8-13 SMPF, Reno Divorce, Submachine, Reckless Threat, the Downstrokes, Typhoid Rosie, the Lousekateers, Cumberland MD @Mezzos

Second day of Savage Mountain Punk Fest. All three days are at Mezzos, which is fine by me. Cool place, all ages type situation.

Pop Tarts hooked us up with a local place to stay. This enabled us to screw around all morning and day. Got breakfast at Klines Restraunt. Good call, the breakfast was reasonable and good. Then we went to Rocky Gap national park. Another good call becasue this place was empty and we got to chill and explore for a while and get in the water just right.

The Lousekateers - Easygoing lady vocal style punk band from New York. Cool band, set thing off right.

Typhoid Rosie - I loved this band. From Brooklyn, she singer lady was wearing some sort of Xena outfit and was doing karate shit and whatnot. She was really funny too, enjoyed the band thoroughly. Punk rock and roll done right. They said they have a new album out, I'm going to listen to it right now.

The Downstrokes - the dude putting on the fest, this is his band. Cool band. Medium tempo punk rock. I didn't hate this band, and it was pretty obvious that people support this band somewhat. Love the dude putting on something like this.

Reckless Threat - Three piece from Tennessee. Good band. I didn't love many songs, didn't hate many either.

Submachine - Classic Pittsburgh hardcore punk band. I'm stoked they're still playing. They pretty much killed it. During their set this dude fell and hit his head on the floor busting himself open. Dude was fine and in attendance with stitches the next night as well. Submachine played great in my opinion. Played some bangers. Was too drunk after to pick out a decent shirt, but thats ok, I'll wear the ok one. Bull in a China Shop is my favorite song.

Reno Divorce - They've evidently been playing for a long time. Rock and roll, rockabilly, punk rockish band. They were good. Good songs. Not quite something I get excited about, but worthy of support.

Highs - Submachine, Typhoid Rosie, good vibes all around
Lows - I can't remember what we had for dinner.

8-12 Savage Mountain Punk Fest, Beatnik Termites, the Jasons, the Nuclears, McRad, Wayward Brigade, the Wasted, Cumberland MD @Mezzos

Well, if there's no This is Hardcore in Philly and no Skull Fest in Pittsburgh, then the next best things are Furnace Fest in Alabama and Savage Mountain Punk Fest in Cumberland. This weekend, it's Savage Mountain. We had never been to Cumberland before. But when we saw that Sloppy Seconds was headlining a fest, we knew we had to go. Sloppy is pretty much the best.
Either way we decided to go to all 3 nights of shows, just cuz shows are happening again.

Turns out Mezzos is a completely fine place. The upstairs portion is a nice open concept bar and restraunt with great temperature control. The downstairs is a small/medium music space with a poorish layout and cheap PBR. We didn't try the pizza here, and that was probably a bad call.

We got pizza at Jacks before the show. Good call, bomb pizza.

The Wasted - They have an EP or something coming out on AF Records soon. This was the perfect band to open up more or less any fest. The variety of punks we were hoping to find at SMPF. Two piece punk band. Smelled like a 2 piece punk band. It was perfect. I'll listen to the album when it drops.

Wayward Brigade - This band was ok. Local punk outfit. The singer, who looked like a former contestant on Daisy of Love (VH1 obv), started the set off saying something like, it's not okay to call ladies bitches. Which I agree with, however, it was poorly done. Meh punk band, not aggressive enough to be dangerous.

McRad - The worst band name on the bill, but the second best set of the day. Another two piece, one lady on the drums and one dude on guitar and vocals. The guitar riffs ranged from metal to rock, and the vocals were fuzzy exactly like you want them. The whole set was a head nodder. They didn't sell any merch, or promote any other shows. The drummer looked super happy and she's the best. Upon farther research I think the singer used to be a pro skateboarder and McRad was a hardcore punk band in the 1980s, and the singer filled in on vocals for Bad Brains at times after HR left that group. I kinda want to write an article about this band.

The Nuclears - They're a 5 piece rock/punk band that has a lady singer who is very good. The energy was great and the people in attendance loved it. From Brooklyn. Not necessarily my favorite, but a good band for most shows.

The Jasons - Probably should have been headlining, they were really good. Second time seeing them. The schtick here is that they all dress up like different iterations of Jason the horror movie serial killer. Jason 3d etc. Good punk rock songs, nothing too heavy, everyone got into it.

Beatnik Termites - From Cleveland, they're a super easy listening band. They sound like something from the beatnik era maybe. Our impression was old ass songs. Ok band, not aggressive enough for me.

Highs - Jasons, McRad, venue
Lows - not much

Met a dude named Robert who was cool. Local wearing a DMX outfit. Super friendly, lit his pocket on fire.

8-11 Death Before Dishonor, Steel Nation, xRepresentx, Contemptment, Pittsburgh @Preserving Hardcore

I hope this trend continues with awesome shows at Preserving. Steel Nation plays and we do pretty much whatever to make it. Last time we came up here we noticed a brewery called Voodoo literally one block away. 3 minute walk. This is perfect becaue I don't really want to disrespect the drug and alcohol free venue by gooning it up. Though I'm not above that. So we got pizza and beer at Voodoo before the show. Perfect.

xRepresentx - They canceled. The singer was still there. Heard someone else in the band wasn't well.

Contemptment - First time hearing them. They were good. Hardcore, not so different from Watcher. Nice set.

Steel Nation - Been so long since I saw Steel Nation. Heavy hitting harcore with just enough metal parts and fast parts. The new album is a ripper, though they didn't play the two best songs somehow. Bloodsucker and Self Defeated. They mentioned they're working on a Forever Wounded front to back set. I hope it happens.

Death Before Dishonor - This was the last show of their tour. The new album is good. You know the old stuff is good. Get your mosh on. Get your sing along on.

Highs - Everything music related and beer and pizza related
Lows - Nothing at all. Didn't even have to drive through a storm.

7-30 Human Animal, Watcher, Hurtpiece, Narakah, New Kensington @Preserving Underground

This was the first hardcore show I've been privy to in a long time. I know they've been going on in secretish, but no one tells me these things. This was my first time to Preserving Underground since they moved into the church. Great space. Awesome for shows.

Narakah - This band was ok. The singer has a baby face. Death grind is what the singer said they are, with some neandrethal parts. New band I think, decent set.

Hurtpiece - Hardcore. I dont think I had seen them before. Ok set.

Watcher - Members of Built Upon Frustration. They played some BUF songs, and some of their own songs. Nice set, heavy band. I know they're not a new new band, but they're new to me. Heavy hardcore, not so different from BUF.

Human Animal - Erie hardcore at its finest. I thought they were exceptionally good. The new album is good too. Fast hardcore, easy on the mosh for the most part.

Highs - The bands, the show space, New Kensington in general.
Lows - Nothing, driving an hour fifteen isn't all that big a deal to us.