Good weekend
This past weekend was Hellfest. Good times, my friends, good times. Although I was upset they moved Hellfest away from home(Syracuse) this year, I decided I'd still go, because, come on, you CANNOT say that this years line up wasnt great. It just sucked driving 4 hours to New Jersey, as opposed to driving 5 minutes to the fairgrounds here in good ole' Syracuse. Anyway, me and a friend, and his parents went down to New Jersey on Thursday night to get in the hotel and everything. Now people, I'm telling you this as a friend: be forewarned. If you are ever in Elizabeth, New Jersey...do not, and I mean DO NOT stay at the Econolodge...I dont care how low their prices are, you dont want to stay there. We reserved two rooms, one for me and my friend, and one for his parents. We called the day before and why said we'd only have one room. When we got there, they said they didnt have our reservation. WTF? We eventually got it sorted out, and they told us, and I quote, "tonight you will have one room with two beds, tomorrow, you may have only one bed". What the hell is that?? And apparently it wasnt only us...they were screwing up EVERYONE's reservations. Whatever.
So, now onto the actual Hellfest. As I said, I was upset about the fest being away from home, but I will give the promoters this...the venue was actually not that bad. It was freakin huge. Four soccer fields, two of which held stages, and the other two were for merch, like, three different skate parks, a paintball arena, basketball courts, which housed another stage, and a video arcade. This place was insane.
Anyway, performances to note:
As I Lay Dying~ was amazing, as usual. The music was intense and the crowd was really into it. For the second time seeing them, I lost my glasses again. Thankfully a nice girl helped me find them, and much to my amazement, they weren't even that damaged. Still wearable.
Shadows Fall~ this was my first time seeing them, and it was great. "Thoughts Without Words" was insane, and they even played some stuff off of the Of One Blood record. Brian's dreads are even more impressive in person, lol.
Evergreen Terrace~ right up against the stage for this one. Bad idea, lol. The kids went crazy, stage dives all over the place. Smashed my elbow on the stage...bled a bit, but nothing bad. And I think its appropriate to note that they closed with "Dear Live Journal", lol.
Every Time I Die~ always amazing. This band is just one of those bands that always puts on a good show...even if they suck, they put on a good show. "Ebolarama" was sick...probably one of the biggest pits for that song.
E. Town Concrete~ one of the more unique bands on the fest, with their blend of rap/hip hop and hardcore. I had my doubts when I first heard about them, but after I bought the cd a few months ago, those doubts went away. This band blows me away, and they were absolutely amazing live. The singer Anthony Martini was just chillin during the fest, he was a cool guy. They played "Battle Lines", which was probably my favorite song of their set. Insane.
Underoath~ great great band. saw them at Hellfest last year, but didnt really know enough of their stuff to appreciate it. this year was different. they put on a really great show and everyone was really into it. they played some old stuff, and some stuff off the new record. one of my favorite parts of their performance wasnt even the music, but what they had to say. generally it was something like this "i heard a lot of hardcore bands talking today about how hardcore means family, and unity, but what I think, is hardcore is becoming a bunch of little cliques, where if you dont listen to a certain style you're not cool, and that needs to stop, no matter what kind of music you listen to, because thats a family" I just really agree with that, I thought it was a strong statement, and a bold one, to say in front of thousands of kids that probably disagreed with them.
Bane~ as always, Bane put on one hell of a fucking show. they're such a great band and deserve all the respect and admiration that their fans have for them. during their set, Bane let this band, FC5, from Japan play two songs, since they couldnt get on Hellfest. They were amazing. Probably the coolest part of the performance was when one of the FC5 guys started the first line from "Can We Start Again" in Japanese, and then Bane kicked it back in. My god it was amazing.
The Ataris~ i was hoping that this performance would be better than the last time i saw them. no such luck. are the ataris bad live or do i just have bad luck. this time, the guitarists amp or something messed up. then Kris' guitar messed up. Eventually he got so pissed he just launched his guitar behind the drum set and went crazy. And they only played half their set cuz their equipment messed up. Well, at least I got a guitar pick and an autograph from Kris.
