, lots of fun. Also, side-to-side mosh to acoustic songq, pretty cool idea.
After he was done, the Copyrights had already started playing, so I went dancing to one of my very first pop punk band crushes. It's been about 4 years since they've toured Europe, I think, so I was happy. Fraser MBS played guitar. That was cool. They played really great songs. They ended with Weapons Of Math Destruction, of which the last part is the best part of music ever written. "3 drums, 16 strings, 4 mouths, 4 brains, 3 mics, 12 speakers, 4 tempers and 4 middle fingers." Incredible. Love it. Sound sucked a lot though.
I didn't went to see the Menzingers cause I didn't feel like it. Cool band though. Saw a fair deal of None More Black, great band. Mainly drank Leffe, hung out and met up during those hours I guess.
Off With Their Heads played at 4 pm and that was important cause they're really good. I have to say I don't remember a lot from the show. Pretty sure I danced and sang along. I can't really recall any songs though. This sucks.
The plan was to go see Bouncing Souls and after that Midnight Souls, 1) because they're great bands, 2) because they're both Souls. But due to circumstances (laziness) I only saw the Midnight Souls. I'd promised them to mosh at their shows and since I was drunk, they played pretty damn good and I was angry, I moshed pretty heavily for my standards. It was super fun. I don't know if moshing is supposed to be fun.
After some more carefree drinking, eating and unsuccesfully hitting on girls, I went to check Verse. Probably the best performance of the entire festival. Really damn good. Tight, hard as nails and full of power. I moshed to Story Of A Free Man. I hope I got scenepoints from that.
Next was Dillinger Escape Plan. Crazy. Also the best performance. Wack show. I went to check on Lifetime but they didn't really compare to Dillinger, so I went back, only to be just in time for Sunshine The Werewolf, which is an incredible song. Consequently, I was happy.
I didn't see Face To Face and only a few Lagwagon songs because I wasn't feeling like it. Probably lost some punk points there but you can't have it all. I saw a couple Parkway Drive songs and moshed super hard at the back of the tent, then went to see Rancid for 30 minutes, then hung out at the special beers bar. I probably lost a fucking lot of punx points for this. 16-year-old me would've have greatly dissapproved.
After that I went back to the camping, I lost my buddies and went to "bed" early. Maybe not the best idea, definitely not a bad idea though.
Woke up to a sky full of clouds. Luckily, apart from some odd raindrops, nothing severe happened. Late Sunday afternoon it even became pretty damn sunny and warm. I asked the girl in the tent next to us for sexytime but she wasn't up for it.
Saw a couple of Red City Radio songs, which was awesome. I ate a broodje mexicano, which was pretty good. Sunpower played a great show.
Hung out. Elias got hit in the nuts, which was really funny. Drank Leffe and annoyed people until Hot Water Music played. Not super good but I like them so I had a good time.
At a quarter to 5, finally, the band I wanted to see most of all: Alkaline Trio. Although their performance wasn't too tight, they still played pretty good and they're just an awesome band. They played a lot of old songs, probably due to the Maybe I'll Catch Fire shows they did some time ago. I got wild during Blue Carolina, jumped a naked dude in the pit, sang along to basically everything, and hit everyone around me when they started playing 97. Sooooooo good.
The Bronx were amazing. 7 Seconds were awesome. Gorilla Biscuits were insane. Great show and outrageous crowd reaction.
Refused were about 7 times better than I expected. Really tight, great show.
I had to leave because I had an obligatory class at 9 am and wouldn't make it if I'd leave on Monday. Thankfully de Jelle helped me out and he is a great person.
A lot of people were great people this weekend. I've met so many people in the scene the last (few) year(s) and it's really great to meet up with them, hang out, do shit, sing along together/forever. Makes me feel a part of something. Makes me feel appreciated. Makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing.
Also thanks to Teun for letting me slip in at the line to the campsite, everyone who gave me a beer or a high-five, the people at Shield for being the best, the girl next to the Shield stand for also helping me out, the pretty girls for brightening up my day, the nice people for being generally nice and the organisation for setting this all up.
I lost a whole bunch of punk points by missing some great bands, but I had some spare points I think and I regained a few by having fun and watching other great bands.
I am really pleased. I love everything.
Okay, I have no clue what's the best way to review this fest but I think I'm gonna for the entire walkthrough of my experience as a real punk rock dude (from the new school).
