World/Inferno Friendship Society @ Haverford College, PA

I went to this show since my brother goes to Villanova, a very short train ride to Haverford. So I get in, it's in a basement of some building. Not very big, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did get pretty crowded pretty fast. This also wasn't too big of a deal. The crowd itself, I didn't really like. There was a good mix of stupid college kids, annoying drunk people, assholes blowing smoke in my face (this probably makes it sound like I'm some kind of straight edge nazi, I'm not. I would just prefer if people kept their intoxicated state to themselves). The first band played, I never heard of them, can't remember their name. They had some ok stuff. So next came World/Inferno (this would be my second time seeing them by the way) so things got a lot better as far as the music went. The only thing that I didn't like about their set is that a couple songs seemed to be kind of rushed. Overall they were very entertaining. Jack was his charismatic self. They also played a few songs from Lexicon of Friends and Enemies that I hadn't heard live before so that was cool. A couple problems with the crowd again, uhg. There were lots of pipes on the ceiling so people began climbing on them and all the crap dangling from their belts kept hitting me in the head. My brother later informed me that a shopping cart was in the air at one point (I don't know how I missed this). Now I like shows to be laid back and such, crowd surfing is cool and all that. But if that shopping cart had come anywhere near hitting me I can't describe how pissed I would have been. Then I ended up having to leave early to catch a train right as they started playing Zen and Art of Breaking Everything in this Room (dammit!).

So basically, World/Inferno was good, the crowd sucked, I had to leave early. Left me a little disappointed at the whole experience. I still had a good time though, just didn't turn out quite as expected.

I wish I had known about that show. I would have tried to go.

Soular System, Kendra Foster, Sativa, and George Clinton @ The Beta Bar, Tallahassee, FL.

1/26/06

The Soular System: The only local funk/soul band. Same as every other time that I saw them. They have a very good stage presence, even if the lead singer was the only one moving around a lot.

Kendra Foster: Some rapper who sings about nothing but pot. He was pretty good, got the crowd moving a bit.

Sativa: Another rapper who sings about pot. She was o.k. The place started filling up right about now, while some kids next to me were trying, unsuccessfully, to smoke a bowl.

George Clinton: What can I say? The god of funk himself, playing his first show in Tallahassee in 6 years. He was great, to say the least. He played some of his greatest hits, like "Funky Woman," "Atomic Dog," "Do Fries Go With That Shake," and "We Want The Funk." He even had one of the original members of the Parliament Funkadelic with him at this show.

All in all, this was one of the best shows I've been to in a while. I hope to see him again before he retires (or goes to jail for drug possession :eek:)

Good Clean Fun etc
 

[b]The Gallows:[/b] Generic hardcore. Caught a few songs. 3/10

[b]The Cover-Up:[/b] Generic hardcore from geordies. Hilarious dancing. 3/10

[b]The Vultures:[/b] Absolutely crap hardcore from scousers. What is it with hardcore singers and walking back and forth across the stage looking tormented? Haven't they ever tried connecting with the audience? More hilarious dancing. I spent most of this set at the bar. 1/10

[b]Good Clean Fun:[/b] Fantastic. Played almost all my favourite songs A Little Bit Emo, A Little Bit Hardcore, Shopping for a Crew, Song for the Ladies, Good Clean Fun, Straight Outta Hardcore, loserdotcom, It's Time To Beat The Meat, On The Streets Saving the Scene From the Forces of Evil. They also covered Ice Ice Baby with their bassist singing and Issa playing bass and some Kelly Clarkson song. The were also very funny. Their drummer came out and did a hilarious Q&A session. I think they covered New Direction to finish. I was quite drunk by that point. Great set. They could've played for a little longer though. 8.5/10

Good Clean Fun were great. The rest were pretty crap. My Bad Brains shirt was complemented by several people including Issa.

Drunk at a GCF show... the irony.

I envy you for seeing them.

It's England I bet even GCF were drunk. I always type GFC

[QUOTE=Brain Toad]Drunk at a GCF show... the irony.

I envy you for seeing them.[/QUOTE]
I was also wearing a leather jacket. Anti-vegan++.

And if you had to sit through the opening bands I did, you'd drink too.

[QUOTE=skavid]
George Clinton: What can I say? The god of funk himself, playing his first show in Tallahassee in 6 years. He was great, to say the least. He played some of his greatest hits, like "Funky Woman," "Atomic Dog," "Do Fries Go With That Shake," and "We Want The Funk." He even had one of the original members of the Parliament Funkadelic with him at this show.
[/QUOTE]

That is awesome. I love Parliament and Funkadelic.