Throwdown~ this is just a good band. i mean, they dont get much better than throwdown. their heaviness is intense, and the singers voice is just so on for hardcore. they're so tight live too, they sound just like they do on the album. im sure that i would have appreciated throwdown much more last year, when I was still edge, but people change, and thats just not for me anymore, however i have so much respect for those that still hold straight edge in their hearts. its tough to stand in the face of adversity and they do it every day of their lives and they stay strong.
Strike Anywhere~ i heard this band right after the hellfest bands were announced. i saw their name and decided to check them out. i became an instant fan, and knew that i would have to check them out at hellfest. they put on one hell of a show and are a bunch of great guys. they have great political views, which is always a plus.
The Misfits~ it was just amazing to feel like a part of history. jerry of the misfits, dez of black flag, and marky fucking ramone all on one stage. when marky ramone got on stage, he started a chant of "hey,ho,lets go"...it was crazy.
Roses are Red~ i saw these guys a few months back when they were known as Nobody Cares. then they signed to trustkill and changed their name. anyway, at hellfest, they put on one hell of show, much better than i remember fromt he last time. they just had so much energy, and they seemed to have a new heaviness to them. it was awesome.
Andrew WK~ didnt think he was going to get as crazy a reaction as he did. but he got the biggest pit of the day, possibly even of the whole fest. he just put on a good show. there were easily 100+ kids on stage with him. insanity. when its time to party we will party hard.
Killswitch Engage~ saturday's headliner. possibly the best performance of the whole fest. they just have this unbelieveable stage presence, their music is amazing, and they're just great. howard, the singer was swinging the mic on the first song and clocked adam, the guitarist right in the face. busted him wide open right above his left eye, and he was bleedin like friggin hell. but he still played. thats hardcore. they threw a cake off stage cuz it was one of the members birthday, and they offered 5 bucks to whoever would lick adams wound. someone licked it, but adam only had 2 bucks. lol. very very good band. i would highly suggest if you ever have the opportunity to see them, do it. i cant wait til i get another chance.
Walls of Jericho~ this was their best performance that ive ever seen. they had crazy energy, and candace was just kicking ass. she's so hot, but she would kick the shit out of me. lol. i was glad they played "a little piece of me"...thats like a fucking mosh anthem. and of course they closed the set with "playing soldier again".
Most Precious Blood~ they played a great set. such a good band. they closed with an earth crisis song, which is always cool.
i think thats about it for the bands that i felt were necessary to talk about. hellfest was amazing, as simple as that. to anyone who couldnt make it, im sorry, but hey, theres always the dvd next year, and of course hellfest it self next year. we'll see if it stays in jersey or if it comes back home to syracuse, where it belongs.
So, now onto the actual Hellfest. As I said, I was upset about the fest being away from home, but I will give the promoters this...the venue was actually not that bad. It was freakin huge. Four soccer fields, two of which held stages, and the other two were for merch, like, three different skate parks, a paintball arena, basketball courts, which housed another stage, and a video arcade. This place was insane.
Anyway, performances to note:
As I Lay Dying~ was amazing, as usual. The music was intense and the crowd was really into it. For the second time seeing them, I lost my glasses again. Thankfully a nice girl helped me find them, and much to my amazement, they weren't even that damaged. Still wearable.
Shadows Fall~ this was my first time seeing them, and it was great. "Thoughts Without Words" was insane, and they even played some stuff off of the Of One Blood record. Brian's dreads are even more impressive in person, lol.
Evergreen Terrace~ right up against the stage for this one. Bad idea, lol. The kids went crazy, stage dives all over the place. Smashed my elbow on the stage...bled a bit, but nothing bad. And I think its appropriate to note that they closed with "Dear Live Journal", lol.
Every Time I Die~ always amazing. This band is just one of those bands that always puts on a good show...even if they suck, they put on a good show. "Ebolarama" was sick...probably one of the biggest pits for that song.
E. Town Concrete~ one of the more unique bands on the fest, with their blend of rap/hip hop and hardcore. I had my doubts when I first heard about them, but after I bought the cd a few months ago, those doubts went away. This band blows me away, and they were absolutely amazing live. The singer Anthony Martini was just chillin during the fest, he was a cool guy. They played "Battle Lines", which was probably my favorite song of their set. Insane.