I spent all Friday being anxious and hesitating whether I should go to the Lifetime/Cornflames show in Ham. I was unsure on how to get there and stuff so I opted out. I started regretting that decision as soon as I left for the festival, though. I hopped on the train to Diest, and I tried to go last-minute but the buses weren't stopping near the venue and I wasn't sure if I could get in. So anyway, I regret that, but that's life. Minus punk points.
Instead I went to the campsite. I had a tent/sleeping bag, a 24-pack of budget beer (it was cara, if you're interested), half a liter of whiskey (it was Jameson, if you're interested (it means that I'm not dead)), some extra clothes in case of rain, a big pack of cornflakes, 3 packs of rice wafers and a whole bunch of magazines. When I left I still had a big pack of cornflakes and 3 packs of rice wafers because I had beer for breakfast instead. I also still had a whole bunch of magazines, but thanks to the punk rock and my buddy/salesmanager Elias I also sold quite a few. Also gave some away, traded some and stacked some in the Shield records merch stand, who are really great people. I just really want to get them out to people, haha. 2 nice English girls even gave me 50 cents extra, which was really cool. One of them was really pretty. The other one was... not ugly.
This was the first year I got a reasonably good spot on the campsite. Not far from the entrance, not far from the toilets, etc. Cool. I put up the tent, drank a beer, spotted some Houthalen peepz near and went to hang out there because I was still on my own. I went to check out the acoustic shows as well, that were being held in the shower/bbq area, because PJ Bond was supposed to play. Apparently he would only arrive at around 3 AM, cause he had a show in Germany. Bottom line, I really wanted to see him but didn't, cause I was pretty fucked up by 3 am. I don't even know where I was at 3 am. Maybe I was sleeping already, I don't know.
I went to party in the party tent where there was a lot of nu-metal and stuff like that. Pretty good, pretty weird though. Got really drunk. Vague memories. Elias had arrived a bit later and we both have a tendency to drink lots of beer. So that's what happened.
"stoeme kut"
Woke up in my tent, without any clue on how I got there. Safe, though. First day of the festival. The syke was strong. The first band we went to see was Banquets. We saw the soundcheck, then decided it was taking too long so headed to the main stage for Chixdiggit! They ruled, of course. Kepi was on bass, he's a really good person. KJ is such a great frontman. So early, yet so vibrant and energetic and fun! Then we spend half an hour waiting for Mikey Erg's set. During those in-between breaks we would usually go get Leffe, talk to girls, ask them for jokes, laugh, be silly, go say hi to Shield Records, hang out with people, etc. Pretty basic, a whole lot of fun.
Mikey Erg played some songs on his, aside from touring/drumming with Off With Their Heads. The solo set was amazing. I love those songs so much. He played Hey Jealousy again, which is awesome. Great songs, a lot of singalonging, lots of fun. Also, side-to-side mosh to acoustic songq, pretty cool idea.
After he was done, the Copyrights had already started playing, so I went dancing to one of my very first pop punk band crushes. It's been about 4 years since they've toured Europe, I think, so I was happy. Fraser MBS played guitar. That was cool. They played really great songs. They ended with Weapons Of Math Destruction, of which the last part is the best part of music ever written. "3 drums, 16 strings, 4 mouths, 4 brains, 3 mics, 12 speakers, 4 tempers and 4 middle fingers." Incredible. Love it. Sound sucked a lot though.
I didn't went to see the Menzingers cause I didn't feel like it. Cool band though. Saw a fair deal of None More Black, great band. Mainly drank Leffe, hung out and met up during those hours I guess.
Off With Their Heads played at 4 pm and that was important cause they're really good. I have to say I don't remember a lot from the show. Pretty sure I danced and sang along. I can't really recall any songs though. This sucks.
The plan was to go see Bouncing Souls and after that Midnight Souls, 1) because they're great bands, 2) because they're both Souls. But due to circumstances (laziness) I only saw the Midnight Souls. I'd promised them to mosh at their shows and since I was drunk, they played pretty damn good and I was angry, I moshed pretty heavily for my standards. It was super fun. I don't know if moshing is supposed to be fun.
After some more carefree drinking, eating and unsuccesfully hitting on girls, I went to check Verse. Probably the best performance of the entire festival. Really damn good. Tight, hard as nails and full of power. I moshed to Story Of A Free Man. I hope I got scenepoints from that.
