2-7 Coheed and Cambria, Between the Buried and Me, Russian Circles, Pittsburgh @Stage AE

This was part 3 of the Christmas event package. Parking was not an issue because we were there plenty early. The Penguins playing downtown wasn't an issue for us either with the traffic. Stage AE was sold out for this show. I was flabbergasted by how long the line was that we had to wait in before we could even get to the door. It was about a 30 minute wait in line. It was longer than the line for This is Hardcore. Either way, it was my first trip to Stage AE. I don't usually go places that support American Eagle but I like this place. It's very big, and they don't segregate the 21 and over crowd from the non-legal drinkers. That was nice. And while beer was expensive, it's worse at Mr. Smalls and other places.

Russian Circles - Going into the show this was my favorite band on the bill. Despite Coheed's performance being the best, Russian Circles is still my favorite band of the three. I like the thing they have going on with the lights, and I really dig their bass lines. Most of their songs are real head nodders. I'll always go see this band.

Between the Buried and Me - I don't care for this band much on recordings and I don't care for them much live. What's the deal with the gay LED's behind the band? Those were super annoying. I didn't realize that BTBAM had so much singing. We spent the later half of this set outside smoking cigs by the fire. I wasn't feeling the rhythm or pretty much anything. Very disappointed.

Coheed and Cambria - This band is very good live. Every member is entertaining to watch and the vocals sound just as they do on the albums. Now, they played a lot of the new album, which I haven't heard yet. But even those songs were pretty good. I liked their set a lot. Though, I don't know why they would have to change guitars so much. Is was some rockstar shit that rubs me the wrong way. But the set was great, the performance was great, they didn't play the Suffering, but they did play Welcome Home. I'd go see Coheed again if the tix don't go up in price.

Highs - Russian Circles, Coheed and Cambria, everything going rather smoothly.
Lows - BTBAM, the prices on everything from the tix to the brew.

1-15 Outlast, Born Annoying, Host, Breach, Raging Planet, Pittsburgh @Roboto

Before this evening I had never seen any of the bands on the bill. I didn't get to any shows in December, so I need to start the new year strong, so I went to this show figuring that something would be alright about it. It was a bit chilly outside, under 40, but it was tolerable for walking from the car to the venue. Turnout was a bit on the weak side. I'd say that at the height of the show there were 50 people in the room including everyone in bands. That was during Host. So I'm going to say maybe 25 people paid to get in.

Raging Planet - First show for this Pittsburgh band. It was a decent set. They're fast and screamy. It bothers me when everyone in a band plays with their backs to the audience the entire time. Makes me feel like they give even less of a shit than I do. Regardless, for their first show it was OK.

Host - They were the best band of the night. Raging hardcore without the super heavy beatdowns, but still with plenty of mosh parts. They were pretty fast and the singer had all the energy. I'd like to see Host again. Their set became annoying when the one guitar player broke the neck on his guitar somehow. So they stopped until they found a new guitar. Then he decided that he can't play with that guitar because it will sound like shit. What's the fucking difference between one guitar and another? Would it really sound like shit so bad that you can't play in your hardcore band to Roboto? Regardless, he decided the band will play on with only one guitarist. It struck me as really a dick move. But I'd like to see them again anyway.

Born Annoying - I was the most excited to see this band before the show started, mostly because their name is pretty sweet. The lead singer struck me as a bit dopey. Nothing good to say. He looked annoying and uncomfortable. But I really liked the music. Fast punk with segments of thrash metal. The backup vocals were good too. I liked this band and will support in the future.

Breach - I can't stand looking at these assholes. The singer kept pulling his shirt down so his fat ass belly wouldn't hang out. Well if you're so self conscious about your fat ass belly hanging out, then wear a bigger shirt. But he wouldn't want to do that because his too small shirt is perfectly unfashionable in the way that people who claim to not care about fashion care more about fashion than anyone else in the room. So he got on my nerves right from the start. I hate his shoes. They're either leather or fake leather. But even fake leather promotes real leather so fuck you Breach. A bunch of dorks anyway. We watched the entire set and it was very bleh. Some songs were ok, but most of them kinda sucked. Was not into it.

Outlast - Never showed up because of van troubles.

HI's - Host and Born Annoying, the drink and the smoke
Low's - The locals, turnout.

