Saturday, December 29, 2012

Top Ten Local Concerts of 2012

The year has produced some damn good concerts this year.  Keeping it short and sweet.


Ghoul / Occultist / Anthophobic / Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us / Ratface
Belvdere’s Bar
Wanna know how I got blood on my vest?  The Ghoul show.  One of the best mosh pits I participated in, along with a strong local support for Occultist (who would later on make an appearance at Skull Fest 4).  Kill-bot barely was able to make it onto Belvedere’s stage and at one point was punch the ceiling tiles out of place. 

Hoax / Sqrm / Drug Lust / Liebestod
Helter Shelter
So Helter Shelter still had some life in it this year.  The owners were having some word-of-mouth shows and Hoax/Sqrm was one of them.  The most intense mosh pit I’ve been in this year was at this show.  Hoax and Sqrm set the bar for Boston hardcore toughness.  Both bands grounded the audience into a pulp.  Easily the best house show of 2012.

False / Bellow / Wrought Iron / Egality
Mr. Roboto
Below’s array of candles and somber tones was, without a doubt, moving.  False’s female vocalist shrieked and howled unlike any other black metal vocalist this year.  Both bands gave a distinct sound to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  First time seeing Egality, they totally kicked ass and I want to see them again.

Goatwhore / Exhumed / Cerebral Bore / Wrought Iron
31st Street Pub
Best death metal show in 2012 and, FUCK, was it hot at the pub.  Everybody was sweating faster than a fat kid in gym class, even without being in the mosh pit.  This show was hot as hell, both physically and metaphorically.  Wrought Iron has played a ton of shows this year and this their best.

Mutilation Rites / Vrolok / Relique / Abysme
Mr. Roboto
Easily the best black metal show of 2012.  It was the first show for Vrolok in ages and Mutilation Rites’ first time at the Roboto.  Relique made their first and only appearance of the year here as well.  Abysme solid as ever.

Zyanose / Truncheons / Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us / Wrathcobra / Ratface
The Gallows
Crazy night.  Zyanose and Truncheons brought the noise heavy and hard.  A noisy, crusty night of pure joy.

Downfall of Gaia / Vestiges / Humanerror / Egality / Old Accusers
Kopec’s Korner
I still reminisce about this show with friends.  I just happened to choose this show since it was happening down the street from my house.  Downfall of Gaia and Vestiges invoked a huge emotional response within me, that it was quite chilling.  Humanerror was one of the biggest hardcore hits this year and was the purest hardcore band I’ve seen in 2012.

Run, Forever / Adventures / Pray For Teeth / Eyes Wide
Mr. Roboto
I’ve got a feeling that this show will effect my outlook on folk punk, pop punk.  I never got into either sub-genre, but this show worked its way into my heart.  This was indeed a concert from the heart.

Brown Angel / Derketa / Liquefied Guts
Gooski’s
Brown Angel’s “last show.”  Great to see these guys perform one last time.  Pittsburgh’s music scene has been changed by Brown Angel’s experimental sound.  Hopefully I’ll get to see them again.

Lady Beast / Zeitgeist / Molasses Barge / Murderess
Gooski's
Multi-tier crushing bands.  D-beat crust, doom metal, peace punk, traditional metal.  The best album release party of the year.


Honorable Mentions:
Skull Fest 4
Midnight
Spectres / Crimson Scarlet
The Body / Argonauts
Antisect / Appalachia Terror Unit

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Devil's Night - 10/30/12

Polish Hill - Punx Haus

Shadows
It was great to see Shadows performing again.  They get a little better each time I see them, and tonight they were roaring and soaring.  Highly energetic with darkness undertones, the group is built solid with members from Submachine, Plastered Bastards, and Barren Scepter.







Spectres
The blue lighting was fitting for the Vancouver band, while somber but upbeat songs danced across the basement room.  Spectres’ vocalist flowed with rhythm, while entrancing the audience with vocals that soothed and cried out to the night.  I found myself getting lost in the bass lines, which ripened the group’s sound.






Crimson Scarlet
Oakland, California’s Crimson Scarlet followed up as the second stellar touring act.  The lack of a physical drummer worked out well and as the band played along.  I honestly forgot the drummer was evening missing since I became so fixated on the echoing guitars and the darkened cooing of their vocalist.  Crimson Scarlet continued to glide through their set as a panther would through a dense forest.  Hopefully Crimson Scarlet and Spectres will make another trip out to the east coast sometime soon.