Next was Dillinger Escape Plan. Crazy. Also the best performance. Wack show. I went to check on Lifetime but they didn't really compare to Dillinger, so I went back, only to be just in time for Sunshine The Werewolf, which is an incredible song. Consequently, I was happy.
I didn't see Face To Face and only a few Lagwagon songs because I wasn't feeling like it. Probably lost some punk points there but you can't have it all. I saw a couple Parkway Drive songs and moshed super hard at the back of the tent, then went to see Rancid for 30 minutes, then hung out at the special beers bar. I probably lost a fucking lot of punx points for this. 16-year-old me would've have greatly dissapproved.
After that I went back to the camping, I lost my buddies and went to "bed" early. Maybe not the best idea, definitely not a bad idea though.
Woke up to a sky full of clouds. Luckily, apart from some odd raindrops, nothing severe happened. Late Sunday afternoon it even became pretty damn sunny and warm. I asked the girl in the tent next to us for sexytime but she wasn't up for it.
Saw a couple of Red City Radio songs, which was awesome. I ate a broodje mexicano, which was pretty good. Sunpower played a great show.
Hung out. Elias got hit in the nuts, which was really funny. Drank Leffe and annoyed people until Hot Water Music played. Not super good but I like them so I had a good time.
At a quarter to 5, finally, the band I wanted to see most of all: Alkaline Trio. Although their performance wasn't too tight, they still played pretty good and they're just an awesome band. They played a lot of old songs, probably due to the Maybe I'll Catch Fire shows they did some time ago. I got wild during Blue Carolina, jumped a naked dude in the pit, sang along to basically everything, and hit everyone around me when they started playing 97. Sooooooo good.
The Bronx were amazing. 7 Seconds were awesome. Gorilla Biscuits were insane. Great show and outrageous crowd reaction.
Refused were about 7 times better than I expected. Really tight, great show.
I had to leave because I had an obligatory class at 9 am and wouldn't make it if I'd leave on Monday. Thankfully de Jelle helped me out and he is a great person.
A lot of people were great people this weekend. I've met so many people in the scene the last (few) year(s) and it's really great to meet up with them, hang out, do shit, sing along together/forever. Makes me feel a part of something. Makes me feel appreciated. Makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing.
Also thanks to Teun for letting me slip in at the line to the campsite, everyone who gave me a beer or a high-five, the people at Shield for being the best, the girl next to the Shield stand for also helping me out, the pretty girls for brightening up my day, the nice people for being generally nice and the organisation for setting this all up.
I lost a whole bunch of punk points by missing some great bands, but I had some spare points I think and I regained a few by having fun and watching other great bands.
I am really pleased. I love everything.
24-04-12
Expensive Monday
Hey! Remember Unbroken, that legendary hardcore/punk band from the nineties? Well, I don't, but they played a show in Hasselt yesterday and I had nothing better to do do yeah. I paid 18 euros for it as well. I bought 4 drink tickets at 2,20 a piece. That's already 26,8 euros. Da's meer as duuzend frang.
Anyway, the first band was This Routine Is Hell. Angry men from the North. The North is the Netherlands in this case. Just across the border, actually. Not really far away. Almost local, you could say. Anyway, they're angry. Dark hardcore music that sounded like a bad omen. But hell, it sounds awesome. Fast and pissed, Their new record is really good so you should pick it up! I scored a test press, by the way, pretty cool!
Second up: Midnight Souls. I had promised I would mosh hard but I didn't cause I wasn't drunk enough, I'm silly and the venue was too big. Maybe next time. Great band, great show, great songs, love 'em.
Unbroken played. Not my thing I guess. But for a lot of people it was their thing or it had been their thing so many years ago so I guess it's awesome they played another show. Couldn't see the entire set cause I had to catch a train, but that's life.
Anyway, the first band was This Routine Is Hell. Angry men from the North. The North is the Netherlands in this case. Just across the border, actually. Not really far away. Almost local, you could say. Anyway, they're angry. Dark hardcore music that sounded like a bad omen. But hell, it sounds awesome. Fast and pissed, Their new record is really good so you should pick it up! I scored a test press, by the way, pretty cool!
Second up: Midnight Souls. I had promised I would mosh hard but I didn't cause I wasn't drunk enough, I'm silly and the venue was too big. Maybe next time. Great band, great show, great songs, love 'em.