1-10 Fireworks, Mace Ballard, Last Apollo, Shirts vs. Skins, Pittsburgh @Smiling Moose

We were extra late going to this show at the Smiling Moose. We missed the first two bands. But that's ok, Fireworks is the only band I cared about anyway. I was surprised by the turnout. I think there were a bit over 100 people there, somewhere around 110 would be my guess.

Shirts vs. Skins - Missed them and don't care.

Last Apollo - Missed them and don't care.

Mace Ballard - Consistently one of the worst bands to play shows and be around for a while. I don't think anyone really likes them. And if anyone does, they don't seem to come out to the shows. This band is soo poop. Not one single good song. The singer is annoying as fuck. Pompous. All 3 vocalists suck. Just bad all around. They played like 8 songs or something and it was all bad. One of my least favorite bands to see on a poppunk bill.

Fireworks - Was awesome. The singer sounds so good live. The best voice in poppunk in my opinion. They played about 10 or 11 songs. I was disappointed that my two favorite songs weren't played, that is Vonnegut and I Support Same Sex Marriage. But they played about 5 songs I did know and it's all good. I very much enjoyed the set. Energy was good. Stage dives, high fives. It was all together one of the better poppunk sets I've been witness to.

Hi's - Turnout, bb, Fireworks
Low's - Mace Ballard

11-10 Sincerity Fest, Pittsburgh @Springdale Fire Hall

Sincerity Fest is something that has been going on in the Pittsburgh area yearly for some time now. I always try to go if I can. This year was by far the best lineup I've ever seen for the fest. Some real bangers were on the lineup and I was stoked for the entire day.

However, we didn't make it there by noon. Sucks but we still made decent time getting there.

Breach - Missed them.
No Reason To Live - Missed them. I'd have liked to see them too.
Pray For Teeth - Missed them. I've seen them a handfull of times. Good band, but I'm not upset.
Adventures - Missed them. I really really like this band.
Steel City Firm - Missed them. They seem really heavy when I stream it and I'd like to see them live.

Liotta - This is the first band we saw. I was expecting them to be a hardcore band. But they're a semicrappy pop punk band in the style of Title Fight but a bit softer. I enjoyed them, I was ready for music. No violence. Not many real good songs. I don't think I'll go to any shows wanting to see them specifically. Some people there seemed to really enjoy the set.

Another Mistake - Good heavy band. I thought the singer was especially entertaining. I'm not sure if their lyrics are any good, but the beat was. The first mosh I was present for happened here. I'd go see this band again.

Pity Sex - More crappy poppunk. I didn't think this band was that good at all. Pretty similar to Liotta, but somehow not as good. Maybe I need to check out their recordings.

Wrong Answer - Very good band. They brought the tough hardcore and people got their mosh on. It was especially good. The last song was a true banger. In my opinion they were the third best band of the day.

Homewrecker - So they were supposed to play earlier in the day, and I was completely there in time just to see them. They were late. Then later. Then later. So we bounced for a little bit and inadvertently missed them. Sucks balls. I was more excited to see them than any other band other than Steel Nation.

We The Gathered - Missed them. I saw them on the Earth Crisis show and thought they weren't very good.

Complete Failure - Missed them. I've seen them a bunch of times and they're super heavy but not exactly a great live show. Not mad that I missed them.

Full Of Hell - Sweet band. By my recollection the fourth best of the day. They're not a beatdown band by any means. They're a breed of new hardcore like Heartless and Dead in the Dirt. Kinda spazzy, heavy, a lot faster. Good band.

Unit 731 - They brought the beatdown like they always bring the beatdown. The mosh was in high gear. A member of their band looked just like Chauder Man, which was funny. I enjoyed the set, I usually don't so much.

Hollow Earth - All I've ever heard about this band is that they're good. I agree. I suspect that their lyrics are political, which makes me like them even more. They were heavy, but not so catchy.

Steel Nation - Ripped it the fuck up. I very much enjoyed the set. They played a new song that sounded killer. They played most of their set from Forever Wounded. The mosh was on. Everything was kick ass across the board. The band of the night by far.

Trial - Excellent set. I was slightly disappointed because I was only half real into what the singer talked about during his rants. But I enjoy the rants none the less. Played a ton of good songs from the full length. Great band. I'm going to listen more to the entire full length.

