Lineup: Bane, Saves the Day, Title Fight, Modern Life is War, The Promise, Right Brigade, Cruel Hand, Rude Awakening
Venue: The Palladium Downstairs, Worcester, MA
Date: June 18th, 2016
Rude Awakening: Arrived late and missed their set.
Cruel Hand: I arrived about halfway through their set. They were their reliably fun and furious selves and got a nice reception from surprisingly dense earlybird crowd. My only real complaint is that their vocalist is regressing rapidly each time I see them and I don't think he'll be able to continue to perform for much longer if this trend continues.
Right Brigade: Right Brigade was the first of two major reunions that occurred at this show. Right Brigade's initial run was not long at all (they formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2001), but they picked up a sizable, dedicated following during their short tenure as a band and went onto become cult icons in the Boston-area hardcore scene. I had never listened to them before the show and after seeing them, I probably never will again. Their music was the basically the blueprint for lifeless, by-the-numbers hardcore and featured none of the energy or emotion that's required for a band to thrive in this genre. Hardcore kids in my area will probably want to kick my ass for saying this, but I simply don't understand how Right Brigade is considered to be one of the most important acts in the lengthy history of Massachusetts hardcore.
The Promise: The Promise was the second long inactive band reuniting for this show and they were the exact opposite of Right Brigade. Their music hit hard as hell, their stage presence was massive and the passion that was behind their music was infectious. Based on the quality of this performance, you would have never known that these guys hadn't played together on a regular basis since 2005. Easily one of the best hardcore bands I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live.
Modern Life is War: I caught a lot of flack for being somewhat underwhelmed by Modern Life is War's live show when I saw them open for Converge at Deathwish Fest in July 2014. This time around was a different story as Modern Life is War completely tore it up. Their music is the perfect blend of aggression and melody, and the intensity frontman Jeffrey Eaton exhibited throughout was absolutely mesmerizing to watch. This performance was the push I needed to finally start digging into their heavily-praised discography.
Title Fight: Outside of Bane, Title Fight were the band I was most excited to see on this bill by a pretty wide margin. I was somewhat worried that they would disappoint me because of how much I disliked their latest album Hyperview, but they ended up being the deeply emotional force of nature I'd hoped they'd be live. The success of their set can largely be attributed to their decision to tailor their set to this show's hardcore punk audience and mostly play material from their first two albums (2011's Shed and 2012's Floral Green). The melodic punk riffs and raw, tortured vocal delivery from Jamie Rhoden on tracks like "Secret Society" and "Numb, but I Still Feel It" deeply resonated with the crowd by beautifully complementing the bittersweet vibe of the show. Now that my doubts about their live show have been officially shattered, I'd absolutely go see them again in the future.
Saves the Day: After a ton of speculation and rumors of bands such as Have Heart and Ruiner reuniting, Saves the Day ended up being the "very special guest" Bane teased when they announced this show back in March. The selection of Saves the Day seemed kind of unfitting at first, but as Bane frontman Aaron Bedard explained when he was thanking all of the bands for playing this show, their first U.S. tour ever was opening for them and they really wanted them to be apart of this show as a way of saying thank you for the support they've consistently shown them over the years.
The performance itself was fine. Between their breezy hooks and visible amount of fun they appear to be having performing, it's easy to understand how they've become one of the most acclaimed and unheralded veteran bands in the pop punk scene. Saves the Day offered up a nice reprieve from the hardcore bands that made up the rest of the bill and while they didn't necessarily blow me away, it's always cool to see an iconic act perform live.
Bane: In my lifetime, no hardcore band in Massachusetts has made bigger waves or commanded as much respect as Bane has. Like all great hardcore bands, they've forged a deep, emotional bond with their audience and made a significant impact on the scene with their messages of equality, tolerance and positivity. This show was essentially Bane's wake and over 2,000 of their most loyal fans had come out to pay their respects.
To be honest, I kind of felt like I shouldn't of been at this show. Hardcore is far from my favorite genre and there are so many Bane fans from around the world that would've killed to be in my shoes on Saturday night. I'm well-aware that this is a strange complaint for someone who was fortune to be from Massachusetts and attend Bane's final performance, it's just hard to not feel like an asshole when you're a casual fan at the final show of a band that has made a significant impact on so many people's lives.
The performance itself lined up with the atmosphere that ran through The Palladium the entire day. Bane left everything they had on the stage and gave their fans a performance filled with emotion, passion and immense gratitude. Every word of praise and appreciation that came out of Bedard's mouth was genuine and you could clearly tell how much it meant to the whole band that they got to put together this celebration of their career in their hometown.
As expected, the crowd went absolutely bananas the entire time they were on stage. There was non-stop stage dives, a ton of two-stepping and frequent hugs/moments of intimate bonding in the pit over all of the joy Bane had brought the hardcore scene over the course of their 20-year career. I can't think of too many other shows that I've been to since I started to going shows on a regular basis in 2005 that have generated this powerful of a crowd reaction.
Bane's set was an undeniably fitting and emotional swan song for their career, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed by the length of their set. At 2 hours and 15 minutes, the set became extremely tedious after about 75 minutes and I kept crossing my fingers that they would wrap it up during the last 10-15 songs they played. I once again felt like a douchebag as I stood around looking bored out of my skull while seemingly everyone else in the room was losing their minds as they ripped through this behemoth of a set that featured almost every song they've ever recorded. Even for a band of Bane's caliber, hardcore just isn't a genre that I feel is suited for epic-length sets.
While this show caused me to feel a bizarre range of emotions, I'm ultimately glad that I was able to see Bane before they rode off into the sunset. I wish the entire band the best of luck in their future endeavors inside and outside of the music industry.
Scores:
Cruel Hand 7/10
Right Brigade 5/10
The Promise 8/10
Modern Life is War 8/10
Title Fight 7.5/10
Saves the Day 7/10
Bane 8/10
Setlists:
Modern Life is War included:
Chasing My Tail
By the Sea
Fuck the Sex Pistols
Title Fight (missing a couple of songs):
Numb, but I Still Feel It
Shed
Secret Society
Rose of Sharon
Like a Ritual
You Can't Say Kingston Doesn't Love You
Crescent-Shaped Depression
Bane included:
Can We Start Again
Ante Up
Park St.
Lost at Sea
Ali vs. Frazier I
Count Me Out
Speechless
My Therapy
Bang the Drum Slowly
As the World Turns
Superhero
Swan Song
Domination (Pantera cover, breakdown only)
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