Unbroken played. Not my thing I guess. But for a lot of people it was their thing or it had been their thing so many years ago so I guess it's awesome they played another show. Couldn't see the entire set cause I had to catch a train, but that's life.
19-04-12
Leuven Apart
Tuesday night was showtime in de Sojo, mofo's.
First up were the Raunchy Rumors, a reduced equivalent of the Red Light Rumors, with only the guitar palyer and drummer. Rock 'n' Roll. Pretty good. Not necessarily my cup 'o tea. Kinda repetitive, perhaps? I don't know, I'd like to see them full-band once, though. That'd be better probably.
Leagues Apart. Missed them the night before in Zele, so I was excited. Guess what? These guys are awesome. It's weird I hadn't heard them before. Live performance was top notch, super energetic, loud and fast and gruffy. Check this out, No Idea vibe.
Nothington. Funny thing, I also missed them in Zele, although that was about 8 months ago. Great band, great show. I only really knew the last song they played (Where I Stand) but the rest sounded pretty good as well.
Mixed crowd reactions overall, but really fun night.
Also I went partying after and had to puke and stuff. Up the punx.
First up were the Raunchy Rumors, a reduced equivalent of the Red Light Rumors, with only the guitar palyer and drummer. Rock 'n' Roll. Pretty good. Not necessarily my cup 'o tea. Kinda repetitive, perhaps? I don't know, I'd like to see them full-band once, though. That'd be better probably.
Leagues Apart. Missed them the night before in Zele, so I was excited. Guess what? These guys are awesome. It's weird I hadn't heard them before. Live performance was top notch, super energetic, loud and fast and gruffy. Check this out, No Idea vibe.
Nothington. Funny thing, I also missed them in Zele, although that was about 8 months ago. Great band, great show. I only really knew the last song they played (Where I Stand) but the rest sounded pretty good as well.
Mixed crowd reactions overall, but really fun night.
Also I went partying after and had to puke and stuff. Up the punx.
17-04-12
Monday morbidity
OKAY SO YESTERDAY HARDCORE SHOW IN ZELE. WAS FUN.
I didn't see the last band, Leagues Apart, cause I had to catch a train and I would see them today anyway, so yeah!
First up was Rebuild, all the way from Get Wood City, ready to play for a crowd of 10 in a place fit for 200 or something. And without a bassist. Silly dudes. They kinda pulled it off. The sound wasn't as strong without the bass and may not have been their best performance ever but I like seeing them play, hearing the songs and sing along every once in a while when I can remember the lyrics. I also moshed. I also was drinking a lot of beer, which could be the reason why I moshed.
Pizza time.
Minus Tree played next. They're from Italia. Hardcore with a somber edge. Not really good, but they had some jams, and Jordi was constantly saying I should mosh so I did. Alone. I guess they weren't bad but kinda uninspired.
Getting more and more shitfaced.
A Strength Within played next. I think they're a really great band, and especially the new songs slay. Great musicians, and Mike's a great frontman. But as always, lousy crowd reaction. quite a shame. People should dance to this.
Sleeping on the train.
I didn't see the last band, Leagues Apart, cause I had to catch a train and I would see them today anyway, so yeah!
First up was Rebuild, all the way from Get Wood City, ready to play for a crowd of 10 in a place fit for 200 or something. And without a bassist. Silly dudes. They kinda pulled it off. The sound wasn't as strong without the bass and may not have been their best performance ever but I like seeing them play, hearing the songs and sing along every once in a while when I can remember the lyrics. I also moshed. I also was drinking a lot of beer, which could be the reason why I moshed.
Pizza time.
Minus Tree played next. They're from Italia. Hardcore with a somber edge. Not really good, but they had some jams, and Jordi was constantly saying I should mosh so I did. Alone. I guess they weren't bad but kinda uninspired.
Getting more and more shitfaced.
A Strength Within played next. I think they're a really great band, and especially the new songs slay. Great musicians, and Mike's a great frontman. But as always, lousy crowd reaction. quite a shame. People should dance to this.
Sleeping on the train.
06-04-12
Putting Off The Charts on the charts
Okay, here's the deal: Off The Charts is an awesome band from Dilbeek/Dildobeek/Chillbeek/... and they became good buddies of mine. They just now put out a new EP, completely DIY and stuff, and it has 3 new songs on it that take a huge step from the demo. I'm having the pleasure to listen to these songs right now so I'm able to do a review. Because I do that kinda stuff. I am good at listening to music.
