9-7 Valient Thor, Ramming Speed, German Shepherd, Rogue Signals, Pittsburgh @31st Street Pub

I'd been itching for a good metal show. Even though the 31st Street Pub isn't my favorite destination for beer and music, for some shows it does just fine. This show is a good example of that. Enough people there to make it well attended, but few enough so that the bar wasn't jam packed.

Rogue Signals - I really like the name. That is about it. They're a rock and roll metal style band with a female singer. She's an ok singer. The musicianship was OK. Overall none of the songs were very good.

German Shepherd - Another local band. They were OK. Heavy rock music by four dudes. They were way better than Rogue Signals, but still I don't think I'll be going out of my way to see them.

Ramming Speed - Now I'm pissed that we missed them a month or so ago at Belvederes. They were super good. Pretty much a straight forward thrash metal band with some groovy hardcore inspired quasi-breakdowns at times. Good for the metal heads, good for the metal punks, good for the hardcore people. Some of their songs have serious sing along potential. I enjoyed pretty much every song very well. The singer was very entertaining. He looked like he was enjoying the shit out of himself. Fist pumps everywhere.

Valient Thor - I had only listened to this band before, but never seen them. The set was killer. Rock and roll metal done as good as it can be done. They're like a less heavy more party Doomriders. Very riffy, driving rock and roll with plenty of singalongs. I'll for sure go see them again.

Hi's - $2 beers, Ramming Speed, Valient Thor.
Low's - The Pub can get really fucking hot.

8-25 Skull Fest 5, Zero Boys, Nightbirds, Submachine, Wetbrain, Pittsburgh @Belvederes

Every year I try my hardest to go to as many of the Skull Fest shows as I possibly can. This year I had to work on Friday and Saturday so with only one show on Sunday, it was my only choice. I'm bummed I missed the mutant punk alleyway carnival, but at least my only Skull Fest option was a solid show.

Wetbrain - Hawaiian shirt hardcore punk band. I liked the singer's demeanor. He was super strange but fun to watch. Kind of like he didn't give a shit, but just strange. Good band. Members of Inmates and 9 Shocks Terror from Cleveland.

Submachine - The only Pittsburgh band of the night. Hardcore punk of the olde gaurde. They were really good too, and had the best fan reaction I've ever seen of them. Sometimes fast sometimes not, always a little bit mean.

Night Birds - This was their first time ever coming to Pittsburgh, and judging by the crowd's reaction I'd say they'll be back. They were really good, I can see this band playing This is Hardcore and getting good response. Hardcore punk in the vein of 7 Seconds. Not very screamy, and not very riffy. More on the punk side than on the metal side. I hope they come back to Pittsburgh because I'd really like to see them again. Their bass player was the best musician of the night, and the only musician who really stood out as being very good to me.

Zero Boys - They were part of the initial punk wave in the United States, starting up in '79 I think. So they've been playing their jams for a while. I really enjoyed the entire set except for one song. They sounded a lot like the Descendents or Agent Orange, and I think they covered a Descendants song (or was it an Adolescents song?). Either way, these old fucks ripped it up in very nice fashion. The one song I didn't like at all was a cover song, I can't remember who is the original artist on the track. The Machines maybe? Either way, the singer and the drummer switched places for this one and it was no good. The drummer can't move his head, or just refuses too. It was terrible watching him. But the entire set as a whole did not disappoint.

Hi's - the venue, turnout was most likely around 200 or 250, all the bands.

Low's - nothing

8-10 This is Hardcore

We were pretty beat when we got back to the hotel from This is Hardcore Friday. But a good rest and big breakfast the next day did us all good.

So according to the This is Hardcore application on my smartphone there was an old NYHC band called Absolution that was scheduled to play at ???? time. As far as I know this never happened. I can't find any explanations as to why. It doesn't really matter, I don't know the band or anything.

Caught in a Crowd - We missed them. We were a little bit late getting to the show on this day, this is the only band we missed because of being tardy.

Things We Say - From South Korea. They sounded a whole lot like Mental from Boston, especially the singer. Old school sounding get low breakdowns, great for the creepy crawly or your favorite non-toughguy dance. I thought their set was tight as fuck and awesome. They sounded super appreciative about the chance to play there. I never did find their merch, if they had any. For a good portion of the day they were the best band that had played.