South Side - Smiling Moose

Wolvhammer
Wolvhammer were an interesting batch of black metalers from the city of Chicago.  Performing modern black metal that was ritualistic and corroding.  Would like to see more from these guys, they give a distinct black metal sound to the Midwest.







Krieg
Krieg felt like they didn’t give a shit about the black metal scene.  They kicked it hard with an American black metal meeting 80s anarcho-punk.  The most amusing part of their set was when Krieg’s vocalist mentioned the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd and then offered up a cover of Amebix’s “Winter.” Fuck yes.








Feed The Fire
Krieg - Facebook

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Criaturas / Icon Gallery / Nomad Queen - October 26, 2012

Recently it seems like it’s up to the bands now to bring their own lighting to Gooski’s.  But the darkness adds to the atmosphere, especially the green lighting.  Makes me want to sing Type O Negative’s “Creepy Green Light.”

Tonight was ladies night.  Female fronted metal and punk bands that brightened up the room with their own personas and performances.


Nomad Queen
The newly formed group is made of members from Wrought Iron, Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us, and Molasses Barge.  So already, the group is heavily packed with veterans of the underground music scene.  They’re a lot like the bands of west coast 80’s metal, with some thrash, some glam, and even a pinch of doom.  Compared to another local heavy metal band, Lady Beast, they’re not as fast or solo-heavy, but the music composition has a variety of influences that gives Nomad Queen plenty of room to explore.









Icon Gallery
The local punk rock outfit mixes a bit of post punk and rock ‘n’ roll.  They’re one of my personal favorites to watch live.  Both Chani and Matt are the most animated on stage.  Bassist Matt uses a Rickenbacker for laying down the bass lines, which are freakishly catchy.  There might be a tie between good bassists and Rickenbackers.  These guys are built solid.  There were a few shouts from the audience for Icon Gallery to play "Pain," their sing-a-long hit, but, unfortunately, the audience was denied the song.  Maybe next time.









Criaturas
Blazing fast hardcore from Austin, Texas.  Criaturas explode straight from the start.  When they’re not rocking the Texas driving rhythms, the beat goes full throttle into speed punk mode.  There’s something cute about their Spanish singing vocalist, like Japanese punk cute, but at the same time she comes out baring her teeth.  The whole band is like a rattlesnake, deadly, poised to strike, but charming to those that can admire it.  I hope they continue on kicking ass.











Monday, September 24, 2012

Skull Fest 4 - August 24, 25, & 26, 2012



Skull Fest at the Shop
photo credit, Cece Manning

Day 1 - Friday (Belvedere’s Bar and Spahn Ranch)

Missed out on a lot of the events at the Shop due to work's inconvenient location from the city.  Though Belvedere's Bar had themselves quite a lineup of bands to kick off the night and head into the weekend.
Killer of Sheep blew open the doors with blitz style beats as the evening’s local opener.  There weren’t enough bottles in the bar to contain the energy of the Bad Brains styled hardcore band.  They seriously kicked the roof off the bar (well sort of, Ollie did manage to jump kick the ceiling from the stage).  Despite a sparse crowd at the start of the show, KoS received a warm welcome from the early birds.  
Killer of Sheep
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
If punk could be groovy, Lecherous Gaze would definitely be at the forefront.  Being the odd one out of the litter, their music consisted heavily of 70s style psych-rock riffs drenched with California sun.  There was some shuffling and body shaking on the floor, though most just stood and watched.  In general, Lecherous Gaze was certainly the funkiest band at Skull Fest.
            I only caught part of the Traditionals, but came back in time for The State. One of the few mid-west hardcore punk bands at the fest, The State have been around since 1979 and play hardcore in the same vain as Black Flag.  But unlike Black Flag there was no widespread popularity for The State, yet their music is just as angry and powerful. Their second appearance at Skull Fest was met with a larger audience that showed their support for the oldschoolers.  On stage, vocalist Preston Woodward could be seen seething as he shouted out the lyrics.  His band mates followed suit with a harmony of enmity.  And together they combined for a stunning performance leading into Submachine’s set.
            It should be without saying that Submachine was going to be the biggest draw for the night.   Having been a couple years since their last show, any rust was shaken off immediately.  Fans drank deeply from the intoxicating set.  Beer flowed freely from thrown cans and bottles as part of some unorthodox communion. Vocalist Alex shook an open bottle of beer over those in the front row (probably the only bath they’ll ever see this weekend) and stepped into the pit to join in with the rowdiness.  The song “Corruption” received a hearty sing-a-long session from a mass that rushed the stage to yell out the lyrics.  As gruff as Anti-Nowhere League and as volatile as the Exploited, Submachine are flag bearers for the working-class yinzerz.  Whether they’ll keep on playing every other year or what, it’s goddamn great to see these dudes still kicking ass.
Lecherous Gaze
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
            One would think that Urban Waste, an old-school New York City hardcore band fairly similar to Killer of Sheep, would get the same size crowd to stick around after Submachine.  Not the case, but the leftovers from the previous act did show some support.  Having played earlier this year at the Roboto, Urban Waste was met by a larger crowd and used what energy, that wasn’t spent already, to cheer on Urban Waste.  Johnny Waste and crew hammered out the confrontational sounds that identified them in the NYHC scene.  Supporters and fans alike cheered on as the NYC band brought out young and angry punk in all of us. 