You should buy the new EP from them for only 2 currency units. 3 songs for 2 coins is cheaper than, let's say, 3 songs for 3 coins. So buy it, it's good and it's cheap. (insert 'your mom' joke here)
So, let's do this in kinda real time. Play. First song. It's called "Final Master A - 01". I'm kidding, it has a different title but I don't know what it is. It's starts slow and dragging, with rung (minor?) chords and a (minor chord?) melody. It sounds sad. I'm becoming kinda sad. And then it becomes steady. Kim starts singing and it's great. Recording sounds bad-ass. Nicolas kicks in. He sounds like one of those Gainesville singers who drank too much whiskey and are now 40 and still drink too much whiskey. Only this guy isn't 40 years old. I now realise I've heard this song quite a few times in their live shows. Oh, it's speeding the fuck up. It's difficult to follow writing this. But the tempo change is something Off The Charts uses a lot so it's becoming a kind of signature thing to their songs I guess? I'm not sure. The little melodies in the transition are proof that they know what the hell they are doing. This isn't simple punk rock. I don't know if it's punk rock anymore. I think it is. But it's peculiar, in a good way.
Vocally, the dynamics between Kim and Nicolas are played out well, balanced. Then there's this instrumental break kind of thing, filled with blasting drums and a pounding bass guiding the riffage, including the famous contrast dynamic where you just can't avoid headbanging or airdrumming. This leads up to the final part, sounding like someone has some deep despair and needs to vent it. You can mosh/stomp to this part, I guess that's okay. It mellows down and with an off-strummed riff they introduce the outro (is it even possible to introduce an outroduction?), which is really powerful and probably the most memorable/catchy part of the song. They are singing "I WILL WAIT FOR YOU", and I guess that makes all the girls' panties wet as fuck.
I'll have to change my pants now.
Second song is the second song. I also don't know the title, but I'll find out soon enough. Another slow-paced intro. These guys love melody, and I love their melodies. They don't make me happy but ultimately they do make me happy because it's good. This is a steady song. I kinda want to make a comparison to other bands but I'm having a hard time pinpointing it. I guess they have a lot of influences, they take some of the gruffy punk rock, some new wave/indie hints, this and that of the pop punk/hardcore thing (the Title Fight, Basement, ... kind) and every once in a while it sounds like a Dillinger Four single played at 33 rpm. I hope that makes sense. This song is definitely more of a grower rather than an instant hit, but it's really interesting in terms of song structure and evolution. Off The Charts are taking their stuff seriously, and they're on a consistent path to finding their exact wanted sound. In my opinion they can still tweak it (but I guess any band in the world will always think they can do better, so that's that really), but I'm digging it already.
Fast part at the end, maybe time for a circle pit? I don't know, they should ask to do a circle pit at shows. After another batch of sincerely sung/screamed "Take me back"'s they break it down with dual guitar riffage and end in a mainstream as fuck WHOAAAAAAAOHOHOH chant. It's not really mainstream actually. I don't think the 'kids these days' would sing along. It's too hoarse for their fragile voices. But if you've been drinking and listening to punk rock for a while you can probably flawlessly sing along to it. Also, this song is almost 5 minutes long. Actual proof that this is not punk rock anymore. It's the sound of (OT)C, the sound which creates a new dimension. This is a new style of music. Although it's 5 minutes and that's a long time for a song, like I said, it's pretty interesting and it stays focused. It doesn't flatten or become redundant. It's pretty damn epic.
Now, the third song is called Imposed Future. I know this because that's what it says on the Facebook. So I guess this is their ultimate hit song. It starts out with a piercing riff just waiting to explode into what is commonly known as a song. Armin (I think?) kicks in with one of his signature guitarsolo/melody kind of things and you could slowmotion-mosh to it. It now sounds like if you want to play a video game and it's "loading ??%" and then suddenly the menu screen pops up and you hit play as fast as you can so you can start. I really hope I'm making some sense right now. This is a very powerful song once Jelle's bass part completes the picture and it gets going for real. Lots of catchy riffing, dynamic/contrastive vocals and powerful rhythms and the variations thereof. The middle part suddenly sounds like a straight-up old school hardcore break, with the hardcore beat pounding and a tough-ish "The anchor holding me down. We'll not let go.", reminding me of Verse or something of that ilk (not the best comparison but I can't think of anything else right now), and going into a raging stomp party where you can sing along and point fingers at the band (at their shows, obviously) and then dance your ass off. And suddenly it's over and that's it.