[B]Voodoo Glow Skulls @ the Chain Reaction (aka the venue with no ventalation, aka the venue you breathe carbon monoxide in during the last band or two, aka the venue you leave soggy as f[COLOR="White"]uck[/COLOR].)[/B]

[U]the Culprits:[/U] I've seen these guys before so I didnt bother to watch them. Basically think Choking Victim only repulsively bad.
[U]the Upstarts?Upswitches?:[/U] Frankly I dont care because from what I could hear from outside they sucked too.
[U]the Aggrolites:[/U] Skinhead Reggae at its finest. For those of you who havent listened to the Aggrolites, check them out now. These guys (and gal) know how to put on a show. Lots of energy, good set, getting the crowd to sing along whether they knew the words or not=[I]Awesome.[/I]
[U]Voodoo Glow Skulls:[/U] Im no stranger when it comes to VGS, their hometown heroes. Like always they how to put on a good show. Lots of fast songs that test you on how many times you [I]dont[/I] go in the pit. Yet, with a balanced amount of medium-tempo skank-a-longs. Like the Aggrolites, Voodoo knows how to enterain the crowd.

[B]All in All[/B], definately see VGS or the Aggrolites if you get the chance because theyre f[COLOR="White"]ucking[/COLOR] awesome, and skip the Culprits and whatever other s[COLOR="white"]hitty[/COLOR] band played, unless you like happen to like c[COLOR="white"]rap[/COLOR] flooding your ear canals.

GCF were f'ucking s'hit, they spent half the set whining on 'posi this posi that blah blah'. thank god for drunk old guys. ''1988 called, they say they want there riffs back''

[QUOTE=Scabies]GCF were f'ucking s'hit, they spent half the set whining on 'posi this posi that blah blah'. thank god for drunk old guys. ''1988 called, they say they want there riffs back''[/QUOTE]
There was too much talking (especially that animal rights woman at the start) but the songs were great. That was a great heckle though.

Did you catch the band before? The lead singer constantly looked like he was going to burst into tears.

Haha, at the World/Inferno show I posted about earlier, I later went on the W/I message boards to see if there was a thread about that show so I could read if anything cool happened after I left. Apparently at one point Jack said something along the lines of "I want 16 people on the pipes" and so it was and the pipes starts leaking lots of really hot water on top of people. I really wish I could have stayed for the whole thing.

[QUOTE=holy_roller99]was on oct 21 in edmonton.

during The Warriors Code Tour. awesome. me and my freind got drunk before the concert and did soem damage. my freind lit a smoke in the mosh and got picked up by the bouncer by his hair! the two best band there wer DKM ( of course) and Lost City Angels. I met most of the people that were on stage that night including Ken Casey and Scruffy as well as talked with the guitarist from Lost City angels. he gave me my money back on most of the merch that i bought. i will remember that for the rest of my llife. DKM had the best setlist i have ever heard them play. this chich undid her freinds tubetop in the middle of the set:naughty: . Gang green was not that bad but waskinda thrashy and repetitive. the ska band ( i think they were called Manic Mustard or something like taht) did a good job too. the solo they did on one of thier songs was so beautifully pulled off. i almost died from dehydration i was in the mosh for so long.[/QUOTE]


aahh Reds Security..always hitting pulling and scratching..i was gonna go to that show but went to the Suffocation show when i was in Edmonton..im pissed i missed Gang Green

In The Wake Of, Westbound Train, Go Jimmy Go, and The Toasters. The Beta Bar, 2/12/06.

This was a very good show, as I naturally expected.

In The Wake Of: Pretty good melodic hardcore (possibly?) band. Had a few good songs, others not that interesting. Covered "Just Another Crowd" by Operation Ivy.

Westbound Train: Very good band. I liked them a lot. I had heard a couple of their songs off of the "Give 'em The Boot" comps, and I liked what I had heard. They are like 10 times better live.

Go Jimmy Go: Very very good band. I am officially in love with this band now, due to their sheer awesomeness. Lots and lots of good songs to skank to. They covered "A Message To You, Rudy" by The Specials, and had members from the other bands come play it with them.

The Toasters: What can I say? Simply amazing, like always. Covered a lot of their career, all the way from "Skaboom!" to "D.L.T.B.G.Y.D. and everywhere in between. As an encore they, along with everyone from the other bands, played a ridiculously extended version of "Matt Davis." They had everyone skanking in the place, including the bouncers. (no joke!)

All in all, this was probably one of the best shows I have been to in Tallahassee. I'm just gonna go ahead and give it a 10/10.