Beware - I feel like we watched this band, but I can't remember anything about them. 100% completely not memorable.

World War 4 - I had high hopes for this band because of the former members of Floorpunch and Righteous Jams and such. I was wrong. This band was pretty poop. I didn't think many of their songs were good. The singer was completely not entertaining and everything was unoriginal. Disappointed in WW4.

Turnstile - They had some songs I really really liked. And some songs that were pretty boring. What I don't like about them is the toughguy air that they have about them. I think that their best songs were the ones with sick singalongs mixed in with good beatdowns. All in all I liked the set.

Mindset - We listened to this band from the chairs outside. "I don't think I like this band much." I completely don't get the hype, this band isn't that good.

Maximum Penalty - They were supposed to play in the time slot that Mindset played in, but they were late because the singer got caught on the NJ turnpike. I was surprised by the weak reaction to this band. I thought they had a pretty unique sound. The singer had a voice and delivery style unlike anyone else on the bill, kinda like a rapper at times and kinda like a White Trash Rob style singer at other times. It was a cool set, but not that awesome.

Wisdom in Chains - My favorite band in the world on most nights. They played a set shorter than I had hoped. I was surprised that the setlist didn't include Chasing the Dragon or Death of Whiskey Finger, but did include Everything You Know off of the same album. Also off the new album they didn't play My Friend or Ghost of Buddy or Defend Protect, but they did play Peace to My Family. Interesting song choices. It didn't matter in the end. They killed it. 3rd best band of the day. Their old school oi influenced sing along hardcore was an odd duck on the day, but a much needed change of pace at this point in the day.

Defeater - The first part of their set was really good, the second half not so much. They're also a style of hardcore that doesn't have much in the terms of breakdowns. They have an emotional sound with a good bit of singalongs and not a whole lot of mosh. Good set, but nothing amazing.

Rival Mob - Just like last year, they were insane. Crazy wild pit, great energy, great crowd response. I love seeing this band live even though I don't know any of their songs. They play really tough hardcore without seeming like a toughguy band. Cool set. They were the 4th best band of the day.

Nails - They played right after the dinner break. We were still eating at the time so we didn't watch this band. They sounded alright from the outdoors. Tough California metal inspired hardcore. It seems like a lot of people liked them.

Killing Time - I don't like this band a whole lot. But I didn't watch them either. Their singer had a few funny things to say, so that's always appreciated. A lot of people seemed to have liked this set too.

Ringworm - I was glad and excited that this band was on the bill. They're more of a metal sound than anyone else on the bill. It made it nice to watch the band's demeanor which is more of a metal band than a hardcore band. It was a nice switch-up. Dollar Whore is such a banger, great song. The pit was going for most of the set too, good stuff. One thing about Human Furnace, the singer, is that his banter between songs is too nice. He's like cracking jokes and he sounds all nice. I'd like it much better if he sounded real mean or something. Fifth best band of the day.

All Out War - The pit went berserk for this band. It's a rarity that AOW plays anywhere these days so it was a big deal that they were on This is Hardcore this year. Good set, played Burning Season and a few other of my favorite songs. Though they didn't play For Those Who Were Crucified or Resist. I enjoyed it, but the pit was too big and violent for my likings so I didn't get into the mix.

Ceremony - Great set. They started out with a song that sounded like a Sonic Youth cover or something. All the band members were kind of awkwardly standing on stage playing this easy and boring song. Then: "enough of this shit." and the fracas began. Even though they played most of their stuff off the new album, which isn't very heavy or singalong intensive, it was still an amazing set. Just enough older tunes to keep it crazy, and they played the newer weird songs in such a way that it was still bananas. Open Head was their best song. "fuck police..forever". Second best band of the day.

H2O - They played for what seemed like forever. It was a great set and a super energetic set, but very long. They played all the songs that I really really like. Singalongs, stagedives everywhere, it was a good time. Their style of NYHC sing along music is perfect for This is Hardcore. As long as they are a band I think they'll have a spot on the bill.

