Although I'd always want to say that every show we got to have this year was awesome, there were definitely a few that really stood out. Before I get into this, I want to thank all the promoters, bands, and everybody who's come out to all our shows for really making it happen this year. HAILS!!
that said, here are my 10 favorite shows we did this year:
1) AGE / HELLSHOCK / KAKKA HATA 77 / ACID REFLUX - This show was exactly why we have bands play. Super late. Super drunk. Super fucking party. Over 100 kids showed up after the Knitting Factory gig to see a show that started at 2 in the morning! Crazy night for fucker!
2) WORMROT / MUTANT SUPREMACY / DEFEATIST / CURANDERA / PSYCHIC LIMB - Holy shit this was amazing. The last show of WORMROT'S first US tour and they made it count. Thanks a ton to Brooklyn Vegan and 1000 Knives for making this happen!
3) INNUMERABLE FORMS / MAMMOTH GRINDER / NAUGHTY GIRLS - there's a reason these guys are coming back this year. Unbelievable brutality. Pure hatred condensed into pummeling riffs.
4) TRASH TALK / LA DISPUTE / CEREBRAL BALLZY / PSYCHIC LIMB - this was one of our very first shows, and boy did we kick it off with a BANG! 300 kids showed up out of nowhere and took over. Trash Talk put on one of the most punishing live sets in modern hardcore, and they did not disappoint. Also, this was the first time I got to witness the fury of Psychic Limb, and I have not forgotten.
5) AUSTIN LUCAS / DAMIEN SUOMI - I've known Austin for a number of years, but primarily as the guitar player in the international crust powerhouse GUIDED CRADLE. How could I have known that he also writes and plays the most heartbreaking, most powerful country & folk music I've heard in a decade? This guy blew me away and to this moment I listen to his newest album "Somebody Loves You" daily.
6) THE BODY / ATAKKE / BAD DREAM / CURANDERA - holy fucking noise. What can you say about duo who is louder than EVERY OTHER BAND YOU'VE EVER HEARD. The Body destroyed me. And they're coming back in April with WHITE HORSE and UNEARTHLY TRANCE. Get stoked!
7) SHITSTORM / POLLUTION / CURANDERA / DIVORCE MONEY - Who could argue with members of TORCHE and CAPSULE playing amazing grind? This band destroyed for a blistering 15 minute set. I could have watched them all day. Not to diminish POLLUTION, who put out one of the best LPs of the year, and killed it on our stage 4 times this year.
8) WOLVSERPENT / PHARAOH / ARCHON - soul crushing funeral doom. Cinematic. Operatic. Despair-inducing. Boise's WOLVSERPENT was another amazing surprise. Their dark, haunting 30 minute eponymous opus stayed with me for weeks.
9) EASY ACTION / PREGNANT / THE MEN - dirty. but in just the right way. That's the only way to describe Detroit's EASY ACTION . They rocked out as hard as i've ever seen anyone, and they did it as drunk as i've seen anyone. what a blowout.
10) BEER & CABLE / HELLBENT HOOKER / BORN LOOSE / UNSCATHED - Beer & Cable have been without a doubt my favorite punk band in NYC for some time. Their irreverent, silly, and stop-on-a-dime hardcore is so much fun you can't contain yourself. Also T-Bone had his dick out the entire HELLBENT HOOKER set. So there are no pictures. Just imagine that for yourself.