Underoath~ great great band. saw them at Hellfest last year, but didnt really know enough of their stuff to appreciate it. this year was different. they put on a really great show and everyone was really into it. they played some old stuff, and some stuff off the new record. one of my favorite parts of their performance wasnt even the music, but what they had to say. generally it was something like this "i heard a lot of hardcore bands talking today about how hardcore means family, and unity, but what I think, is hardcore is becoming a bunch of little cliques, where if you dont listen to a certain style you're not cool, and that needs to stop, no matter what kind of music you listen to, because thats a family" I just really agree with that, I thought it was a strong statement, and a bold one, to say in front of thousands of kids that probably disagreed with them.
Bane~ as always, Bane put on one hell of a fucking show. they're such a great band and deserve all the respect and admiration that their fans have for them. during their set, Bane let this band, FC5, from Japan play two songs, since they couldnt get on Hellfest. They were amazing. Probably the coolest part of the performance was when one of the FC5 guys started the first line from "Can We Start Again" in Japanese, and then Bane kicked it back in. My god it was amazing.
The Ataris~ i was hoping that this performance would be better than the last time i saw them. no such luck. are the ataris bad live or do i just have bad luck. this time, the guitarists amp or something messed up. then Kris' guitar messed up. Eventually he got so pissed he just launched his guitar behind the drum set and went crazy. And they only played half their set cuz their equipment messed up. Well, at least I got a guitar pick and an autograph from Kris.
Throwdown~ this is just a good band. i mean, they dont get much better than throwdown. their heaviness is intense, and the singers voice is just so on for hardcore. they're so tight live too, they sound just like they do on the album. im sure that i would have appreciated throwdown much more last year, when I was still edge, but people change, and thats just not for me anymore, however i have so much respect for those that still hold straight edge in their hearts. its tough to stand in the face of adversity and they do it every day of their lives and they stay strong.
Strike Anywhere~ i heard this band right after the hellfest bands were announced. i saw their name and decided to check them out. i became an instant fan, and knew that i would have to check them out at hellfest. they put on one hell of a show and are a bunch of great guys. they have great political views, which is always a plus.
The Misfits~ it was just amazing to feel like a part of history. jerry of the misfits, dez of black flag, and marky fucking ramone all on one stage. when marky ramone got on stage, he started a chant of "hey,ho,lets go"...it was crazy.
Roses are Red~ i saw these guys a few months back when they were known as Nobody Cares. then they signed to trustkill and changed their name. anyway, at hellfest, they put on one hell of show, much better than i remember fromt he last time. they just had so much energy, and they seemed to have a new heaviness to them. it was awesome.
Andrew WK~ didnt think he was going to get as crazy a reaction as he did. but he got the biggest pit of the day, possibly even of the whole fest. he just put on a good show. there were easily 100+ kids on stage with him. insanity. when its time to party we will party hard.
Killswitch Engage~ saturday's headliner. possibly the best performance of the whole fest. they just have this unbelieveable stage presence, their music is amazing, and they're just great. howard, the singer was swinging the mic on the first song and clocked adam, the guitarist right in the face. busted him wide open right above his left eye, and he was bleedin like friggin hell. but he still played. thats hardcore. they threw a cake off stage cuz it was one of the members birthday, and they offered 5 bucks to whoever would lick adams wound. someone licked it, but adam only had 2 bucks. lol. very very good band. i would highly suggest if you ever have the opportunity to see them, do it. i cant wait til i get another chance.
Walls of Jericho~ this was their best performance that ive ever seen. they had crazy energy, and candace was just kicking ass. she's so hot, but she would kick the shit out of me. lol. i was glad they played "a little piece of me"...thats like a fucking mosh anthem. and of course they closed the set with "playing soldier again".
Most Precious Blood~ they played a great set. such a good band. they closed with an earth crisis song, which is always cool.
i think thats about it for the bands that i felt were necessary to talk about. hellfest was amazing, as simple as that. to anyone who couldnt make it, im sorry, but hey, theres always the dvd next year, and of course hellfest it self next year. we'll see if it stays in jersey or if it comes back home to syracuse, where it belongs.