7 Seconds - Great set. Most of the crowd didn't give them a lot of energy because their real old style hardcore isn't all the rage these days. But a good bit of stagediving and circlepitting went on. I was so stoked that they played pretty much the entire live cd. All the good jams. They even played 2 new songs that were killer. I enjoyed everything about the set. Best band of the day in my opinion. Kevin Seconds has an amazing demeanor to him, like he's the least threatening person ever.

Top 5 of the day:
5. Ringworm
4. Rival Mob
3. Wisdom in Chains
2. Ceremony
1. 7 Seconds

Top 5 bands of the two days together:
5. Wisdom in Chains
4. Ceremony
3. Bane
2. 7 Seconds
1. Modern Life is War

High's - Everything, the food trucks, the bands
Low's - generic toughguy mosh bands to start the day, what happened to Absolution?, the tough mosh getting on my nerves sometimes (more like a few tough moshers getting on my nerves), for the weekend as a whole the high wasted pants were everywhere and making chics look terrible. So many horrible thighs up in that bitch. Let's get rid of that trend.

8-9 This is Hardcore

This is Hardcore is without a doubt the fest hardcore fest in the US every year. The lineup this year was as sick as ever. Right off the bat I had a problem with deciding which days I wanted to go to. Since I live most of the year in the poor house I could only go to 2 days of the 4 day fest. In the end we decided Friday and Saturday were the days with the most bands we love. Thursday was a strong lineup with Cold World, Boysetsfire, Stick Together, Suburban Scum, Striking Distance, and Kill Your Idols. But the awesomeness of the other 3 days was way better than that. Sunday's highlights for me were Gwar, Sick of It All, Negative Approach, Slapshot, No Redeeming Social Value, Code Orange Kids, and Colin of Arabia. I've been itching bad to see NRSV since East Coast Tsunami fest last year. But because of said money problems Sunday wasn't feasible either. Friday and Saturday were pretty great in every sense.

The Hotel was a piece of shit, but 3 people splitting like $60 a night was too good to refuse. Though, we did drive past a few hole in the walls advertising around $40 a night, so next year maybe we'll take yet another step down the quality of life ladder and stay in a place somehow less nice. The Knights Inn in Mt Laurel New Jersey had a smoking room with 2 beds so we snatched that up. There was a hole in the corner of the door, but luckily there was a piece to a broken drawer laying around that we propped up to block the hole. The reservations were for 4 people, they only gave us 2 sets of towels. The front desk doesn't give out extra towels, sheets, pillows, or blankets so we had to make that work. The sheets and comforters had holes in them. One of the lamps didn't work. The shower leaked water all over the floor. The fridge sucked and only worked about half of the time. It was a mess. But good price. I'd stay there again.

I'm glad we planned to stay over in Jersey on Thursday night. It allowed for us to rest up before the fest. Next road trip I think we'll do the same again. Papa Johns provided the grub for the evening. The best pizza chain.

Rock Bottom - Opened the Friday night bill with the mosh. I never heard of this band before and was suprised at how many people were into it. They were some tough guy-esque hardcore. OK band. The opener could have been worse, like the band that opened the one day of ECT fest the other year, Get Railed.

Enabler - I didn't think they'd get a great reception from the mosh hungry early crowd at TIH. I was pretty much right. Their style is like a thrashy punk metal hardcore band. It's hard to tough guy mosh to this band. They were good despite a lot of energy from the crowd.

Incendiary - We went outside for some food during this band. A bunch of bands later in the day commented on how awesome they were. So I'm a little bit disappointed we missed them.

Xibalba - Tough guy metal hardcore from California. They had some pretty heavy jams, but I didn't think anything about them was especially good. They got good reaction from the crowd. I thought the first portion of the set was better than the second. Better songs. They're like Terror but a bit tougher presence on stage, a little slower and heavier.

Rotting Out - This is when the show started to heat up for me. Though, I was very disappointed that they didn't play City of Shame. That song is their best one. The stagedives were on, the mosh was on, and they always bring great energy to the set. It was pretty awesome, but next to the rest of the day they don't make my top 5 for Friday.

