That’s kind of all you need to know about a good hardcore show. Like, if a folk blues tour knocked out the power, that’d be weird. But if ferocious hardcore bands like Odd Man Out, Beton Arme, Home Front, or Angel Du$t did it, than like, yeah, that’s wicked cool.
And that’s also what happened. They had to end the show early because the venue literally couldn’t contain their power. Neat!
Normally at the Marquis, the first band on the bill gets a light crowd, and I had no reason to think differently this night. Which is why I got punched ten seconds into the show starting – the front of stage was light because it was a mosh pit, not because it was the start of a show. That’s on me.
And that’s also how the rest of the night went. Fuck Trump, get punched, knock out power. Dive off stage, two step, knock out power. Build up community, mosh, knock out power.
If you listen to these bands, and I’ve posted some Home Front before so you may have, you wouldn’t think they’d be such problem creators. But this was the first time I think I can say, in my decade plus covering music, that people showed up for the vibes and vibes alone. Not even Aqua had that, and people dressed like the 80’s for that show.
What I mean is, these bands aren’t necessarily aggressive. I’ve seen more intense music at the Marquis. But I’ve never seen a more intense crowd. I’ve never been punched so early on, I’ve never seen the crowd so freely rush the stage, and I’ve never seen so many power failures in one show. And that’s because these bands are vibes first, and also vibes second, but their vibes are “punch you in the chest” vibes.
Which made this a damn impressive hardcore show. Perhaps even a Must See.
