Chuck Schuldiner Project

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Homewrecker, Modern Pain, Rock Bottom, Ill Blood and Bandit at Black Tie in Dover


Another night, another show, believe it or not I'm going to shows three nights in a row this week. Now, a close friend of mine had always dreamed of playing a skate park, and I wish she were here to see this particular magical evening. I missed Scripted Youth unfortunately, but still got to catch five tight bands and they all left me smiling. These are the nights that define hardcore and showed me how loving and beautiful this community is. We are the kings of the scene, and these are the nights when we survey our kingdom.

Bandit were the first band I saw, yes I saw them last night,but fuck you, this is my blog. As I've said before, every time I see them I'm struck by how tight they are. Bandit understand how to rip apart a stage and entertain a crowd. The highlight of todays set came when the bands frontman, the ever seductive Jack Mcbride threw his guitar a good ten feet in the air and then caught it before finishing up the set. The raw energy these guys have and the sense of fun that comes through when they play ensures that they never get old. Bandit are simply a pleasure to watch, powerviolence masters for a new generation.

Ill Blood were up next and they certainly brought the hardcore madness to the house. Here was when the fans started to go crazy, hardcore dancing tearing up the place, although I am proud to report that the venue was not damaged. As a whole though, these guys were pretty tight and they managed to really get me off. The fact that they were on their first tour (And all the way from Michigan at that) was cool to see. It's always encouraging when rough and ready young bands like these manage to tear a room apart. Ill Blood will cut your throat, and if they have to they will come all the way from Michigan to do it right.

Up next was Rock Bottom a band who really get how to decimate an audience. I actually got to sit down for some of their set and the entire time I was in awe by how much the audience seemed to get involved. Essentially local legends at this point fans were requesting songs and blasting into the mic. They were a highlight of the show, simply because its always fun to see a local tearing it up with their friends. I definitely want to see this band again because they have a great sense of their own humanity and it proves the beauty of hardcore in a way that is simple and effective. Their Cro Mags cover in particular put a smile on my face and won them a special place in my heart.

The penultimate band was Modern Pain, and they tore the roof off. Taking themselves extremely seriously (some would say too seriously) they unleashed a hardcore armageddon that didn't stop until the amps were turned off. With a set that culminated in the singer jumping off an amp and throwing a mic stand across the room, I got the sense that these guys would die for hardcore. They turned the crowd into a veritable hell of slam dancing bodies, flying across the room as they became beholden to the righteous grooves of this music. Their glorious and brutal release is the kind of thing that we all can take solace in.

Finally we had Homewrecker who were the highlight of the night for me, not just because they were the most metal band there. When they started up and used their thrash inspired Slayeresque grooves to get the pit going my hair started flying all over. This is a hardcore band who are metal enough that you can windmill to them all the live-long day. Homewrecker will tear your face off with righteous and pummeling anger that seems to be drawn from the darkest crypts and lead us to a beautiful triumphant dawn. This is ultimately what our liberation will sound like, an iconoclastic band who break whatever rules they don't like.

At the end of the day, I'm sitting in my kitchen writing this with sore feet and the knowledge I'm going to be a hundred miles away tomorrow night. These are the things that keep us going, a love for the music that we all identify with and know to be good, right and salutary. After this I'll be able to chill out and sleep, but as for now I'll try to find some last good reflection for you... I got nothing... Except for maybe this, if we all sought to embrace these kinds of events and fall in love once again with the magic of hardcore, perhaps the world would be a better place.


Find the bands on Facebook!

Bandit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bandit/598271890207961

Ill Blood: https://www.facebook.com/illbloodmi

Rock Bottom: https://www.facebook.com/rockbottomhc

Modern Pain: https://www.facebook.com/modernxpain

Homewrecker: https://www.facebook.com/HomewreckerOH

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