The State
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
The late night after party at Spahn Ranch was a brief encounter.  Drug Lust was already underway with turning the mutated living room into a den of chaos.  A dim red light bathed the room with crimson hues that fit the mood rightfully.  Drug Lust is known locally amongst the underground as being particularly violent at shows.  Bottles, cans, or whatever that could be picked up with hands got thrown at the crowd.  At one point cinder blocks were sliding across the floor of the mosh pit, adding more mayhem.  Despite their reputation, Drug Lust is entertaining and pure fucking evil.  The extra-crunchy guitars and howling vocals put then in the same styling akin to Hellhammer.  Despite any injuries you may receive from seeing these dudes, they put on a damn good show.
            Unfortunately, after getting a full beer bottle thrown at my foot and getting head butted in the jaw by Drug Lust’s vocalist, I decided to call it a night after their set.  Got to same some of the stamina for the rest of the fest.
Perdition
photo credit Cece Manning


Day 2 – Saturday (Kopec’s Korner, The Shop, and Howler’s Coyote Cafe)

After recharging the batteries with some well needed food, it was about time to catch some crust punk at Kopec’s Korner.  Walking to the upstairs level led you into an eye-opening wall of body odor.  Just the stench alone was a sure sign of how intense the evening would be.  Packed to the gills with crusties, punks, and whoever else wandered in from the street, there was no escape from being smitten by the destructive force of d-beat crust.
            I arrived when Wilmington, North Carolina’s No Tomorrow barreled onto the floor.  The initial impact of the sounds belching forth from the speakers got the blood pumping in any warm body.  Hoarse yells with a backdrop of crushing drums, overcharged the crowd into a frenzy.  Kopecs’s contained room put both fans and bands on the same level ground, which led to instances of band-crowd interaction throughout No Tomorrow’s set.  The crusty stew came to a boiling point during a cover of Doom’s “Police Bastard.”  Skull Festers descended upon the microphone stand and bellowed along with the song for a fitting end. 
            Whatever adrenaline was left had spilled over on Oiltanker when they took to the floor.  Galloping beats came out at charge: not your typical horse shit, but a full on battalion of riders proceeded by berserkers.  Oiltanker set the bar for getting the crowd rallied up by sending punks crashing into tables and falling on top of concert attendees.  Shots of forceful screams echoed with contempt and were driven home by wailing guitars.  Punks and crusties alike rioted and raged by crashing into one another.  After a killer performance, one could understand why No Tomorrow and Oiltanker put out a split record together 

By the time Oiltanker wrapped up, I had a couple of options: check out Sickoids or check out Icon Gallery.  Since the crust show had ran late, I swung by The Shop to see a few songs from Sickoids.  They were the last band for the all-ages bracket on Saturday, so there was already an ecstatic crowd bouncing around the room.  After a couple of songs, the Philly punk began to sound somewhat static. But the Sickoids did dominate the young hooligans with a wall of sound as the final act.


