STILLBORN FEST
December 26, 2005 @ The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY
Hatebreed, Sworn Enemy, Full Blown Chaos, Subzero, Danny Diablo, Risk Taken
Stillborn Records Website – All of the bands on this bill can be referenced through this website.
In all of my years going to shows in upstate New York, I had never been to The Chance in Poughkeepsie. I had always wanted to go but never had a reason being that any tour that stopped there would surely stop in Albany. Now living in NYC, when I heard Stillborn Fest was only coming as close as The Chance, I knew it was my time to experience the Hudson Valley’s premiere underground music venue.
The Chance is an old converted theatre in downtown Poughkeepsie, NY. As a live music venue it does leave quite a bit to be desired. First and foremost, there is virtually nowhere for the audience. The general admission area in front of the stage is not conducive to substantial crowds. Imagine if you will a box roughly 10 feet deep and 50 feet wide. Now try and pack 200 people in that box and essentially incite a riot. Sounds like fun to me! Behind that is a five foot deep row of table seating and directly behind that is the bar with some standing room. There is a large balcony with seating but honestly, who the hell is gonna start a pit 30 feet up over the show?
Now I will say that the stage is great. 30 feet wide by 20 feet deep with 20 foot ceilings makes for ample space for performers. They’ve dumped a lot of money into absolutely one of the best sound systems I’ve heard and a light show to match.
If you couldn’t already tell from the line-up, Jamey Jasta had only two things in mind when he planned this mini tour. One, to promote and showcase the great bands on his label, Stillborn Records, and two, to wreak complete havoc and chaos on the lucky droves who pack themselves into whatever venue they play. After having made it through the first night of this 5 night tour, I can say that he has certainly left his mark on Poughkeepsie and the overpacked house one more time.
Risk Taken
Having no prior bias of this band, seeing them live was very uneventful. They sound like generic cookie cutter new school hardcore. The set was very quick. The guys were tight and sounded good for what they do. (That being a screemo crossover with some decent old school breakdowns). If anything, I can say that it was a nice surprise to see Matt Fox of Shai Hulud filling in on guitar for the set. I can’t say much bad about them and not much great about them.
Danny Diablo a.k.a. Lord Ezec
Danny D. of Skarhead and Crown of Thornz fame is still at tearing up the stage and showing all the new kids in the scene what it really means to be hardcore. Unfortunately the set wasn’t received very well. I can only attribute that to the difference in styles between him and the rest of the bill. Danny has always had rap roots planted firmly in his music For newcomers to the hardcore scene who didn’t grow up with a rap background and/or an appreciation for crossover forerunners like Biohazard, I can see how they wouldn’t get into D.D. as much. All I can say is that his set was good and I hope that anyone out there who wants to know about the roots of NYHC will check D.D. out and you can start here.
Subzero
These granddaddy’s of NYHC have not lost a step in 15 plus years. This was a great set. I have never seen them before but I could tell right out of the gate that these guys represent how real hardcore is done. It’s just great to see the true old school still alive and kicking ass. The power and energy in this set was crazy. The lead singer [Lou DiBella] is one crazy BAMF. Remember that balcony I mentioned earlier? Ok, this guy climbed the entire speaker stack and scaled his way up the wall onto the balcony. See where I’m going with this? Let me give you a hint: Pearl Jam’s Alive video. Yeah, this BAMF did a sommersault off the rail of a 30 foot balcony landing spread eagle on his back on the hands of the pit. That is by far the sickest thing I have seen at a show all year. Between that and the performance, I was all too grateful to buy a shirt. They friggin earned it!
Full Blown Chaos
I had been waiting to see these guys for a long time. With all the anticipation and the way the night was going, I was sure it was going to be a good set. It wasn’t though. It was a great set! These guys do better than just pulling off a great live sound and reproducing the album near flawlessly. They forced a brutality onto the pit like a welcomed torture. I’ll just say this, there was enough energy there to get an old rickety guy like me to jump in the pit for a few minutes. I’ve been in pits for close to a decade so I’d like to think I know how to take care of myself but this was just pure chaos. This old guy got his ass handed to him and had to back off for the night and play spectator. I got a chance to talk with the singer [Ray Mazzola] after the set. He was very cool. If you ever have a chance to see FBC, do it. you won’t be disappointed.
Sworn Enemy
Sworn Enemy is in the countdown stages leading up to their new release due out January 24th on Stillborn Records. To be expected, new material was littered about the set and was received incredibly well by the pumped up crowd. I am very excited and saving my money for it now. Having seen them live once before opening for Biohazard, I knew this was going to be a great set. These guys are tight and represented Queens, NY well. One disappointment was that of the line-up change. Mike Couls [bass] has been replaced since the last album. He was an amazing source of energy on the stage for this band and it was very noticeable that he wasn’t there. I think that says a lot of a bass player. His replacement is very proficient and fits in well but I miss the sheer ferocity. I am still looking forward to the new line-up recorded. Now I was a little busy in the pit but if I remember correctly, they left out at least one of their old standards, “I.D.S.”, which the crowd was screaming for until the end. With 2 EP’s and a sick touring schedule over the years earning them lots of credibility and their first full length, As Real As It Gets, to earn them their notoriety, the impending sophomore release will certainly secure their place as a staple of a wholesome NYHC diet.
Hatebreed
Absolutlely the best performance I’ve seen this year. This show also lands itself in my Top 5 pits of all time. I know that’s saying a whole lot but it really was a sick MFing pit. For one of the first times ever, I was weary of going in the pit. One of the only other times I could say that was the last time I saw Hatebreed. Go figure. By the time they went on stage, the house was completely packed to the gills. Not only did I feel like a sardine but I think I smelled like one by that point. The sound was done incredibly well, and bottom line, it was a crushing performance. Every member of Hatebreed get 110% into their show. For a band of this genre who’ve become as big as they have, they have no doubt stayed true to themselves, their messages, their fans and where they come from. These Connecticut brawlers have a long history at The Chance and they certainly showed it and paid respects to their roots. A surprise for me was their cover of Sepultura’s “Refuse/Resist”. The highlights of the night for the crowd were “Doomsayer” and “Before Dishonor”. The highlight of the night for me was the closer. “I Will Be Heard” has got to be one of my favorite hardcore songs ever and the image of sheer chaos in the pit to that song will undoubtedly be stuck in my head for a very long time to come.
Hatebreed are one of those bands that you think sold out just because they sell a lot of CD’s and are well known. Coming from a hardcore band, that usually means sellout. Look at Biohazard, they met that criticism for a long time. But this is certainly not the case with Hatebreed. These guys are the real thing. If you want to question that, go see them live once and I think you will change your mind. With all of the projects that Jamey has his hands in, you’d think he might loose his focus but nothing shines through more than him being on stage doing what he does best. Though these guys aren’t from a big scene like NYC or Boston, a decade of touring and proving themselves and repping themselves well truly give them an A+ in my book. Even if you are not a big fan of theirs, if you want to know what true emotional evocation through music is all about, go see them live once, and make sure you eat your Wheaties.
