TERROR, DBD, TAKE OFFENSE, OVERPAIN - TYS Exclusive Hardcore Live Report

21/04/2012, KYTTARO CLUB, ATHENS

Going to a concert like that is always gonna be a good experience. Somehow you know it before you even go there. You expect the best and you know you are gonna get the best. When two of the most acknowledged hardcore bands of the last decade are performing there is no room left for expecting anything less. So, Saturday night we grab our good mood and some extra energy and we head up to Kyttaro Club, Athens. Terror and Death Before Dishonor are the major acts but before them, the locals Overpain, 20 Bulls Each from Ireland and the promising band from California Take Offense were going to start the show and warm us up. Surprisingly we found out that 20 Bulls Each cancelled their performance so there were four bands left to enjoy.

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The show started at about 21.00 with Overpain presenting their hardcore/metalcore tracks at the best way possible. Full of beatdowns and with an admirable sound they gain the applause of the people that where at the venue at this time. And here is the disappointing part. Though the concert was about to start at 21.00 (and that is what happened), at the time that it started there where less than 30 people inside the venue. Definitely something that can negatively affect a young band that tries to present its work in a venue that is expected to be packed.

Overpain - SHC in action

Anyway, things started gradually warming up and the venue was half-full when Take Offense went on stage. Full of energy and with a very talkative frontman, that didn’t stop for a second jumping around; they made the first mosh-pit appear. They played songs from their previous works ("Walks Of Life", "Happiness Under Chains", "What Goes Around", "No Tomorrow") and some songs from their new EP ("T.O. Zone", "My Sacrifice", "Serving Our Time"). Their 30 min performance really seemed to be the best intro possible for Death Before Dishonor who were following.

Take Offense breaking shit up

One of the most intense touring hardcore bands with hundreds of shows every year took the stage and the audience started to cheer up even more. Transforming the venue into a huge party place seemed to be a piece of cake for Death Before Dishonor. With energy deriving from every part of the stage and with good interaction with the crowd it seemed that these guys really enjoyed their time there. I guess, the fact that the crowd was expressing it’s admire for DB4D in the most passionate way (mosh-pitting all the time and singing along almost every song the band played) helped them to give a great show. They equally represented their three last releases with songs like "Born From Misery", "Boys In Blue", "Remember", "Never Again", "Friends Family Forever" and "Peace & Quiet" but the highlight of their performance was the time they played their famous cover "Boston Belongs To Me", and I think that there is no reason to explain why. I would be extra pleased if they were staying on stage for at least 10 more minutes since the 30 minutes of their performance was really not enough.

Death Before Dishonor - FFF realtalk

 Terror were about to appear on the stage at a few minutes and there was still much energy left. First song, “One with the Underdogs”, and after that we had no reason to doubt or wonder about what was going to follow. Total chaos. A crowd in ecstasy and a band that was proving once again why they are one of the best hardcore acts today. Scott Vogel is a very charismatic vocalist and frontman and has the best way to communicate it. He entered the pit, he shared the mic with the fans, he was jumping around all the time, he was motivating everyone to stage-dive (he even suggested to move out some tables that were in front of the stage to make that easier) and kept everyone on the highest level of excitement. Anthony Herrera, the vocalist of Take Offense, went on stage and grabbed the microphone to assist on the singing part ("Stick Tight" if I remember correctly) and just before the end of the show the stage was full of people singing and dancing. A friendly, hardcore feeling and I really can’t think of anything more to ask from a hardcore concert. Oh, no, I know what I can ask. Same as with DBD I believe that Terror could add a few more songs to their setlist (complete setlist follows). I had the impression that the crowd could handle more than 40 minutes of Terror.

Terror: Fucking hardcore

Terror – Set list

One with the underdogs

Out of my face

Stick Tight

Overcome

Never Alone

Betrayer

Always the hard way

You‘re caught

Lowest of the low

Spit my rage

Return to strength

Push it away

Keep your mouth shut

Keepers of the faith

Words: Nikos Tolis

nikostolis@gmail.com

Photos: Dimitris Douskas

TRIAL - ANCHOR - RUN WITH THE HUNTED etc Show Review (26.09.11)

OK, so this blog has been kind of quiet during this week, but at least there's been a good reason for it. That reason is that I traveled with the band I play guitar for (My Turn) for a one of a kind show with TRIAL and ANCHOR in Sofia, Bulgaria on the 26th of September. In the following article I will write a few things about out roadtrip and especially about the awesome show we witnessed.