Bane - Every single show they play is great. They've never been bad to me. The set wasn't particularly long, but they played all songs that I know. They announced that they're making another album, which is a surprise since last year they were talking about it being hard on them and they didn't know how much longer they'd be able to keep it up. Halfway through the set was a pizza party which involved Joe Hardcore dressed up like a cheesy chef and someone in a viking hat and a dude dressed up like a funny red cat throwing pieces of pizza off the stage. A lot of pizza too, like 15 large pizzas worth. It was awesome, pizza flying everywhere. It made the floor super slick though. So that was no fun. Give Blood, Speechless, Can We Start Again, all the good songs. As always I can't wait to see them again. They were the second best band of the day.

Ramallah - They were not on the original lineup announcement, but I was super happy to see them added. White Trash Rob's bands don't come around Pittsburgh at all pretty much these days. So getting to see this band, which I like a lot more than Blood for Blood, was awesome. Even better was to hear that Ramallah is getting back together and making new music and selling new merch. It was cool seeing Rob's unique demeanor on stage. Then they played So Common So Cheap and it was great. Most of their songs are about political issues and pointing a finger at worldwide attrocities. But their style keeps them from projecting the image of a band that takes theirselves too seriously. Fun set. Third best band of the evening. Tragedy - I didn't think they'd get a good reception at all, but I was surprised. It was definitely the weakest response of the second part of the evening, but still more than I expected. Their set was real tight with some awesome singalongs. I love this band. One thing I liked the most is that neither of the main vocalists ever spoke anything. It was always growled or yelled. It was nice. Great set. I'm glad they incorporated a popular d-beat style hardcore band into the mix. They're the best of their style that is going today. Though, I didn't see that they were selling any merch. They were the fourth best band of the evening.

Panic - They started the set out with Written in Stone, which is my favorite song. I was surprised with how good their set sounded and looked because they don't play much at all. Most of their songs are like 1 minute long, so their set of about 20 minutes probably about maxed them out on songs. Very good set, and enjoyable. Still, not quite enough to make the top 5 of the day.

Blacklisted - I hadn't seen this band in a while. And most of the shows that I did see them were at Roboto or somewhere else in the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh doesn't like Blacklisted so much so those shows are always pretty tame. So it was nice to see a building go off for them. They didn't play anything off of Our Youth is Waster or The Beat Goes On, I don't think. If they did it wasn't any of my favorites. But they did play Cannonize and that is the overall best Blacklisted song. Everything was super raw and aggressive with some big time pit action. Fifth best band of the evening.

Modern Life is War - I was very happy that they didn't have the 45 minute build up snoredom period that was before Gorilla Biscuits last year. They went on promptly and ripped the fuck out of the place. It was great. It's been years since I saw them because they haven't been playing. They played all the good songs, By the Sea, First and Ellen, Marshalltown, and many many more. Sing along city. All the stagedives. The set and the day of the fest was everything I hoped it would be.

Top 5:
5. Blacklisted
4. Tragedy
3. Ramallah
2. Bane
1. Modern Life is War

Highs - everything, every band, the food selection
Lows - the price of beer, the steamyness of the weather outside.

7-19 Cannibal Ox, Prop Anon, Kenyattah Black, Irealz, Double AB, B White of the 58's, Timecapsoul, Proseed, Fortifiex Phoenix, Tracksploitation, Mr. Owl, DJ Spaed, The Camp, Pittsburgh @Belvederes

I don't go to a lot of rap shows, so recognizing who is who and the order people played in is difficult for me. So I'll do my best to piece together who played and what the hell was actually going on at this show. It seemed like we saw 15 different acts.

Mr. Owl - A friend of a friend. He did a DJ set for the first hour of the show. We missed him.

DJ Spaed - No idea who he was or if he actually played. But I'm 99% sure that when we were there, no one said, "this is dj spaed."

Stillborn Identity - They weren't on any flyers or anything, but one of the acts gave them a shout out as if they performed. I guess they might have before we got there.

Proseed - We got there when Proseed was on stage. He was ok. White guy, half thuggin it. Meh. I won't be going to any shows just to see him.

The Camp - When they were on stage they were talking like they traveled a good distance, but evidently they're from the Pittsburgh area. Maybe they all walked to get there. My fav in this group was the big fat guy who wasn't allowed to have a mic for about half the set. Break Shit was a good song. My least favorite guy in the group was the skinny dude with the 'sex drugs and rap' shirt on. Wasn't feeling that dude.

