Show's Tongiht!!!!!

Two kick ass show's tonight. If you're around Bethlehem tonight you should be at the Burner's shouting "Fuck Musikfest" with Walt, Mark Rooster, and I, and if you're down near Philly and don't have ticket's to This Is Hardcore Fest, then you should be at The Polish Club in Phoenixville for A Day Once Dead's reunion show

My Turn to Win/Olde York/Run For It/Unlearn/Capital Crisis

Capital Crisis

It's hard for me to knock a band who wasn't awful and were into what they were doing. That being said, Capital Crisis left a little to be desired. You could tell that individually, they were all talented, but collectively it didn't mesh. The tempo was off in most of their songs. They covered the Misfit's "Skulls" and the song was jerky. Tempo would speed up and then slow down pretty regularly. They attempted their last song twice, but gave up on the second time the drummer couldn't keep the beat going. They weren't awful, so please don't think I'm trying to bash them. They have the potential to be a good band.

Unlearn

Unlearn was great. The played an intensely energetic set. When I met Nick, he was the bass player for Back to Back, and both times I've seen Unlearn, I've been impressed with his front man ability (not to say he wasn't good as a bass player). Chaos (also was in Back to Back) has always been a mad man on guitar. The only things that I could say were a little off were that the guitars and bass drowned out the vocals, and that Nick would occasionally not sing into the mic. Neither were big deals, or detracted from their set. I picked up their demo (at strong suggestion from Nick, thanks to Mark for loaning me the two bucks), and it'll be in the "Record a Day" section sometime this coming week, so look out for that.

Run For It

When I looked up Run For It before the show, I was kind of nervous about them. I got the impression that they were more of a Taking Back Sunday kind of band (not knocking them, never listened to them) than a melodic hardcore band. So to say that I went into their set with limited expectations would be a fair statement. However, I really liked them. They were more melodic than I'm used to listening to. I haven't really dipped that much into that kind of music (I've listened to The Movielife's "Forty Hour Train Back to Penn" once, and only thing i really have to compare it to), but they were enjoyable. The set was energetic, with well written songs and great music. I definitely recommend listening to their EP "We've Got the High Ground".

Olde York

This is the second time I've seen Olde York, and the bits and pieces of how good the first show was (I blame Miller Lite and Soco) were refreshed today. They are an amazing bad and put on one hell of a fucking show. The energy they put into their music comes through in every guiatar riff and bass line. They don't come around here often enough, but if you get the opportunity to see them, fucking do it. Don't ask, just do.

My Turn to Win

My Turn to Win was amazing. When I see bands like My Turn to Win with female members (singers, guitarists), it makes it easier to understand why girls find guys who play in bands so appealing. I'm not trying to be a pig or anything, but when an attractive woman can play kick ass guitar in a great hardcore band, it's great. It also makes me wonder deeper things, like what it's like to be one of a few women in a heavily male dominated scene (i know there are a lot of girls at shows and i'm not trying to be chauvinistic, but it's still male dominated). I don't have the answer to that and I'm straying way to far off my subject matter. Their set was aggressive and in your face the entire time. Their album "Weight of the World" was great (http://fasterthanthaworld.blogspot.com/2010/07/record-day-7-my-turn-to-win-weight-of.html) and their live show was even better. I definitely would like to see more of them.

Record a Day #7- My Turn to Win "Weight of the World" (2008)

Track Listing:

1. You Can't Swim in Leather Pants

2. Invisible Man

3. Hard Luck

4. Far Out

5. Hear Me Now

6. Schrute Bucks

7. Tits Rule

8. Best Goalie Ever

9. Enough is Enough

10. A Man on a Train With No Answers

11. 20/20

12. I'll Stick Around

13. Me Vs. the World

I figured I would bet a jump on things and actually review a bands album before I saw them instead of waiting till afterwards. Since I'm seeing My Turn to Win tonight at the Burner's, I figured today would be the day that I review their album "Weight of the World".

I thoroughly enjoy this album. My Turn to Win is definitely a heavier hardcore band, but it works better than some other bands that I've listened to. The vocals are aggressive, but understandable. The drums are balls to the walls, and the guitar and bass lines are driving. Every song sounds like it was written with moshing in mind. The album flows nicely, never letting of the gas pedal. I've listened to this about 8 times, and love it more each time. Definitely get your hands on it.

Come see them tonight at St. Bernard's (The Burner's) in south Bethlehem. It's a killer line-up and guaranteed to be a great fucking show.

Billy Club Sandwich/Razorblade Handgrenade/Not Without a Fight/Sicker Than Most/Copout 6-25-10

Before I start, I want to let you know that the notes I took for this show were not nearly as detailed as the notes I took for the D.O.A. show. I didn't want to be attached to my Blackberry typing the whole time, especially since the crowd was light and I would stick out like a sore thumb. Eventhough it was a light crowd, it was a great show. Shout out to Walt and the rest of True Blue Promotions for putting together a kick ass line-up.

Copout

These guys came up from just outside of Philly with their lead guitarist filling in on vocals. If he wouldn't have told the crowd that, I would have never known the lead singer was in Belize and he was just covering. Their songs were quick and had great breakdowns. I'm eager to hear more of them.

Sicker Than Most

I wasn't really too fond of these guys. They had two guitar players (one looked a helluva lot like Toby Morse from H2O) and no bass player. There were moments that they sounded pretty good, but reverted back to the generic tough guy sound that they had in every single one of their songs. Couldn't understand a single one of their lyrics with the way the lead singer growled into the mic. I was planning on picking up their demo to give them a listen and see if this was just a bad show for them, but I forgot to grab one before we left.

Not Without a Fight

To say that Not Without a Fight's set started off with a few minor bumps, would be a serious understatement. They got all set up, and the bass cut out (Copout loaned them a bass). Once the bass issue was ironed out, the guitar cut out. After getting this problem fixed, their set finally started. While the length of time it took for them to start to actually play was frustrating for everyone involved, they played an extremely tight set. They sounded as good as they ever have, which considering how drunk they were (they admitted it several times each between songs) was a feat in itself. The crowd reacted positively to them, with dancing going on throughout. Pick up their full length CD at either one of their up-coming shows, or at Compact Disc Center in Bethlehem. I plan on it.

Razorblade Handgrenade

What can I say about Razorblade Handgrenade's set? They were fucking amazing. I've seen them once before and thought they were great then, but that was nothing compared to this time. Unfortunately there weren't many people upstairs to see them which sucked, but they still played their asses off. Their "stage" show is great, and they put everything they have into it. Their CD is great (it will be a CD a Day at some point in the near future), but their live show is even better. They have a couple of up-coming shows that unfortunately I can't make it to, but the next time they have a show that I can be at, bet your ass that I will be there.

Billy Club Sandwich

BCS was fucking amazing. As soon as they started playing, the crowd erupted (since every body came back upstairs to see them). They played a hard driving set and had their foot on the gas pedal from the first guitar riff. I've never been hit in the chest any where close to as hard as that tattooed girl hit me (she did it twice by the way). Walt told me the BCS was good, but tehy exceeded my expectations. Again, they are playing a few shows in the near future that I can't make it to, but I will be seeing them again as soon as I can.

Check out next weeks show at the Burner's and keep your eyes peeled for my write up on that one.