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I will begin by saying that we left for Sofia on Sunday morning and we had just played a show the previous night (on the 24th).  So I guess that we all were a little worn out even before starting  the roadtrip. But everyone who's dedicated to the music he/she loves knows that the fatigue is definitely nothing compared to the experiences gained through this lifestyle. Anyways... so we started traveling north for about 5 hours and stopped at Thessaloniki, the second biggest Greek city which is situated not more than 3-4 hours away from Sofia (our destination). We met with our friend Nick from ETERNAL HATED, and we went out for food and chilled with some friends at a square somewhere in town. We then crashed at his house after chilling and talking. I slept on a bed with two of my bandmates that night. Classy, huh?

The next day we got up, washed etc and we went to get some food supplies for the remaining roadtrip. Being a vegan, it is not always easy for me to be on the road, so usually I have to plan beforehand. Off to the super market, then. We got on the road and after a couple of hours we crossed the Bulgarian border. I was already pretty psyched about seeing TRIAL that night. I was listening to their whole discography on my MP3 player in the car and was continuously getting more and more wired, while the eastern European landscape pictures constantly changed outside the car window.

After a few hours we we arrived at Sofia and found our way to The Box, the club the show was at. We were the first band to arrive, so we just unpacked and went to eat lunch and get some guitar strings etc. When we came back to the club all the bands were in the venue, setting up the merch so we got to work and did the same. It was 5 bands playing that night, so the dudes from the bands alone were kind of enough to create a pretty lively atmosphere. Soon enough, the show was ready to start and TAKING HOLD, the only Bulgarian band playing that night took the stage. These guys play tight heavy/melodic old school hardcore with nice melodies and super groovy beatdowns. They had a lot of friends with them who knew all the lyrics (they were singing in Bulgarian) and they put on a short but definitely awesome set.

Taking Hold

We (MY TURN) got on stage straight away TH's show and had about 20 minutes to play as much as we could from our set, so we obviously had to axe some songs. It was the second time we've played in Sofia, and we kind of already had some friends and some people who knew us, so the show went down pretty well. We also had a crew of Greek hardcore kids who traveled for this particular show, and it was awesome to have them represent Greek HC, and see them in such a different and unknown context.

My Turn

The reality of the matter is that I felt kind of relieved when we finished playing our show, cause then I could enjoy the rest of the bands without worrying about our shit. RUN WITH THE HUNTED took the stage and played their Deathwish-influenced, discordant hardcore. They honestly seemed like great dudes, even though their style of hardcore is definitely not my personal favorite style. Nevertheless, they were pretty tight and quite possibly the most extreme (musically) band of the night!

Run With The Hunted

As the night progressed, it was time for the bigger bands to take the stage. ANCHOR is one of the most well-known European hardcore bands these days, and I just couldn't wait to see what they had to offer. Moreover, being vegan straight edge myself, I was really proud to finally see a band which openly represents the values I believe in and that have shaped my life in such an important way. ANCHOR played a nice enough set, but I don't think it had the urgency and intensity that I expected from them. Maybe they were kind of tired or something... They had the awesome guitar work and the nice hardcore anthems that are worshipped on their albums, but in my opinion they needed something more.

Anchor

We had reached the end of the show and it was time for TRIAL, the 90s hardcore legends. We had waited for a long time and the night was about to end, but with a blast. They typically started of with the symphonic intro to the song "Reflections", and then - like it usually happens at TRIAL shows - the whole place erupted. Greg Bennick must be one of the best frontmen that I have ever seen, with such passion and intensity and integrity. The things he says to the crowd in between songs are just pure gold, things that help you with your own life and that you can carry with you forever. So TRIAL delivered all their 90s classics which are as relevant today as they were back then. I honestly lost my mind and moshed my ass off during their show. I've been thinking that I'm a little too old to mosh sometimes, but I don't think I had another choice during that particular show!