Fortified PhonetiX - In my head I keep getting this group mixed up with a group that followed. But I'm pretty sure that this is the group who had the secondary rapper wearing a black hat backwards and a black shirt that I'm pretty sure was a Pirates shirt. Either way, the secondary rapper, I believe, was rapping over top of a track of him rapping. I wasn't feeling that at all. I think the main rapper was rapping without backup. The reason why a rapper rapping over a tape of him rapping is so whack is that because that's only one little step better than lip syncing.

Tracksploitation - This group was made up of 3 dj's all spinning at the same time. It was pretty cool. Someone was break dancing while this was going on. That was fun to see. All in all, this may have been the best segment of the night. Oizo from Killer of Sheep was on stage the entire time yelling shit into the mic about the 58's. I did not know beforehand, but the 58's are some kind of Pittsburgh rap crew. I'm super disappointed that that is what Oizo is reduced to when he's not playing a punk show.

B White of the 58's - I wasn't impressed at all. I couldn't respect this rapper because of his funny hat. It looked like he had a head of dreads under his Chicago Bulls new era cap. He didn't. He was just tryin to thug it a little bit harder. Won't be going anywhere just to see him rap.

Can Ox's crew didn't get there until about 12 or so. This is where they started going on. I have no idea if I actually have the order they went on correct. But I'm going to give it a go.

Irealz - This guy wasn't any good.

Double AB - This guy wasn't any good.

Kenyattah Black - This guy wasn't any good.

Prop Anon - This guy evidently used to be part of Immortal Technique. At least that's what one of the other rappers said. His raps were pretty good. I enjoyed his set.

Cannibal Ox - Good rap set. The first part of the set was especially good because they played a bunch of shit off of The Cold Vein. That's what everyone wanted to hear. Then they played a single off the new album, which was ok. Then the rest of the set was in conjunction with the dudes in their crew, which I could entirely do without.

Hi's - turnout, Can Ox, Prop Anon, Tracksploitation, The Camp
Low's - A bunch of whack rappers that I don't particularly care to see again. Missing Mr. Owl. Only one set with noticably sick DJ work.

7-16 Pity Sex, The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, Brightside, Dads, Adventures, Pittsburgh @Mr. Roboto Project

Going to this show was a last minute thing. It was wings or this. Chose this. I had to work the next morning, so we left a little bit early. Not sure if The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die did not play or if they played last. Either way we didn't see them. It was by far the latest show at Roboto that I've ever seen.

Brightside - This band isn't any good. I didn't like anything about them really. Some of the teenyboppers in the house did though.

Dads - I thought this band was pretty good. Not as friendly as the rest of the bands to play. Two piece rock / poppunk from somewhere in NY I think.

Pity Sex - I saw this band at Sincerity Fest and wasn't impressed. They weren't any better on this night. They kinda sucked again. I don't think I'll be making any special trips out to see this group. Pop punk that just isn't good.

Adventures - Easily the best band of the night. One of the best pop punk bands active anywhere. They are super good and from Pittsburgh. I'll for sure go out just to see this band again.

TWIABPAIANLATD - We left after adventures because it was almost 11. Not sure how late they are allowed to have shows at Roboto, but this was most likely pushing it.

Hi's - Adbentures, Dads. Turnout.
Low's - How late the show ran. No beer inside Roboto.

7-11 Sneaky Mike, Mustache Required, Math the Band, Pittsburgh @Garfield Artwork

The idea to go to this show was a last minute thing. I haven't been going to shows in order to save some money, because I'm pretty much in the poor house and This Is Hardcore is coming up. But I gotta get out sometime.

Sneaky Mike - Because of tons of rain the Liberty Tunnels and Route 51 were shut down. We missed about half of Sneaky Mike's set. I was not happy about the amount of dubstep he worked into his act. And he didn't play any songs I knew. But he's still very entertaining hip hop pop whatever.

Mustache Required - Two piece weird white guy hip hop group. I enjoyed their set. They made me laugh. If they were on another show sometime I wouldn't be upset.

Math the Band - Normally a two piece, due to an emergency of some sort they were a one piece on that particular night. They're like Andrew WK but not quite as good or funny. I liked the set. Maybe I'll see them again sometime.

Hi's - Garfield Artworks as a venue, byob, the bands.
Low's - Rain and detours.