FEB. 15^TH 2010

THE GREAT REVERSALS

DAMAGES

DIREWOLF

ENDS

  Grand Rapids hardcore is on the rise and it’s about time. This is another ripper of a show at the new space THE CAGE. I was late to this because Trent who runs this space is taking no shit from late people so the shows will start on time. I missed the band ENDS I was told they played a good set and have people from the local band LA DISPUTE.  I came in right towards the end of the GREAT REVERSALS set. Not only did I walk into a killer set but also about 70 kids watching them. I thought I took a wrong turn on the highway and left GR for a minute. Each time this band plays they get better and more and more intense. This band is 100% hardcore. They are working on a 3 song 7” e.p. so keep your eyes open for that. They will also be playing MICHIGAN MELTDOWN on June 18^th in GR at the DAAC cant wait for that one. Next was DIRE WOLF from Ann Arbor. This band also just keeps ripping it up fast and better each time. They play basic HC with a touch of punk and a strong INFEST vibe.  Maybe the best set yet from them that I have seen. Up next was DAMAGES the local greats. This band is awesome. I cant say enough about this band they rule, and this show was more of them same from them AWESOME! I heard they have a 7” coming out on a Florida label so I hope that’s true because I cant wait. Shows like this rule, and the excitement happening in west MI these days is awesome. I hope this lasts and I hope kids stay this stoked. We have some the best bands happening right now so keep your eyes open, and get ready for more ripping HC punk shows like this one.

MODERN CONVENIENCE

COOKIES

JAN 30TH THE PVC HOUSE  

In the future I am looking to maybe move to a city that will be larger and have a larger of an alternative type scene. When this time comes I wonder if I will still attend shows like the one I did last night. Shows you just go to because its something to do and your hungry for something so you seek it out and take a risk. Or will I just get sucked up into the world of punk and hardcore once again. Well either way last night I seen the local band COOKIE play an awesome set of 90’s style grung/punk. This band is 2-piece band that plays with all they got. The drummer was just killing the drums and the guitar player/singer was ripping the guitar apart. This is the kind of band that just shows they only care about one thing and that’s playing. They don’t care where or how just so they can play that’s it. This was like a breath of fresh air that’s for sure. They even topped this set of with a SONIC YOUTH cover it was great. Up next came MODERN CONVENIENCE from Memphis TN. This band plays basic to the point punk rock. Each song bounced along in your brain I had no idea who this band was but they had a bunch of songs that will remain in my head until I do get the record. Another band that just plays to play that’s it and that’s all. I love bands like this and I love seeing shows like this. This took place in a small dirty basement in Grand Rapids, but these bands played like it was a stadium in LA. Love the passion love the punk more shows like this please. This will teach to always keep your ears to the ground for awesome killer happenings in your local area. You have no idea what you will find.

POSITIVE NOISE

THE GREAT REVERSALS

DAMAGES

BURDENS

THE CAGE Mt Vernon Grand rapids

Jan. 11^th 2010

  So hardcore is back in GR! Well… at least it was for this night. This was one of the best shows I have ever seen in GR. Each band ripped the energy was so high, and it felt like a hardcore show. POSITIVE NOISE started the night with a 10 minute set of ripping HC punk. You could just feel the energy from the start it was awesome for sure. Next was the touring band BURDENS… fuck they ripped it up with some heavy fucking hardcore. Great dudes and a great band. I love when you meet a band that is just filled with great people and don’t have to pretend to like them because they rip. I hope I get to play more shows with this band because they rule. Next was the new Michigan band THE GREAT REVERSALS coming from the ashes of PROPHET OF THE DAWN… this band is the new big thing in Michigan. Fuck they played a tight ripping set. I had chills while they played it ruled so hard. Plenty of mosh was had by some, and this band makes you realize why you do this. Next was DAMAGES who played another ripping set of pissed HC punk. This was also the ep release for them and believe me this shit fucking rips. It was recorded by the great Kevin Kitchel. DAMAGES will be the band to put GR HC back on the map if they stick together. I heard the guitar player has cancer and I really hope he pulls through. This show made me want to just play fast and listen to tons of HC punk. These are the kinds of shows we will remember forever. Hardcore rules in GR lets keep it moving forward. This was also at the new space THE CAGE great job Trent the space rules. More shows like this please!