TOO LONG/DIDN'T READ: Great songs, great band, buy it, buy them beers.
It's funny how it takes me 2 days to come up with this amount of text on "the semantics of discourse-embedded tag question in English" but on the other hand I just have to listen to a few songs and I can write this bullshit in an hour or so. I wish English linguistics was more like punk rock music.
You should buy the new EP from them for only 2 currency units. 3 songs for 2 coins is cheaper than, let's say, 3 songs for 3 coins. So buy it, it's good and it's cheap. (insert 'your mom' joke here)
So, let's do this in kinda real time. Play. First song. It's called "Final Master A - 01". I'm kidding, it has a different title but I don't know what it is. It's starts slow and dragging, with rung (minor?) chords and a (minor chord?) melody. It sounds sad. I'm becoming kinda sad. And then it becomes steady. Kim starts singing and it's great. Recording sounds bad-ass. Nicolas kicks in. He sounds like one of those Gainesville singers who drank too much whiskey and are now 40 and still drink too much whiskey. Only this guy isn't 40 years old. I now realise I've heard this song quite a few times in their live shows. Oh, it's speeding the fuck up. It's difficult to follow writing this. But the tempo change is something Off The Charts uses a lot so it's becoming a kind of signature thing to their songs I guess? I'm not sure. The little melodies in the transition are proof that they know what the hell they are doing. This isn't simple punk rock. I don't know if it's punk rock anymore. I think it is. But it's peculiar, in a good way.
Vocally, the dynamics between Kim and Nicolas are played out well, balanced. Then there's this instrumental break kind of thing, filled with blasting drums and a pounding bass guiding the riffage, including the famous contrast dynamic where you just can't avoid headbanging or airdrumming. This leads up to the final part, sounding like someone has some deep despair and needs to vent it. You can mosh/stomp to this part, I guess that's okay. It mellows down and with an off-strummed riff they introduce the outro (is it even possible to introduce an outroduction?), which is really powerful and probably the most memorable/catchy part of the song. They are singing "I WILL WAIT FOR YOU", and I guess that makes all the girls' panties wet as fuck.
I'll have to change my pants now.
Second song is the second song. I also don't know the title, but I'll find out soon enough. Another slow-paced intro. These guys love melody, and I love their melodies. They don't make me happy but ultimately they do make me happy because it's good. This is a steady song. I kinda want to make a comparison to other bands but I'm having a hard time pinpointing it. I guess they have a lot of influences, they take some of the gruffy punk rock, some new wave/indie hints, this and that of the pop punk/hardcore thing (the Title Fight, Basement, ... kind) and every once in a while it sounds like a Dillinger Four single played at 33 rpm. I hope that makes sense. This song is definitely more of a grower rather than an instant hit, but it's really interesting in terms of song structure and evolution. Off The Charts are taking their stuff seriously, and they're on a consistent path to finding their exact wanted sound. In my opinion they can still tweak it (but I guess any band in the world will always think they can do better, so that's that really), but I'm digging it already.
Fast part at the end, maybe time for a circle pit? I don't know, they should ask to do a circle pit at shows. After another batch of sincerely sung/screamed "Take me back"'s they break it down with dual guitar riffage and end in a mainstream as fuck WHOAAAAAAAOHOHOH chant. It's not really mainstream actually. I don't think the 'kids these days' would sing along. It's too hoarse for their fragile voices. But if you've been drinking and listening to punk rock for a while you can probably flawlessly sing along to it. Also, this song is almost 5 minutes long. Actual proof that this is not punk rock anymore. It's the sound of (OT)C, the sound which creates a new dimension. This is a new style of music. Although it's 5 minutes and that's a long time for a song, like I said, it's pretty interesting and it stays focused. It doesn't flatten or become redundant. It's pretty damn epic.
