Whut?/Unlearn/Animal Haus/Wisdom In Chains

Since the minute that I heard that this show was happening a couple months ago, I had been looking forward to it more than any other show I've gone to. When Friday night finally ended at I was at home, I was not disappointed at all.

The show started later than anticipated, but I was ok with that. Whut? came all the way from Chicago for this show, and at 7:30 there was virtually no one there. I was ok with waiting an hour so there were actually people there to see them. It was worth the wait. Whut?'s music is fast and thrashy. Their set was awesome, more people should have seen it.

Unlearn gets better every time I see them. Their cover of Blood For Blood's "All Fucked Up" was fucking killer. Chaos tore up it up on guitar as usual.

Animal Haus has gotten tighter since I saw them before. I'm still not really into the length of some of their songs, but they are talented and the crowd loves them.

I have to admit, I didn't catch Lifeless' set. There was a whole lot of time between the time Animal Haus finished and Lifeless went on, and by the time they did I just didn't have the urge to listen. I did hear most of their set from where I was standing outside, and I did enjoy it. My lack of interest had nothing to do with them, and everything to do with the fact that I was chomping at the bit for Wisdom In Chains to play.

What can I really say about Wisdom In Chains' set? They were fucking amazing. I've seen them more times than any other hardcore band, and this without a shadow of a doubt was the best show of theirs I've ever seen. It may not have been as flashy as or sounded as good as the Black 'n Blue Bowl, but I had so much fun. There was a small incident a few songs in to the set, but cooler heads prevailed and at Mad Joe's urging there was no more trouble. Seeing one of my absolute favorite bands that up close and personal was truly fucking amazing.

Overall, the crowd was a little lighter than it should have been, but it was a kick ass show. Walt and Bill Duke$ did a hell of a job with this one. Here's a link to the pictures Walt took during the show, and here's a link to Kate's photography page (the pictures she took aren't up yet, but they should be up shortly).

Upcoming Area Shows

Here's a list of Upcoming Shows:

9/4- ORDER OF ENNEAD w/ members of Deicide,SINCE THE FIRE,Rivers of Nihil,MACHINA INFERUS,EBENEZER,A.O.A.,HELLISTIC THREAT

@ THE HARDBEAN CAFE BETHLEHEM,PA. ALL AGES 21 TO BYO (Biz R Entertainment)

9/10- Benefit to help Walt BTB with attorneys fees and fines with My Turn to Win, Outlast, Get Railed, Dave Phlegmball, and more TBA. Donation of $7 to $10, and a raffle. Prizes include band merch, an original painting by Little Chico (http://www.littlechicotattoo.com/) and more. 6:00 PM The Burners, South Bethlehem (True Blue Promotions)

9/11- Ambergris at Planet Trog. Tickets $10 in advance, $12 day of the show. Free game of laser tag included with ticket purchase. 3:30 PM Planet Trog Whitehall

9/17- CDC/Lionheart/Donnybrook/Call To Preserve/Stand United/More TBA. $10 6:00 PM The Polish Club Phoenixville (Stay On Point Booking)

9/24- Wisdom in Chains, Whut? (from Chicago), Lifeless, Animal Haus, and Unlearn. $7, 7:00 PM The Burners, South Bethlehem (True Blue Promotions)

10/8- "Flashback Fest" w/ Home 33 (last show ever), Cipher, Solomon, and more.The 90s are coming back to get ya...

Yes, Home 33 have confirmed and are playing this! Get stoked! Lineup tba soon! 6:00 PM The Burners, South Bethlehem (True Blue Promotions)

10/31- "Halloween Madness" Halloween is here! It's gonna be a big ol' blowout to celebrate! Costumes, candy, gorey movies, bands, etc... Stay tuned! 2:00 PM The Burners South Bethlehem (True Blue Promotions)

11/18- Altercation Comedy Tour. The Altercation Comedy Tour returns for another dose of stand up comedy and punk music! 6:00 PM The Burners South Bethlehem (True Blue Promotions)

****If anyone knows of any shows going on to add to this list, please let us know

Bill Duke$ Birthday Bash with NRSV

I just want to start this out by saying, the show last night, from start to finish, was awesome. It was a great time. Now let's get into it....

Straight Mangled

Straight Mangled (from Upper Darby) was fucking great. I honestly didn't go into their set with very high expectations since bands that play first are generally hit or miss. Their songs were short and aggressive with amazing breakdowns. I know most of the crowd that saw them play came to see them, but the response overall was great. Kids were dancing, and that's not something that you see during the first band to play a show. I'm definitely going to pick up their debut full length, "Gnarly by Nature", and I highly recommend that you do too.

Animal Haus

These guys (from the Phoenixville area) were also amazing. Most of their songs have a Dropkick Murphy's kind of vibe, but it works well. Their songs have gang vocals that completely promote crowd participation, and it definitely occurred. They covered Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" and they did it well, as well as covering Sick of It All's "Clobbering Time". The only complaint that I have, is that some of their songs seemed to go on a little too long. I don't know if they just did that because it was live, or if that's how they're recorded. I picked up their 5 track demo, and am eager to listen to it, and it'll be in "Record a Day" at some point in this coming week, so check back for it.

Hard to Kill

Hard to Kill (also from the Phoenixville area) played a very good set. There were some technical difficulties (broken guitar string, no strap for the replacement guitar), but they didn't cut into/hinder the set at all. They played with a high energy level, and the crowd fed off of it.

Red Eyed Devil

These guys were pretty good. It was hard for me to get into them. They were all very talented, and the bass player and guitar player were sick. Both played extremely fast and intricate lines of music, but I feel that they took away from each other. The blazing fast bass lines were masked by the blazing fast guitar riffs, and vice versa. I'm not selling them short, but I definitely think that I need to hear them more in order to get into them, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for their full length.

No Redeeming Social Value

My level of familiarity with NRSV was extremely limited. I listened to all of their albums that I could find a bunch of times the week leading up to this show, but that was the only knowledge I had of them. I went into it expecting a great show, I mean a band that sings about partying has to be a good time live right? Well, they seriously were. From the time they started playing, it was one hell of a show. The crowd was all about them, and like Walt said, the albums are good, but don't do them justice. From the two garbage bags of paper shreds that were thrown out at the beginning of the set all the way through to the massive amounts of Old English flying around throughout the set, it was complete mayhem. Definitely a great time, and I will be seeing them again, and Mark Rooster will not miss it next time.

True Blue Promotions did another great job with this one. Next show: July 30th Everything's Ruined, Slam One Down, Machina Infernus, Amenema, and Pity the Fool