This Is Hardcore Aftershows have a certain appeal to me because I simply can't take an entire day of hardcore. As much as I appreciate what Joe does I'm not entirely sure that festival is for me. So getting a dose of it as I did this evening with my buddies in Noisem was just about perfect. Though I had to peel out early and miss Chokehold I still had an eye opening evening that left me with memories to last a lifetime and reflected the inherent magic that underground music can have on any stage.
Human Animal were the first band to go on and played some tight almost DRI-esque hardcore that provided the perfect sort of intro to the soiree. Fun to listen too and filled with quasi-anthemic moments the dudes in Human Animal were able to put together a set that left me with a smile on my face. Having come all the way from Erie they were very excited to share their music with a new crowd, and it was inspiring to see that they had fans in the venue singing along to every line. That's what I love about hardcore, how even tiny bands can have dedicated followers hundreds of miles from home, and that's just a part of the gig. It's a grassroots majesty that no other genre has.
The next band, Eternal Sleep, were far more aggressive with even occasional touches of grindcore (Or perhaps more accurately groovegrind) touching their sound. Their harsh delivery and wonderful anger made their set a lot of fun to watch, even though they blazed through it in just under twenty minutes. In many ways what they did represented the perfect hardcore set, violent enough to get the crowd going and short enough to never be boring. Eternal Sleep get the fucking job done and have a sense of humility and passion behind their work that makes for music that is a joy to watch unfold in a live setting.
Finally it was time for the band I had come out for, the almighty Noisem. I probably geek out too much over this band considering the number of times I've seen them and how close I am with the band members, but fuck it, Noisem are the real deal. Playing a vicious set that is rife with the almost cinematographic presentation of the band they delivered as they always do. The thing is, when you watch Noisem you get a sense that their star is only rising and that you are witnessing a special moment in time. You see yourself becoming a part of something greater, perhaps that is what Noisem stand for, movement forward into a brighter future, where we run faster, reach out our arms farther until one fine morning... you get hit by a fucking bus because this world is hell.
The point being, this particular Philadelphia jawn in the legendary Voltage Lounge was a pleasure to attend and reflected why I do this in the first place. Beyond this it was an honor to get to see Noisem at the venue that I met them at exactly a year ago today. It felt kind of poetic that we could cap off a year of misadventures with a night like this one. Toss in the hardcore magic brought in by Human Animal and Eternal Sleep and you realize why I'm so freaked out about this type of music in the first place.
Find the bands on Facebook!
Human Animal: https://www.facebook.com/humananimal814?fref=ts
Eternal Sleep: https://www.facebook.com/eternalsleephc?fref=ts
Noisem: https://www.facebook.com/NoisemBaltimore
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