Howlers Coyote Cafe was just two blocks away from where I was and their portion of Skull Fest was already on its way.  Icon Gallery was the second of three female-fronted bands playing tonight.  Joyful rhythms had fans swaying and bouncing along to Icon Gallery’s songs full of heartfelt tones, marked by vexed feelings.  Happiness and frustration so beautifully composed on stage that even the lighting of red and blue was rather befitting.  Fans sung the chorus to “Pain” with much drunken glee, as they converged towards the stage.  Icon Gallery was a high point as the evening proceeded to go even higher. 
Icon Gallery
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
Compared with last year’s performance, Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us made a point that they were going to play only older material.  With the exception of “Combat Shock” from their new EP, most of the songs on the set list came from the self-titled record and their first EP.  Oh Shit garnered their fans in for a feast, but it took a couple of songs to get the crowd hungry.  Ravenous moshers were rolling around the pit as punks circle-moshed into a vortex before creating more chaos to onlookers.  As demanding as hungry folks are, fans were calling out for “Werewolves on Wheels,” which was met towards the end.  Instantly, the pit caved in to a roar of delight to close out the set.
Early this year, Richmond’s Occultist began their tour with Ghoul in Pittsburgh and played to a very enthusiastic crowd, including a large number of female supporters.  A few months later, Occultist is back and just as wicked.  Much of the crowd began to disperse by the end of the night, but Occultist still had some devout followers raging hard at the vocalist’s feet.  The momentum of the music was a constant torrent of crushing blows.  A crossover band with hints of black metal though crusty on every edge.  Every bit of power left in the remaining Skull Festers was poured out into head banging and slamming into each on the floor.  It was a far more intimate crowd as Day 2 of the fest began to wane, but Occultist gave a couple encore songs to treat those who stuck it out.



Closing Thoughts from Christopher Woodford
This is the biggest article I’ve written on a concert event.  It has taken a lot of time to come up with descriptions on the events that unfolded, yet this overview was just the tip of the iceberg.  There was more, oh so much more!  One person alone cannot see all the bands at Skull Fest 4.  Show times overlapped with one another and bands occasionally did not start on time.  I had to leave out a few things out due to timing and creativity burnout.

However, Skull Fest 4 was truly something special this year.  The number of things going on during the day and night made it one of the biggest music events in Pittsburgh.  There are a few things that I’d like to mention that I wish I could go more in depth.  But for the sake of getting this article out on time, I can’t.  What was left out will be carried on through memories.

If I could say one thing about Skull Fest it's that the festival is a celebration.  It is an opportunity to celebrate music and community.

Last minute things I wish to mention:

Shayontani “Shani” Banerjee’s exhibit on women in subculture at the Garfiled Artworks was exquisitely passionate.  The exhibit feature many familiar faces in the underground punk and metal scene.  Some of them I know personally, some I don’t, but all are dedicated to the local music scene.  Bloated Sluts, Barren Scepter, Liebestod, and Gunspiking all had killer sets and took part in Shani’s exhibit by performing live.  Again, this was one of the biggest highlights of Skull Fest 4 and forever remembered.

Then there was Cobracabana after party.  Punks only location, but a shit ton of Skull Fest attendees showed up to drink and carry on into the night.  To me, this was the end of Skull Fest, since I didn’t spend as much time as I should have at Day 3 of Skull Fest due to work.  The Cobracabana party exemplified the bonds people share in punk.  It symbolized camaraderie, dedication, and love, even if everybody was shitfaced by the time the sun came up.  A single moment in time where everything feels right and just. 
Caleb (Wrathcobra), Hilary, and Chani (Icon Gallery)
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
Punx Picnic
photo credit, Christopher Woodford
Fun in the sun
photo credit, Christopher Woodford

Closing Thoughts from Cece Manning (Photographer)

Skullfest is always a good time for friends, great music and my hobby photography. I live in Cleveland and travel about two hours for Skullfest! This is my second year attending. I think the best band of the weekend was Nomad. They blew the roof off, or the ceiling! It made me feel like I was at home. Punk is meant to be outrageous and crazy! I love capturing the madness in a photograph! 

A few other bands that I thought were great in my opinion were perdition, inmates, hysteria, parasytic, and ratface! I love ratface! There were so many more great bands! It seems like Skullfest gets better and better every year. Cheers to all who put this fest together! And cheers to Renee's awesome strawberry vodka smoothies! See you next year, Skullfest!
Nomad
photo credit, Cece Manning

Muy Caliente!
photo credit, Cece Manning

Friday, September 14, 2012

Pittsburgh House Shows

I occasionally write for The Pittsburgh Scene website.  Here's my latest article on why metal and punk house shows should happen more often.
Read it here.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Interview with Adam Thomas

Adam Thomas, bassist of Heartless and Masakari, has just got back from spending the majority of summer touring and now sits down with Smoldering Forge for an awesome interview.  We talk a good bit about the USA tour with Heartless and the European tour with Masakari.  In addition, we go over how Adam manages to be in two bands from two cities and the booking group/record distro, Root of Evil Collective.