Trial

And just like that, it was all over. In typical hardcore tradition, we hung out outside the club for a while  after the show and we went to EAT like crazy. We were all kinda tired but we couldn't actually feel it from the excitement of the show. We went and sat down and everyone looked happy and full of the energy that only a hardcore show can give you. We devoured tons of food and Coke and it was time to call it a night and go to the places we were going to sleep. I slept at Niki's, the dude who put on the show and runs UGLY & PROUD Records. In his bedroom he showed me a drawer with lots of hardcore fanzines and I spent quite a few hours reading them, until I was utterly exhausted and had to just pass out. The next day we had a whole day of traveling in order to get our asses back to Athens. It is hard but I knew that an exhausting week full of work was waiting for me back home.

Special thanks to Natalia for the pix... check out her blog at: http://zombey.tumblr.com/

Photoblog: Bouncing Souls & Vitamin X

Today, we got a photoblog from 2 great live shows that happened here in Athens during the last week: Vitamin X and Bouncing Souls. The house has been rocked! Photos taken and contributed by Boohahart (Bouncing Souls) and Fotini D. (Vitamin X). Vitamin X "autograph" scanned and emailed by Elizabeth S. Thank you all very much!

P. S.: Click on images to see full-view 

Bouncing Souls

Vitamin X

Vitamin X Represent da real :)

Well... what can I say apart from thanks to everybody and just state again how psyched I am with all this shit that's going on with good music these days. I'm having the time of my life y'all! And with Take Your Shot issue  #4 out in a few weeks, things just seem to look OK. 

Rise and Fall - Live Show Review (21 Feb 2010)

What an awesome show last night! Rise and Fall came out a lot harder than I expected, and turned their dark post hardcore into a proper full-energy hardcore show! I think this happens with many other bands as well, and it is good proof that bands keep the hardcore in their approach, even if they depart from its classic musical structures and evolve their sound. Like it's been said before, sometimes hardcore is more about the approach and less about the specific music style (as long as it's good, of course!) 

Moreover, the supporting bands kicked some ass too. Props go to Ruined Families, I Want You Dead and Endsight. One of the highlights were I Want You Dead's free promo demo CD (which rules and will be reviewed here soon) and awesome stickers. Also, I found quite a lot of good shit at the merch stalls,  and  as always at reasonable prices too! But the biggest highlight was honestly the good vibes of the people in the place.When you go home on a Sunday night after a fucking good show where you kicked it with your friends and bought awesome music, it gets kinda hard not to get psyched about the state of Hardcore in 2010!

Here are some pics from the show (thanks goes to Jim Hoppa):

Rise and Fall

Endsight

I Want You Dead

Delinquent Habits - Live @ Bios 28.11.09

The Delinquent Habits must be up there in the hall of fame of hip-hop bands, not only for establishing their own brand of Latin-influenced hip-hop, but also for maintaining a solid presence for over 15 years!

Their show last Saturday (28.11) totally justified their reputation as party animals and good entertainers. Starting only about 10 minutes after Knackleboul's set (the support act, hip-hop and beatbox from Switzerland), Delinquent Habits took no prisoners and marched straight into a set of funky-sounding yet streetwise hip-hop. It was cool to see them so energetic on stage, supporting what is possibly their best album to date, entitled The Common Man. One thing's for sure: they definitely have a lot to offer in today's saturated hip-hop industry which is all about the money etc.

Ives Irie and the gang blew the crowd away with a series of hits old and new, only stopping every now and then to drink tequila and talk to the crowd. Countless shots were handed out to the crowd (a straight edger's nightmare), while the beats and the rhymes were landing on our heads one after the other.

A band that has gone around and sold so much could easily behave like hip-hop superstars (which they are anyways), but that wasn't the case with the 3 Deliquentes: what we saw was a bunch of honest dudes doing their thing, and then selling their own CDs after the show, talking with the crowd and signing autographs. Even the speech that Ives gave towards the end of the show, about leaving the commercial BS outside and being thankful for having a community to belong to, was straight from the heart.

So make sure you find the new CD The Common Man so you can party your way through it! It's some 43 minutes of straightforward hip-hop action.

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CREDS: pic 1 taken @ Marsatac Festival, Marseille by anonymous--pic 2 by Lucas Maeder. Both pics off the band's official Myspace Website.
http://www.myspace.com/delinquentxhabits