AGENT ORANGE

THE REAL BITTERS

THE AMOEBAS

Billys lounge Grand Rapids

Jan 13^th 2010

  Ok so bar shows fucking suck. That’s the bottom line. Why play in a bar… what’s the point? So a couple pals and I decided we would venture off to this wonderful show. When I first heard about this show I contacted the dude in charge and asked him if he would be into doing it at a real venue. He sadly declined. So said I would put together a flyer since a bar has no idea how to make a flyer at all. So I did and I got on the guest list and went off to the show. So we got a seat in the back and got some good local beers that had a nice price tag on them. So when we sat down we ended up next to a table filled with “once I was a punk” kind of people. You know the drill MISFITS on the speakers bouncing in their seats thinking about old times and how the new kids are lame. These dudes fucking sucked. Fat stupid and no business even talking about punk or hardcore. So I ended up finding a Galaga machine in the back of the bar so I played a game that lasted over an hour so I only heard the first band THE REAL BITTERS. They sounded great, but really in a bar you have no reason to watch the band. All you will see is some fucking moron standing in front holding a beer high in the air pumping his fist. They did sound great one of the best times I have heard them. Next was THE AMEOBAS local young band. I had no idea why they played after THE BITTERS since they are a new band but whatever. They also are the local party band and just did not come off well in a bar. The songs sounded great, but just had no energy at all, but what can you do. They have a new bass player, and they sound much better with him. Next up was the mighty AGENT ORANGE. Well they sounded and looked great. They did not sound or look dated at all. But again the energy was not any place to be found at all. Just old fucking punks out for one night only. All I can really say is I hope I read some drunk driving accidents from last night and some of these old fuckers are put in the grave once and for all. I have to say I am an older punk, but the bottom line I am still punk. I don’t go out once a year and pump my fist to FEAR songs on some shitty jukebox at some dive bar. Grow up and get out we are the new kids get out of our way!

Michigan Fest Review

By Travis Dodge

Wow was this a great day and an amazing atmosphere and an all around awesome way to spend a day. Great music, great people, great food, and most of all great community. It was a great day for myself as well because I had a friend from orange county, california who was there who had never experienced the MI hardcore scene, so it was exciting for me to show everything off and how awesome it was. Just to preface this I am writing it about a month afterward, so if I forget a band or person or food or distro please forgive me. My memory is not that good, but I will do my best to recall the day.

So the bands that day. There were so many great ones its hard to remember the ones I saw and the ones I didn’t. The first one I remember seeing that day was Xtra Vomit. This was the first time I have seen Xtra Vomit with a real drummer instead of a drum machine. Holy shit, was it ever good and strong. Having Brandon as a drummer brought whole other aspects to the music and brought a large amount of intensity that was SO cool. They for sure tore it up. I think Sin Orden was supposed to play but wasn’t able to, which totally sucked, but its alright, no hard feelings. The Great Reversal played next I think. What a great 90’s hardcore sound. Great things to say, just like all the bands that day. Great songs, and super hardcore, super positive. The next one I remember was Bunny Skulls. This may be the first time I have seen Bunny Skulls, although I feel like I have before. Anyway, super short songs. Short Fast and Loud. Perfect for the day. Lots of awesome shit to say, funny guys, and proof that hardcore isn’t about age and youth. Its about always saying hard and playing fast and being pissed. Later playing was Positive Noise, who I am slightly biased with since I live with the guitar player and am awesome friends with the other guys, but this is one of the best sets I have seen them play. Hearing the new material they had out was extra good and I cant wait to hear what they are going to be doing in 2010. Its going to be excellent i’m sure. Also that day Damages played, a band who I feel may be one of the best hardcore bands in MI today, maybe the midwest. I am lucky enough to have heard their new EP since it was recorded at my house and it kills for sure. So their set was extra exciting and very energetic. Loved them very much. Make sure and pick up their new EP whenever it becomes available, it is quite amazing and will be stuck in your head for years. Tiger was also able to play and I haven’t had a chance to see them in a long time, since they played the Ice Pick in Muskegon, but they are still on top of it and keepin’ it super hard and fast and fresh. Their new album, well not new, but latest album, “Blast off for Kicksville” is really good. Get it if you get a chance. Under Anchor closed out the show and played a super energetic set, and also released an awesome 7inch that they played all of. The track “Oil City” stands out for me as the coolest track on their, especially hearing it live. There was tons of people getting all kinds of crazy for their set. So good!!!

The food at the show was a huge plus! And extra good! I believe everything there was either vegan or vegetarian which is awesome for all those out there who choose a healthy lifestyle. There was a great chili that was made, as well as lots of good raw food too. Sock from Positive Noise and Xtra Vomit made this popcorn at the end that was to die for. And Kyle’s chocolate chip cookies were out of control good. Lots of people brought something and lots of people helped cook, which is awesome and huge for something like that to succeed. Huge community involvement.