Code Orange Kids - Missed them. I left before they played. It was a long day and I only moderately like the band. Not upset.

Hi's - Steel Nation, Trial, Wrong Answer, Full of Hell, GREAT veggie burgers and chili.
Low's - Not a whole lot at all. I guess the lack of a drinking venue is something but it would probably change the dynamic of the fest.

11-3 Epica, Alestorm, Insomnium, System Divide, Pittsburgh @Altar Bar

Pre-show last night I hadn't heard any of the other bands other than Alestorm. Expected it to be a debauchery of nu-metalcore nu-metal or some other bullshit. I was pretty much right.

Right off the bat Epica left me with a bad taste in my mouth because they kicked all the local openers off the bill. A few bands like Second Empire and Deathlehem were supposed to play, but at Epica's request the only bands that played were the touring bands they brought with them. That's just some rockstar shit, all I'm saying.

All in all turnout seemed really good. I'm thinking there were around 200 people there. Maybe 250. So I'm sure the promoter cleaned up on that one. Let's assume everyone paid $25 for the presale price and no one got the $27 at the door, or the $60 VIP whatever the fuck that is. 25 x 200 = 5000. That's a lot of cheese and if this metal tour cost more than that to bring through, that's fucked up.

System Divide - Boy did this band suck. They were on some tough metalcore shit brought to you by some bald guy, then some chic would sing some shit. For one I didn't like the way the chic was wiggling around on stage. She wasn't banging the head right. So they're fucking up right there. Then the songs are all confused, are they tough? Are they wimpy? They had no identity. Some 105.9 the X faux-underground bullshit metal. That's what I call it. We only stayed to watch two songs of theirs because of how bad it was. It looked like some people liked it. I think I disliked this band about as much as I've ever disliked a band before.

I have a serious accusation against System Divide that gets it's own paragraph here due to the nature of the allegation. I think both singers for System Divide were singing over a track, or completely lip-syncing. Let me explain the allegation farther. During the second song, which is the last song I saw of theirs, the dude singer was growling some shit and I guess he did something bad with the mic and it squealed at him in the middle of him singing. He took the mic away from his face and looked to the right, presumably at his sound guy, all pissed off. When the mic was away from his face, his lips weren't moving to the music (they were like what the fuck), there was no mic there to catch the vibrations if he had been, but the vocals to that song were still going. The mishap was only noticeable for two seconds, but it made me start to pay very close attention. That's when I noticed that there was something wrong with the chic's singing too. So, to clarify the allegation, here is what I think happened last night: System Divide played over a track. 75% of the sound we heard was a cd, 25% was the actual band. I know the microphones and shit were on because of the squeal, but I also know for a fact there was a track playing because I heard the singer singing when there was no singing being sung. Make sense? /rant

Insomnium - This band brought more of a respectable sound to the stage. Where the first band was some radio metal shit, this band was a little too heavy and too metal for the average Pittsburgh metal fan. I don't know which subgenre of metal I'd classify them as. But they weren't any one traditional style, but a mixture of things. It was nice that there was no nice singing involved and all the guys were fat metalheads. We watched 2 songs. While they were much better than the first band, still not worth my time.

Alestorm - I was all amped up for this and Alestorm didn't let me down. A few funny things happened right off the bat. This band is from Perth, Scotland. I'm pretty sure they announced right off the bat that they are Alestorm from Sacramento California. I'm not sure what that was about, but it was an interesting start. Second immediate observation of humor, their guitarist is a midget. It's true. We were hoping there would be a midget being funny, and they one upped us by having a midget in the band. And the lead singer is barely taller than the midget himself. The keytar was in effect. The singer was wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates shirt, which was the obvious choice that evening. The midget was wearing a Deathlehem shirt, that's one of the local bands that got kicked off. It makes me happy to think that they're not getting along well with Epica because of their rock star persona. Anyway I think the set only consisted of 9 songs. The Sunk'n Norwegian, Shipwrecked, Leviathan, Rum, Death Throes of the Terrorsquid, Nancy's Harbor Cafe, Captain Morgans Revenge, Keelhauled, and Pirate Song. It was great. I'd go see Alestorm again for $25.

