As you might be able to figure out, I don't post here much anymore. I post slightly more at cvltnation (but not nearly enough to make Sean and Meg happy...) but that's a different thing. One of the main reasons for my lack of posting is sheer fucking laziness. Yeah, pretty much that's it. It takes a fuck ton of work to keep this shit updated and I got lazy about it apparently. The other main reason I don't post as much as I used to is because my fucking camera broke and it's gonna cost like $180 min to fix that shit. That's a huge bummer for me because I really like shooting pics and $180 isn't exactly piss change (yeah this is a real thing. Some places in Europe those bastards actually make you pay like 30 cents to take a fucking leak. Pretty weak huh?). Either way, it gives me a lot less shit to share with the internets. In lieu of my posting photos, just go check out the work of dudes like Fred and Samantha and co over at Brooklyn Vegan. They're at pretty much all the shows I'm at anyways.
However, now that I've apologized and begged on bendedfuckingknee for your collective forgiveness, I'm going to at least make some minimal effort to do a rundown of Maryland Death Fest 2011. Since I don't believe in fucking Twatter or whatnot I'm going to put all my useless blurbs here. Because of dead camera syndrome, in order to remember what the hell I had seen, I relied on a little notebook thingy in which I hand wrote my random retard thoughts. Now y'all gotta deal with them. I'll do 3 a day until they run out or something. Maybe some longer posts for bands that struck my fancy.
Here we goes... (NOTE: ALL PICTURES BLATANTLY AND UNREPENTANTLY STOLEN FROM BROOKLYNVEGAN.COM THANKS FRED)
Day 1:
Noisear:
Not being from New Mexico is rad because it means I'll never have to be as gnarly or fucked up as these dudes just to survive
Miasmal:
Ask a Swede "Who's better? Dismember, Anti-Cimex, or Candlemass?" If they're in this band they'll answer, "Yes." Also, the singer looks like my friend Barney John.
Flesh Parade:
If Mardi Gras had a retarded grindcore party with cockshaped pool noodles & crusties it'd be kinda like this, but prolly less fun. They're like the Weedeater of Grindcore.
EDIT: YOU PLAY FOR WAY TOO FUCKING LONG.
Extortion:
Your pleasant next door neighbors hardcore band. The one whose mom bakes rad cookies.
Buzzov*en:
Yup, still Buzzov*en. Thank fucking god.
Tragedy:
Seeing Tragedy is kinda hard to sum up in one sentence. Although when they played Conflicting Ideas I guess I could sum that up with, "NNNNNNGGGGGGHHHHH FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU *zblut* Ohhhhhhh...... mmmm......."
Cathedral:
You see that shirt? Yeah, that just about says it all. Amazing.
Here's a quick post. This is Tragedy (Ex-His Hero is Gone, Deathreat, Uranus, etc.) playing live in Brooklyn. In this video you can see myself, Jack and Brendan towards the front. I think there's one part where I get hit in the head by a stage diver.
Anyhow, Tragedy is great. They've spawned a ton of clones (as did HHIG)...yet I also think it's because they're a rip-off of Judgement, Muga, and all those other Burning Spirit bands.
Last Sunday was apparently the last show ever at Studio B in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Now, as an opening line, this may sound all kinds of dramatic and sad and shit but really, who gives a fuck. Studio B was(/is still? Who knows, this place has been "closing" for over a year now.) usually some shit üntzüntzdiscodancepartyfunkytime club that usually attracts the santorum of Brooklyn (read: coked out Royal Oak rejects and thickneck fake tan Jaegerbombs dudes) that featured the occasional rock/punk show. That being said, due to it's status as like Dubstep discodanceland, they have a fucking annihilator of a sound system featuring like a fucking wall of massive subs. Shit is epic. Anyways, to close they doors I guess they figured they'd go out on the crustiest note they could muster and managed to snag Tragedy for one US date before they head off to Europe for their summer tour.