Another cool thing about the event were the amount of distros that came out. There were so many records for sale, and shirts, and tapes, and CD’s, and stuff that I dont think I had time to make it through everything the way I wanted, which sucks. There were people selling records for very fair prices which is always cool, and I know a few people that got some really good records at some really fair prices. Totally cool.

All in all this day was amazing. Everyone had a really good day and stayed really positive. There was no fighting. Huge thanks goes out to Rorik of Under Anchor and Ryan of Positive Noise for organizing and helping get the whole shindig together. It was a great day.

My review of the Dead Prez show.

By Travis Dodge. 

            I really can’t review this show without talking about the circumstance of it. Myself and a good friend found out there was going to be a free Dead Prez show happening in Lansing that night. Needless to say we were juiced and totally excited. This was at Basement 414, and to be honest, we didn’t get a chance to see the first two bands. From what people were saying they were kinda political garage rock. Which can be cool, although not what I was expecting from the show. Once again, whatever. So we walk down to basement 414, a local basement in lansing below some super trendy dance clubs. This venue was super hipster and swanky and trendy seeming. Which I guess is ok if that’s what your looking for. So we get to the door, me and three other people. So we get to the door and tell the women running we are there for the show, to which she responds “got tickets?” and we are forced to say “no”. She then commences to tell us we cannot get in without a ticket or a generous donation. Basically we were being shaken down for money at the door, to donate to this venue. This was kinda a shitty feeling and not really in going along with the politics and beliefs  that the show had, and that dead prez went along with. But we got in. That’s the most important thing. So the crowd was kinda lame. Mostly a bunch of too cool for school hipster kids who didn’t seem to really be interested in the music. I guess it’s not really my place to judge how people enjoy music. Also there was a huge excess of smoking, which kinda put a damper on the show since Dead Prez is all about living healthy. But whatever, it is what it is.

            But when Dead Prez took the stage the whole night was transformed. Things got amazing, and all my dreams of sweet local shows came true. Basement 414 is a small place, so it made a really nice small intimate setting to see them in. This was maybe the only positive about the venue. There was a small stage, there was crowd interaction, they stuck around and talked to lots of people afterward, it was really quite amazing. The opened up with “Radio Frequency”, and the house was right away set off, hot as hell. They charged through their set playing stuff like “Hip Hop”, “Mind Sex”, “Hell Yea (Pimp the System)”, “W-4″, “They Schools”, “Discipline”, and a huge string of new material. They spoke about community, and about supporting each other and how important it was to be healthy and to take care of each other and support each other. Such an inspiring set. I’m still reeling and walking on air.

Sunday, November 16th, 2009 @ The Pothole; Muskegon Heights, MI

This show was proposed to me by Rorik, the singer of Under Anchor a couple weeks ago, and I was delighted, as were my roommates, to open our doors to five bands on a sunday night. There was an interesting mix of folks from different parts of Michigan at the show, with Deathskin Razors being from the Detroit area, Under Anchor from Mt. Pleasant, Above It All from Muskegon, In The Way from Grand Rapids, and XtraVomit from Grand Rapids/Muskegon. Xtra Vomit played first and it was really fun and we blasted thru 7 songs and talked about them. In The Way was second and it was their first show! They were a 3 piece (guitar, drums, vocals) and will have a bass player soon, because I met him at the show and he said he is learning the songs and it is his first band! That was exciting to me! In The Way played a nice short set with short tough hardcore songs that were fast at times with chunky chug parts that weren’t regurgitated and I felt a genuine presence from them, which I personally hone in on in bands! Bad attitudes, rock star wannabes, or folks that are all about using punk/hc as a stepping stone to bigger better things, or turning it into some kind of band worship scene can really be a turn off to a group that writes good songs. Above It All was from Muskegon, and why have I never heard of this band though we live in the same town?!  I don’t know, but I was excited to connect with other hardcore kids in Muskegon, and they played heavy hardcore with dual guitars, no bass, and covered “Fight For Your Right To Party” by the Beastie Boys. The energy was getting up there and an amp got knocked backwards, so there was a break in their set while the amp was fixed, and everyone was ok, and the show went on, without a hitch, and with lots of laughs! Deathskin Razors varied up between super and somewhat fast to good breakdowns and awesome mid paced parts. Manic vocals and good vibes, out to destroy any kind of geographical rivalry and to play honest hardcore and be down to earth people. Very inspiring to me, and I traded an Xtra Vomit tape for the 7″ but have only listened to it once and was reading while listening to it so I can’t review it yet. Under Anchor was last and they played their tight hardcore with crushing slow parts, melodic guitar and bass work thrown in, and super passionate in your face vocals that prompted bunches of sing alongs, as it usually does when I see them! There was some fighting dance moves but not very asshole like and that was good! Me and some buds were discussing a few days ago our mutual dislike for the kicks and punches when they turn into blows on bystanders, as happened to me when I got punched in the head 2 weeks ago during Damages’ set in Grand Rapids at a house show, and we corrected ourselves from calling it kung-fu, karate, or martial arts, as all of these forms of art are about defense and respect. Ha!  So let’s have some kicks and punches in the middle while there’s a circle pit flowing around, and those who want to stand on the wall can do so without getting elbowed or slammed into! This sort of flow was pretty good at our house last night, and it was a super positive, energetic, full of laughter time!  No drama can overshadow the power of positive, productive punk and community!