Epica - This band sucks. One looooooong song in, we left. The chic singer sure can sing real nice, but that doesn't do shit for anyone when the songs suck. Some rock star metal fucks. Glad I had the foresight to leave before that set got real embarrassing.

All in all the evening was enjoyable for many of the same reasons it was not enjoyable, the fans. Radio metal fans are idiots. This guy who was up in front of me, a little short fuck with a ponytail was looking all pissed off whenever someone would bump him during Alestorm. That fucker was turned around facing me more than he was the stage. So of course any time I had the opportunity to push someone into him I gave him an extra hard shove. Fuck that idiot and fuck everyone else there who probably like shim. But we did have a grand time goofing on everyone and everything.

Hi's - Alestorm, idiots, inebriation
Low's - All the other bands, idiots, the price

10-14-2012 Converge, Torche, Kvelertak, Pittsburgh @Altar Bar

Going into this show I hadn't heard any of Converge's new cd, but I figured it'd be a ripper. The other two bands were pretty new to me.

The weather was good this night, a perfect night for hardcore and metal.

Kvelertak - This band was pretty good. Some of my friends thought they were pretty butt, but I thought they represented metal pretty well. Good performance. I'd like to see them again.

Torche - This band sucks. They reminded me of a heavier Creed or something. They also played forever. I watched a few songs and listened to the rest from outside. Will not see again, I hope.

Converge - They didn't play many old songs, but still ripped it up. Dark Horse is an awesome song. The crowd was real into it. Probably the best Converge show in Pittsburgh that I've been to.

I like the Altar Bar for some shows, less for others. This show I'd have rather seen somewhere else that is a little bit shittier.

Hi's - Converge, Kvelertak, weather
Low's - Torche, expensive beer

10-7 Propaghandi, Comeback Kid, The Catastrophe, Worlds Scariest Police Chases, Pittsburgh @Altar Bar

We were super stoked for this show. Propagandhi doesn't tour through these parts much, so seeing them was a treat. I've been listening to them since about 2000 and every album is pretty solid. The show was $20 I think, which is usually a little bit steep by punk standards, but going into the investment I felt it would be worth it.

Also on the same night was a CDC wig-mosh show going on at the Ironworks. I'm not sure why they'd schedule CDC to play here on the same night as Comeback Kid is playing a big show. It's people like me they want to draw there. The gangster mosh people are going to CDC anyway, but I'd only go if there wasn't anything better to do. So Propagandhi and Comeback Kid got my cheese without any contest.

Worlds Scariest Police Chases - Pop punk hardcore punk kinda deal. They all dress up like Police officers kinda. Well, they at least wear badges. Either way their set was real fun. The lead singer has a cockyness to him, though it seems to be part of the show.

The Catastrophe - I was hoping for a decent band. But this band wasn't decent. We watched three songs then went outside for beer. Pretty boring to watch. And the appearance of the lead singer was a turn off for me. He looked like a frat boy or something.

At this point in the night the crowd really started filling up. I especially dislike how the Altar Bar has those fucking benches segregating the 21+ from the all ages portion. It's just that those benches take up a lot of floor space and are intrusive to the show experience.

Comeback Kid - Ripped shit up. Some people say they sound like Linkin Park but I don't get that at all from them. They played a few songs more from the newest release Symptoms + Cures than I expected. But that is ok. The new album is pretty good and the set was very very good. Great energy. Good punk pitting. The setlist was solid and I'll go see Comeback Kid every chance I get.

Is it the bands or the promoters that make the time period between the headliner and the band before absurdly long?

Propagandhi - Killed it. It was the best punx show I've been to in a while. The biggest sticking point with me was the lack of material played off of Todays Empires Tomorrows Ashes. They only played Fuck the Border from that particular release. However, the songs from Supporting Caste are bangers, especially Night Letters. Great set. Played for a little over an hour. Well worth $20 alone.

I'm thinking there were somewhere around 300 people in the building. I liked everything about the show other than the Catastrophe and the $6 I spent on a tall can of PBR. There was also somewhat of a fight during Propagandhi. Idiots. I'm sure they settled that score. :/

Hi's - Prop, CBK, turnout, choosing this show over the alternative

Low's - It was pretty cold out, $20 though it was worth it