This Bike is a Pipe Bomb/The King Blues/Black Tax
 

[b]Black Tax:[/b] 'Fastcore' apparently. They were fast. And loud. They did rock pretty hard (especially the bassist) and had some cool songs. They played a short set but I'm not sure if I could have taken any more. 7/10

[b]The King Blues:[/b] Acoustic anarcho ska. Between this band and the openers is probably the biggest contrast in bands you could ever see. This band were great. Really chilled out with great tunes and a great vibe. They've got their debut album coming out in May. You should check them out. 8/10

[b]This Bike is a Pipe Bomb:[/b] Rocked hard. I'm vaguely familiar with most of their stuff but every songs so catchy you just end up singing along anyway. They were really funny too. They could've played slightly longer (despite the encore) and they didn't play my favourite song but good stuff nonetheless. 8.7/10

Defiance, Ohio. Shipwreck Music. Grand Rapids, MI.
 

What a show.

I walk to shipwreck music with a couple of friends a bit before 8. It's horrible weather out. Very, very cold and very windy. We get there and find out they're going to be a little late to start, because they're waiting for a friend to get out of work. Cool, it gave us time to go get some hotdogs before the show.

I was really amused by their instruments, particularly the bass. It was all duct taped up, and pretty sketchy.

I was really happy to be pretty much right up front for the show, seeing as people were nice to short little me. I was also very close to one of the speakers, so it was heard loud and clear.

They began the show with "Bikes and Bridges" My favorite song of theirs, and also the first one I had ever heard by them. What a way to start the show. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one singing along, and that people were actually into the show. I believe they played every song from "Share What Ya Got" except for "hey kathleen, are you hungry?" "lullabies" and "response to griot." They also played some stuff from split albums (Like sometimes motion, which is a song I really love), and some new material which was really good. Singing and swaying and dancing with friends there was quite good.

At the end of the show I congradulated the bassist for being so awesome, and wanted to talk to the musicians more, but didn't have time.

So the bad: Wish it was longer, wish I Didn't forget my camera, kinda sad that they couldn't find a band to open for them around here, and that their venue was a record store.

The good: everything else.

Really enjoyed the concert.

That sounds awesome. I can't wait 'til they tour Europe in the Summer.

Tub Ring with Ari Ari and The Mighty Narwhale. Skelletones Grand Rapids, MI
 

Went there with a few friends, including my brother who had never been to this venue.

The first band was The Mighty Narwhale, which is a local band that has two graduates from my school in it. They were a really fun band. They were very happy, and played a wide variety of instruments between the 6 of them including a violin, trombone, playskool music toy thing, and an acordian. They were very good. Cheered me up (even though I didn't need it, because I was allready in a good mood).

The second band Ari Ari, is held in high regard by critics around here. They're an intense band with a screaming female vocalist. For almost their entire set I sat in the back on a comfy couch. Their music was allright, but I expected more because of all the hype they've been given. They're definitely something to see live, and not to listen to from an album.

Finally, the band I was there to see, Tub Ring. Most of their set they played new songs that I don't really know, but they were still very good. The whole band was so intense. Even with the musicians jumping around like crazy, they still played very well, and their stuff is kind of difficult. They played their best song "bite the wax tadpole" where in the middle of the song where it gets slow, the singer brought his mic stand into the middle of the crowd, where everyone surrounded him. Then he started singing.

I have to say I really didn't expect moshing at their show, but there was. There was this idiot goth kid trying to crowd surf every second of the show, and towards the end people were really getting sick of him. These guys kept flashing the band, which I thought was humorous.

The band also had a "metal interlude" where the singer spent the whole time throwing the horns in various ways, which I also thought was really funny. He was so intense about it.

Their last song was "Rock your body" by Justin Timberlake. I moshed to it, because when would you ever get the chance to mosh to a Justin Timberlake song?

The show was worth the 8 dollars. Although their not [I]exactly[/I] a punk band, I still thought I could still write a gig diary entry.

9/3 - I Farm etc. 10/3 - Gogol Bordello + Skindred
 

Thursday:
[b]Black Tax:[/b] Tight rocking fastcore. Good stuff. The bassist's strap kept coming off which led to her rocking out on one leg at one point as she balanced the bass on her knee. 6.5/10

[b]Two other support bands whose names I didn't catch:[/b] One generic hardcore/emo/screaming sort of band with a front man whose mouth made him look brain damaged and the other a boring post-punky sort of band with a sax that had one half-way decent song. I watched Jacob's Ladder with subtitles while these bands were playing.

