This is the first year we've attended all 4 days. Our friends getting old as fuck, or at least for some reason it seems like they want to be and feel old as fuck. Resigning any sentiment of youth and energy in favor of polo shirts and 10 pm bedtimes. I don't think I'll ever get it. Regardless, me and Eric, doing what we'll always do, made the late night trip from one side of PA to the other on Wednesday night. 5 hour drive about, it went by fast, and once again Camry handled it like a champ.
We got the deal of the century, the hotel was free for 4 days. Fucking awesome shit. It was also way too classy for us. I'd really rather stay in some New Jersey slum motel like last year. We stayed at the Four Points by Sheridan. It had a nice bar and shit in the lobby, a salt water pool, super friendly housekeeping who actually said hello and shit when you passed them in the hallways, breakfast that cost like $10. It was way over the top and we were most definitely the only TIH goers staying there. It wasn't all good at the hotel though, the TV had some of those scratchy static lines running vertically, the swimming pool was kinda dirty, and I couldn't smoke in the room. Next year we're going back to staying at a hotel with a fist sized hole in the door.
We made the crucial mistake on this day by parking in one of the attended lots. Fucking $25. Fuck that. Those fucking con artists ripped us right off properly. Fuck em. They won't get us again because the next day we figured out how to buck that system.
The line was around the corner and took forever to get in despite the fact that we were pretty early. This day of the fest is seen as a metal day. Very few true hardcore bands played. I think it was awesome, but it appeared that this was by a longshot the least attended day of the fest.
Rock Bottom - We missed them because of the line.
Lifeless - I wish I'd have missed them. They're one of those tough guy bands that there is nothing special about. See, if you're going to be a super tough band like them, then you have got to either have the best songs, or the best live show. They have none of that. I hadn't seen them before, but my impression of them was a negative one. I connect them with the bands that encourage crowd killing and the ultra-violence that makes shows no fun to go to. In the end I was pretty close to right. I didn't enjoy the set and don't think I'll ever go out of my way to see this band. One of the worst bands of the fest. The crowd's response to them was a bit sluggish.
Expire - The first band that drew heavy crowd response. It was a great set. With a mid tempo modern hardcore sound they brought the most and the stagedives. It was a very good set. My first time seeing them. I'll have to listen more and will for sure go see them again.
Noisem - A younger and newer hardcore band. They fit into the subgenre of weirdo metal hardcore. The response to their set was weak because their songs aren't great for stagediving and not good for moshing. I enjoyed the set and I think if this band stays together they'll be something to see in the future.
Xibalba - The first band of the year that we willfully didn't watch. We listened outside. Tough guy shit, I'm sure the mosh was pretty ignorant.
Code Orange Kids - They make me feel good about Pittsburgh hardcore. They got some serious crowd response. The pit was heavy as fuck. Their stage presence is amazing. Despite being more of a weird metal hardcore band like Noisem, they have some songs that are much more conductive to energy at a place like TIH. Great set. This band is really growing on me.
Ringworm - "This happens every year. In between the mosh parts are these things called solos. Ask your uncles and your dads about them. They'll fill you in." A great line by the singer Human Furnace that sums up Ringworm's set pretty well. They slayed it, but the crowd really only got crazy for a few songs. One of the best sets of the day, and one of my favorite sets of the weekend. They didn't play Dollar Whore or Birth is Pain, but still the set was awesome. I had to get the frisbee and backpatch and towel, so this was the first band whose merch table I hit hard.
Overcast - An older band who is going to be putting out a discography soon. I don't think they've played anywhere in years. It's always a great thing about TIH fest because they pull bands like this out of the woodwork and often their showmanship squashes a lot of the newer bands. Overcast pretty much killed it. The singer has dreads no joke 5 feet long. Brought some metal, brought the mosh. Good set by a band that I should be listening to. This was the first set of the day that had to be stopped mid-song because someone was hurt pretty badly. I didn't see what happened but dude ended up ok and going out with the medics. They resumed play successfully.
Crowbar - By far the most surprising band of the entire fest. As a sludge metal band, never focusing on the beatdowns, they brought it and brought it fucking hard. The pit was going wild. It seemed that people were really into them. I had previously thought that this would be the beginning of a mass exodus for the end of the night, but I was wrong. TIH packed it in. Sludge metal stagedives? What? It was off the hook. You can tell this band has been playing for a long long time because they had their shit together. Great set, I'm sure if they ever come to Pittsburgh again they'll be playing with shit metal bands and their set won't be nearly as energetic, but I'm looking forward to it anyway. One of the top sets of the whole weekend.
Unearth - When they went on stage there were maybe half of the people in the building that were in there for Crowbar. It was still a lot of people, but I'm sure it had to be disappointing for them. They didn't help theirselves any by playing pretty poorly and people slowly trickled out as their set didn't suck anyone in. By far one of the most disappointing bands for me. I used to be super into their early albums up to the Oncoming Storm. But even their old songs sounded lackluster and with boring unimaginative beatdowns. Towards the end of the set some lady got hurt, evidently knocked out cold, and there was a long lull in the music. We took this opportunity to end the misery and get out of there. Won't be going out of my way to check them out in the future.
Killswitch Engage - This band isn't anything I'm very interested in. And after Unearth epically let me down I wasn't too keen on giving another mainstream hardcore turned metal band a chance. We got our merch and got out. Was super disappointed that Crowbar had packed up their shit and left before we got to their table. Almost got a Code Orange Kids jersey, but I probably wouldn't wear it.
Merch acquired this day: Ringworm (shirt, tote, patches, stickers, frisbee, towel, 4 beer coozies), Hail Pizza pentagram shirt that I love.
Best sets: 1. Crowbar
2. Code Orange Kids
3. Ringworm
4. Expire
5. Overcast
Disappointing sets: 1. Unearth
2. Lifeless
Favorite sets after one day: 1. Crowbar
2. Ringworm
3. Code Orange Kids
4. Expire
5. Overcast
Final thoughts of the night. Chics in high waisted shorts are still a big thing, it's good and bad, good is good and bad is fupa emphasis. Booty shorts are still prevalent. I will always wear tighter pants from now on because things will stay in your pocket better. We didn't utilize the $5 re-entry. Girl mosh was prevalent, and that's good to see. Dickhead mosh was happening, but not on the scale that it was a show ruiner. Metal wins.
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