Now, the third song is called Imposed Future. I know this because that's what it says on the Facebook. So I guess this is their ultimate hit song. It starts out with a piercing riff just waiting to explode into what is commonly known as a song. Armin (I think?) kicks in with one of his signature guitarsolo/melody kind of things and you could slowmotion-mosh to it. It now sounds like if you want to play a video game and it's "loading ??%" and then suddenly the menu screen pops up and you hit play as fast as you can so you can start. I really hope I'm making some sense right now. This is a very powerful song once Jelle's bass part completes the picture and it gets going for real. Lots of catchy riffing, dynamic/contrastive vocals and powerful rhythms and the variations thereof. The middle part suddenly sounds like a straight-up old school hardcore break, with the hardcore beat pounding and a tough-ish "The anchor holding me down. We'll not let go.", reminding me of Verse or something of that ilk (not the best comparison but I can't think of anything else right now), and going into a raging stomp party where you can sing along and point fingers at the band (at their shows, obviously) and then dance your ass off. And suddenly it's over and that's it.
TOO LONG/DIDN'T READ: Great songs, great band, buy it, buy them beers.
It's funny how it takes me 2 days to come up with this amount of text on "the semantics of discourse-embedded tag question in English" but on the other hand I just have to listen to a few songs and I can write this bullshit in an hour or so. I wish English linguistics was more like punk rock music.
Back to the garage
Garage shows are something else. They're DIY. They're cool. They're hella fun. They have a kinda different atmosphere throughout and it's punk as fuck. So good job to Bartje Punk of the Tantras to put on a show with the Respirators in his garage.
Before the show I quickly interviewed the Respirators cause Bart was all like "hey maybe you could interview them" and I was like "yeah, that'd be cool" and so we asked them and they were like "oh yeah, sure" and then I asked some silly questions because I had no idea what to ask but we had a fine chat and it'll be in the next 'zine. So stay tuned for that! The Respirators are really super cool dudes.
De Tantras started the night though, playing a classic Tantra show. They opened with Bitchkrieg, and played a bunch of great songs. TNT show, Danny, Old Generation, ... All the hits, plus some covers of the Ramones, the Trashmen, 2 Misfits songs, and even a Priceduifkes jam! I did a blitzdance, sang along and high-fisted Bart. (I went for the high-five and he went for the bro-fist and it ended all wrong and awkward but that's alright.) Great band!
The Respirators are a great band. They have the whole Off With Their Heads, Banner Pilot, ... Midwest sound and I totally love that. Their singer also kinda looks like Zack from Rivethead/Dear Landlord/House Boat/... And there's two Jakob's in the band, fun fact. Also cool to see a European band do the gruff punk rock thing that cause I don't think there are many like it around. Anyway, they're on tour, from Denmark all over Europe and the show in the garage was super fun. Great musicians, great performance, bass player was incredible, vocals were sweet and the melodies ruled a lot. Just a great band. Get fucking psyched for their full length, which they are writing/recording at the moment. It's gonna rule.
New European sensation right here, putting Denmark on the pop punk map (together with the 20Belows).
Also Peabrain Records rules, buy their shit!
Before the show I quickly interviewed the Respirators cause Bart was all like "hey maybe you could interview them" and I was like "yeah, that'd be cool" and so we asked them and they were like "oh yeah, sure" and then I asked some silly questions because I had no idea what to ask but we had a fine chat and it'll be in the next 'zine. So stay tuned for that! The Respirators are really super cool dudes.
De Tantras started the night though, playing a classic Tantra show. They opened with Bitchkrieg, and played a bunch of great songs. TNT show, Danny, Old Generation, ... All the hits, plus some covers of the Ramones, the Trashmen, 2 Misfits songs, and even a Priceduifkes jam! I did a blitzdance, sang along and high-fisted Bart. (I went for the high-five and he went for the bro-fist and it ended all wrong and awkward but that's alright.) Great band!
The Respirators are a great band. They have the whole Off With Their Heads, Banner Pilot, ... Midwest sound and I totally love that. Their singer also kinda looks like Zack from Rivethead/Dear Landlord/House Boat/... And there's two Jakob's in the band, fun fact. Also cool to see a European band do the gruff punk rock thing that cause I don't think there are many like it around. Anyway, they're on tour, from Denmark all over Europe and the show in the garage was super fun. Great musicians, great performance, bass player was incredible, vocals were sweet and the melodies ruled a lot. Just a great band. Get fucking psyched for their full length, which they are writing/recording at the moment. It's gonna rule.
New European sensation right here, putting Denmark on the pop punk map (together with the 20Belows).
Also Peabrain Records rules, buy their shit!
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