When I first heard that Tragedy was coming to town I was totally fucking stoked. They are the Amebix of this decade and easily one of the best bands around. Then I remembered the kinda meh last Tragedy show I saw (my first time seeing them...) at the Knit last year some time and was a little hesitant. I mean this show was the first of the tour, that one was one of the last. Either way I was gonna fucking be there, especially with Morne and Brain Killer playing.
I was not let down. At fucking all. Not even a little. Brain Killer, Brainhandle, and especially Morne and Tragedy turned it in to a slaughterhouse. Brain Killer and Brain Handle are both definitely acts to catch. In fact, I'd say that BK at 538 Johnson was easily one of the best house shows I've seen in ages. Morne was way more monstrous/epic/heavy/etcetcetc than I was imagining. Actually kind of reminded me of Amebix in a few ways (you know, more than just the obvious influence on their songs). They had a great balance between slow, doomy parts, and crusty hardcore parts. The sound was excellent and they sounded like the end of the world live. Dual vox/dual guitars approach really laid down the weight.
If you're paying attention, you'll notice that I haven't really mentioned blacklisted. There's a reason for that. That reason is because brocore is fucking lame. Especially when it brings out the thickneck throwdown crew to an otherwise friendly affair. If I had to write a letter it'd prolly look something like this:
"Dear Blacklisted, while your music isn't the worst thing I've ever heard, in fact it occasionally borders on the enjoyable, your fanbase of collarwearing khaki short roundhousing kids, thickneck pound-the-shit-out-of-little-kids-for-no-reason linebackers, and awkward Boston post mall-punks isn't exactly the most enjoyable. Keep up the good work... back in Boston.
Love and Cheek Kisses, Crank"
Anyways, it all came down to Tragedy at the end of the night. They did not disappoint. Lemme just put it this way. I usually follow the "No crowd-surfing/stage-diving for kids over 175lbs" rule pretty fucking strictly. It definitely makes the show more enjoyable for the majority. For Tragedy, I smashed that rule to fucking pieces for the first time in years. I definitely heard "Not Fucking Fodder", "Call to Arms", "The Day After", and "The Ending Fight". They also played one, possibly 2 new songs as well. Could this mean a new album? Who knows?! Shit dude, for a bunch of semi-drunk dudes they were tighter than Nancy Reagan's asshole and heavier than a 10 ton weight. EURO-FRIENDS: GO SEE TRAGEDY.
Here's some shots from the show. Sorry I don't have more of the FSU dudes trying to bludgeon my friend Matt's Gold lame clad ass. Oh yeah, and sorry I don't have better pics of Tragedy, I was busy losing my shit and going buckwild.
Woke up this morning with an insatiable lust for crust. Tragedy was my fix. I posted the S/T a bunch of months ago so here's the follow-ups. Vengeance and Nerve Damage both bring out two totally different sides of the band. Vengeance is Tragedy at their best (in my opinion). I mean seriously, these dudes are the Nausea/Aus Rotten/Amebix/Discharge of the 00's. Members of basically every amazing crust band of the last 20 years have passed through their ranks or the ranks of their members other/previous bands. For fucks sake, they've even gone on to spawn other "genres" of crust based on whether or not a band sounds like them (see yesterday's posts...). Nerve Damage is definitely an older, bitterer band but one still fucking seething with energy. Todd's voice is definitely gnarlier and grittier and the band throws out such a vibe of relentless disgust and power that you'll have trouble sleeping at night. Get both, start with Vengeance. Most appropriately named record of all time.
The great thing about crust is that, like your disgusting psoriasis, it can pop up anywhere, anytime and often flourishes in nice little pockets. Texas, Portland, England in the 80's, etc. Sometimes, a band is able to connect a few of these pockets. Tragedy is one of these bands and are pretty fucking stellar when it comes to making amazing hardcore. Coming out of the south and currently living in Portland, their breed of crusty/d-beaty/hardcore lays down all the best parts of the individuals that make up the band. His Hero is Gone, Warcry, Deaththreat, From Ashes Rise, etc. It's like a fucking crustpunk supergroup. The self titled album says it all.
