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Kinetic Oribtal Strike photo by Razorblades & Aspirin
While the newsletter has been quiet over the past couple of months, it’s been a very busy summer for me. I’ve logged several thousand highway miles traveling up and down the east coast playing and attending shows. In fact, it’s only in the past day or two that things have calmed down for me. After the Scarecrow / Vidro tour ended on August 12 I stayed out on the road to catch a few dates of Appendix’s US tour, then I had two nights in my bed before Scarecrow was once again on the road playing a gig with Tozcos and Violencia in Charlotte. Then after that I hit the Sheer Mag gig in Durham this past Monday and drove up to Richmond for the Enzyme gig on Tuesday. When I woke up on Wednesday, my body was screaming “STOP!” Thankfully September looks quieter on the gig front. I’m looking forward to spending lots of time with the turntable spinning and my dog Patti sitting on my lap.
Since my mind is still in gig mode rather than record mode, I thought I’d use this staff pick to tell you about a few of my favorite bands I saw this summer. I saw a lot of incredible sets this summer, so if I don’t mention your / your favorite band, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it… in fact, I’d say I’ve enjoyed every set I saw this summer. However, here are the ones I hold in particularly high regard:
Phantom I didn’t have time to give Phantom’s demo tape a close listen before I embarked on my crazy summer of gigging, but we had packed up so many copies in your orders that I knew I should pay attention. They were the first band on the after-show on night 1 of Something to Talk About, which is a great time slot… the crowd was warmed up, but not yet exhausted. Phantom slayed that night, an explosion of unhinged energy with insane drumming. They were the first band of the day at Another Lost Weekend and while they sounded great, the crowd didn’t quite match their energy. However, when I they played at Cousin Danny’s with Scarecrow and Vidro, they were once again blazing. Phantom is right up my alley, musically dense and adventurous hardcore punk with inhuman tempos.
Kinetic Orbital Strike I knew going in that KOS was going to be great, but I wasn’t prepared for how thoroughly they leveled everything the two times I saw them. We know from their demo and their newly released 7” that KOS’s songs are lethal, but they clearly put a great deal of thought into their live show’s sound and presentation. In DC, Chris played out of a full stack that could peel the paint off the walls, and I’m pretty sure he played out of three speaker cabinets in Richmond the other night. Trish’s bass tone is also godly, so loud and full and furious. Other bands might try to sound like Disclose and Framtid, but experiencing KOS live feels like Disclose and Framtid have colonized your brain and taken it over from the inside. The one-two punch of Destruct and KOS in Richmond the other night was one of the most explosive pairings I have witnessed in my 20+ years going to gigs.
Appendix I went into Appendix with zero expectations… we all know things can go either way with bands from 80s. However, when they hit their first note at the Richmond gig, I was sold. These old guys scored zero points for style, wearing shorts and New York City t-shirts from Chinatown while they guzzled beer, ripped cigs, and laid down note-perfect renditions of the early catalog. I love this band, and the two sets I saw left huge smiles on my face.
Tozcos This was my first time seeing Tozcos, and they did not disappoint! It’s been five long years since their last record, Sueños Deceptivos, but the band’s m.o. sounds the same as ever… blistering hardcore punk that is as catchy as it is intense, drawing as much from classic punk as it does ripping hardcore. I love all the big guitar hooks, the walking bass lines, the explosive drumming, and the singer’s commanding vocals and stage presence. They mentioned they have a new album coming out in September, and I can’t wait to hear it.
Vidro I gotta give a HUGE shout-out to Scarecrow’s tour buddies in Vidro, whom we got to see annihilate every night. We were all blown away when we played with Vidro in Hamburg last summer, and in the flurry of activity leading up to tour I didn’t have time to build anticipation for seeing them again. However, as soon as they hit the first note at our first gig in Philly I was just like, “oh yeah… this band fucking brings it.” Vidro is an explosive ball of energy, and the members’ constant pogoing makes it seem like they’re riding the waves of pummeling sound emanating from their instruments. It seems like not too many people had heard them before they played, but every night there was a huge line at the merch table full of freshly blown away new fans.
Cicada The Richmond stop on the Scarecrow / Vidro tour featured Invertebrates and Cicada in the opening slots… if there was an award for the gig with the highest average Beats Per Minute this summer, this would have gotten it. Cicada’s sound was loose and explosive, with an unhinged energy that made me think of Koro, Deep Wound, or the most furious early 80s Italian hardcore. I am eagerly anticipating the 3-song tape they said is coming soon. And I’ll also give a quick shout-out to Hominid, who played our DC show share a guitarist with Cicada. Their vibe was similarly gnarly… they played about 5 minutes of explosive hardcore that reminded me of Siege and ended with a Negative Approach cover.
Snarling Dogs Snarling Dogs played our Pittsburgh show, and when I saw the band included Tom and Scud from innumerable great Pittsburgh bands of the past decade or two, I knew they would be good. I was not wrong. All their projects have a different vibe, and Snarling Dogs brings a little rock and roll into the mix, fast and furious but with catchy, pub rock-inspired guitar flourishes. Speaking of which…
Puffer Montreal’s Puffer blew me away at Something To Talk About. I had heard their recordings, but seeing them live was something different altogether. They write great songs, which comes across on record (“Sister Marie,” from their latest 7” on Roach Leg, is one of my favorite songs of 2023), but the wildness of the guitarist’s style gets muted by their lo-fi recordings. My eyes were fixated on his playing for their entire set. I wish I could rewind my brain and watch it again right now.
Alienator Alienator was one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing this summer, and they delivered both times I caught them. The members’ physical presence is intimidating. I’m pretty sure the non-drumming members are all well over six feet tall, all of them with shaved heads, big muscles, and tons of tattoos… it’s like someone beamed in 4 copies of Al Barile circa 1982 and made them start a band together. The sound is just as burly as the visuals too, and watching them felt like being crushed by a bulldozer.
Personal Damage Personal Damage is one of my favorite bands of the past several years, and I finally got to see them live at Another Lost Weekend. It’s tough for a 3-piece hardcore band to bring the same energy as groups with an untethered frontperson, but Personal Damage leveled the place. Live, they were even faster and meaner than on their records, blasting through their short but catchy songs one right after the other, nailing the manic vocal trade-offs that are such a big part of their sound. This was Personal Damage’s first appearance on the east coast and I think many people didn’t know about them, but after their set everyone was buzzing about how great they were.
Public Acid I’ve seen many Public Acid sets over the years—including a few this summer—but I can’t go without mentioning their set with Appendix in Richmond last week. Heavy on new material from their upcoming 12”, the band sounded as vital and explosive as ever, and the new tracks’ metallic edge felt fresh and exciting. I hope I get to see more sets that lean on this new material in the coming months.
Damn, this is already long as hell, but there are still so many great bands I didn’t mention… Chainsaw, Laughing Corpse, Self Checkout… and of course impressive sets from veterans like Electric Chair and Warthog. If you didn’t see some of these great bands this summer, you fucked up!