[b]I Farm:[/b] Rocking. Great songs, great atmosphere and they seemed like relaly nice guys. 7.5/10


Friday:
[b]Skindred:[/b] Very heavy. They're a pretty good band. The songs were good and pretty anthemic. The singers Jamaican/Welsh accent made me laugh. 6.5/10

[b]Gogol Bordello[/b] A 90 minute set with some great songs (but not my favourites) spoilt slightly by the fact I don't like the Astoria (partly due to the arsehole security). The crowd was really into it and so were the band. I crowdsurfed at one point and towards the end the lead singer put a big drum on top of the crowd then stood on it and surfed. Pretty epic. I was almost dead by the end. 8.2/10

*so jealous* I can't believe that Gogol Bordello came around here somewhat recently, but it was before I knew who they were, so I missed it. :(

[b]No Choice:[/b]
Standard political punk band. They played pretty well. Their singer didn't really know what to do with himself when he wasn't singing. 6/10

[b]Murder by Death:[/b]
Good band. Like a punk Old Crow Medicine Show. Lots of songs about whiskey, prison and the devil. The singer had a cool voice. 8/10

[b]Against Me![/b]
They kept the crowd waiting ages bu from the moment they came on they rocked. They opened with From Her Lips to God's Ears and played my favourite songs, Reinventing Axl Rose, Pints of Guiness Make You Strong (during which I crowdsurfed) and We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules (their closer during which I almost winded myself from singing along). The other songs I can remember them playing are: Those Anarcho Punx are Mysterious, Problems, Turn Those Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists, Don't Lose Touch (which sounds just like You Can Get It If You Really Want) and Walking is Still Honest but there's loads I forgot as half the time I was just trying to stay on my feet during crowd surges. It was a great gig. 9/10

Was the crowd all extremely close together, swaying around and singing their lungs out?

[QUOTE=asdf]Was the crowd all extremely close together, swaying around and singing their lungs out?[/QUOTE]
In a word, yes.

Punk Unity Fest: 25th March at the Garage
 

I caught a couple of songs of Deathskulls but not really enough to judge them. They seemed alright.

[b]The Grit:[/b]
I've heard good things about this band but hadn't seen them before. They blew me away. Punk 'n' Fu[b]c[/b]k 'n' Roll. They were basically punk but with a double-bassist (who was awesome) that gave them a great edge. The bassist and the guitarist both got into the crowd at various times. They had some great songs including [i]I Came Out the Womb an Angry C[i]u[/i]nt[/i] and [i]Whoever You Are[/i]. I bought an EP at the end. 9.5/10

[b]Deadline:[/b]
I've seen them before but not for ages. They played well, with a lot of songs from [i]Back for More[/i] which is the only album of theirs I know. They covered [i]Hanging on the Telephone[/i] which was cool but I'd probably preferred their version of [i]Sheena is a Punk Rocker[/i]. 8/10

[b]The Filaments:[/b]
Insane. They played all their best songs, the Pit was great, they covered [i]White Man in Hammersmith Palais[/i] and ended on [i]Bastard Coppers[/i] and [i]Patricia[/i]. They also got a split coming out with the Stockyard Stoics soon apparently which should be great. 9/10

It was a fantastic gig. Three great bands, three hours of awesomeness. I'm fuc[b]k[/b]ing knackered now.

That split is going to be really good. New material I'm guessing (hoping)?

Yeah.

Joe, you lucky bastard. I should have been at both of those (if I was in the city a day longer).

Bouncing Souls/The Explosion/Paint It Black/Spanish Bombs
 

Been a while since someone has done one of these..

[B]Spanish Bombs[/B]
Probably the most generic hardcore band I have ever heard. It's not that they were horrible, but there was nothing to them. 3/10

[B]Paint it Black[/B]
I'm trying my best not to be biased, but they were fkin great. It was my first time seeing them and I was really excited going into it. Yemin and the two guys from AAJ were funny and entertaining the whole time. They balanced the talking and playing music time very well. Setlist was good, and for 'Memorial Day', Dave Haus came out to sing his part which was pretty cool. 9/10

[B]The Explosion[/B]
I hadn't heard too much of this band before seeing them, and it was basiclly what I expected. Decent punk anthems the whole time. Their setlist seemed way too long to me, it kinda droned on. Maybe because most the songs sound exactly the same. The pit was real fun for this band, but they arent a band I would really want to check out in the future. 6.5/10

[B]Bouncing Souls[/B]
Unfortunently, they didn't play as well as I had thought. They started off with some pretty good, fast songs that of course everyone was into. But then, they played 3 straight slower songs which kinda killed the energy, especially for me. The rest of the set was a little better than average. Nothing spectacular or anything.. I was a little disappointed since I really like this band, and when I saw them at Warped '04, I really enjoyed them. Maybe it's just me... 7.5/10

the guitarist from the spanish bombs is the most annoying ****er ever. i hope he gets hit by a bus

Probably not as annoying as the saxaphone player from the Toasters.