Oct. 3^rd 2009

STATE

CULO

RELIGIOUS SS DISORDER

DESPOT

410 Webster Street Grand Rapids Mi

   The first hardcore show at the space that used to be know as the mall.  This show was a ripper for sure. The turnout was not what I expected but nonetheless all the bands killed it for sure. Starting the show was a new band called DESPOT who has Taylor from past bands like JESUS CRISIS and SHATTERED BADGE so you knew you were getting great intense vocals. They played a killer short set with some really cool songs. They kinda had a POSION IDEA thing going on for a little bit. The guitar was more rock n roll but the drums and vocals were total hardcore. Then the bass had some killer leads and fills. This band could really be great if they keep it going. Next was RSSD who had a rough start but still played a solid set once it all got started. CULO was up next and they were in town recording a ripping 7” for PUNKS BEFORE PROFITS RECORDS and man they played an over the top set of hardcore. It was like an explosion of anger when they started glass bottles being broken and shit just getting fucked up all over the place it was fucking nuts. This band got me so pumped to be at a hardcore show it was great. Really this band is hardcore and is what hardcore should be about angry pissed and over the top. STATE took the (kind of) stage area next. I am not sure what is wrong with people but it seems a band like the STATE should be bringing in huge crowds to there shows. I mean this band has been going at it for 30 years and they keep getting better. This time was the tightest I have seen them yet it was crazy. The best part of the set was it was filled with new tunes that nobody ever heard, but still they killed it with every tune. Bands like this is what makes all this worth it. Some bands get back together and just roll with the punches and run through the motions, but with the STATE they feel it they live it this is the real deal. This band will go down in my world as one the greatest bands I have ever seen or dealt with. I think this is the forth time I have booked then in GR and each time is better then the last. Not only the musical side of things but also its about the kinda people they are. You don’t meet many bands at this point checking out new bands and hanging out with kids at the shows talking about hardcore. These days you get a lot of “I’m older I’m better” bullshit attitude. THE STATE is an American hardcore band we can all be proud of and for those that live in Michigan you got one of the best hardcore bands in the history of the music so show your respect.  This entire show was recorded by Matt Poole so check that out in the news section of this site.

SIN ORDEN

DAMAGES

ATTENTION SPAN

LAXA TAXA

SEPT 19^TH 2009

336 HENRY

   If this is the start of how GR shows are going to be from now on then GR hardcore punk is back and that is for sure. This show was a rager. LAXA TAXA from Canada and Michigan opened the show with some dirty HC punk that was neither slow nor fast.  Really cool band. Very solid and I am sure we will be hearing more from this hardcore outfit. One of the coolest things about this band is they seemed generally interested in being at the show. They watched bands they hung out it was pretty rad. After them the mighty ATTENTION SPAN was next. I thing I have to say about GR bands and that’s how they never progress. They just keep playing the same old songs and never really try to make a name for themselves. Maybe its because it’s such a bleak part of the country. Well this does not ring true for ATTENTION SPAN this set was chalk full with new rippers. They never touched the crowd pleasers they just played a ripping set of hardcore punk. They also added a new cover to the mix by a great band called SICK PLEASURE this made my night as it was of one of all time favorite punk songs, and I have only heard one other band cover this song ever. My only compliant is I missed some of the classic A SPAN songs as the set was mostly all new songs (awesome nonetheless). Next was DAMAGES who in my opinion is going to put GR hardcore back on the map. This band is getting so good and the crowd was eating it up. It was really nice to see a good local band getting its due… another great set by DAMAGES. I have no idea where they found that drummer, but man he kills it. Next was the band we all came to see: SIN ORDEN. This is a band that every time you see them you feel like you are a part of history. Hardcore punk that is way over the top. They just came up to play this show no tour no nothing, and they asked to play. Bands like this existing today are the reason why scenes like the one we have in GR can grow. This band brought the rage. We hung out afterwards and the entire night was total hardcore magic. I can’t say enough about this show it was the real deal. If you missed it then you fucked up and that’s the bottom line.