Interview with Adam Thomas by SmolderingForge

Adam Thomas

Feed The Fire

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

666


I realized that I had attended six concerts in six consecutive days.  So here are six deranged paragraphs to describe each of those six days!


WEDNESDAY 7/25
East meets west in a battle to see who plays the fastest.  Our home opener for the event was Anthophobic, one of the few grindcore bands in the area, but truer to their roots than most.  Seattle’s grindest, Totes Brute and Exogorth, crushed to every degree and gave a faster quickie than that $2 blinkin’ hooker on 16th and East Carson.  Grudges from Brooklyn took it upon themselves (or at least the vocalist did) to remind everyone that grindcore should be more about politics than having fun (ironically, they were fun).  Then there was d-beat female fronted Death First from Brooklyn, who were all crazy-cool until their equipment cut their set shorter than the grindcore bands.

Totes Brute

Exogorth

THURSDAY 7/26
Free black metal concert?  Free black metal concert!  But barely anyone came out (last minute, Thursday night shows can do that to you sometimes).  Vulkodlak crawled their asses from Birmingham, Alabama for a tour with Pennsylvania’s Neldoreth.  The Alabama duo dug in with Bathory riffs that would perk the ears up on any 80’s black metal fan.  While it was entertaining to see Vulkodlak’s drummer hammer out blast beats, Neldoreth’s drummer was completely computerized.  A bit of a let down, but hopefully they’ll find someone special to fill in for the robot.  Then there was Sathanas.  It was my first time seeing these guys perform live and they conquered all with catchy 80s black metal speed and finesse.  Their covers of Bathory and Celtic Frost would make any demon squeal with delight.

Vulkodlak

Neldoreth

Sathanas
"Morbid Tales" by Sathanas - Live Performance

FRIDAY 7/27
Allure of the Earth threw themselves a birthday party for their founder and invited some metal bands and friends to enjoy invisible pizza and cake.  The lineup of bands ranged from blackened death metal to experimental metal, the kind of music that a metal snob would enjoy.  Vitandus were the youngest; Microwaves the oddest; Complete Failure the moshiest; Liquified Guts the funniest; and Moths the longest.  Indeed it was a crazy night, like witnessing the mass exodus of the South Side on a Saturday night, though highly entertaining in the right mindset.  Pittsburgh ought to be blessed by these psychotic metalheads.


SATURDAY 7/28
I organized a concert at Kopec’s Korner on this date, which turned out to be kickin’ sweet.  It was the third concert I’ve put together myself.  I’m not going to go much detail into it, since it would be highly self-serving for me to do so on my own blog.  But I will say that I was exceptionally pleased with crust metal band, Tombstalker, who headlined the evening.  Special thanks to Iron Crown, Squatch Kill, and Wrought Iron for the local support!


SUNDAY 7/29
SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!  POST-PUNK MADNESS MADNESS MADNESS! Shows at Gooski’s are always one certain thing: fucking loud.  Anyway, Deathcamp and Squatch Kill were the odd bands out.  Deathcamp provided a hardcore punk backdrop for the Olympics on television and made women’s gymnastics infinitely better.  The dudes in Squatch Kill have members from the Del Rios and Doomwatch.  So if you think of the two together, you’ve got a raging son of a bitch.  Post punk and female-fronted is pretty much all you have to say in order for me to be in first inline.  Dekoder and Icon Gallery could both serenade me until the end of time without uncertainty.  The Montreal trio, Dekoder, embodied the broody nature I enjoy most in the sub-genre as well as deepening the thrill with well-rounded instrumentals that continuously begged for attention.  I will be honest, I didn’t stick around to see Icon Gallery because I had to start my new job in the morning, though they deserve every damn bit of praise they get.  Best female-fronted punk band in Pittsburgh for sure.


MONDAY (FUCK!) 7/30
Pissed off and angry, Monday it was back to Kopec’s Korner.  Blood Red opened up for two of the meanest hardcore punk bands Pittsburgh has seen this month.  Blood Red has been growing on me (sick bass lines, by the way), but their nasally vocalist still takes some getting used.  Raw Nerves, hailing from Portland, came across as being as bitter and tough as Tragedy.  Stripmines did their best to try and get some crowd participation going while tearing away any sort of joy (in a good way).  Ending the six-day sprint was Mower.  Fast, loud, and being two insufferable bastards are how heavy the Simpson brothers’ tackle and ride their roaring rhythms.

Raw Nerves
Raw Nerves performing live

Mower


Feed The Fire