Concert Review: Turnstile-- Boston, MA-- May 7th, 2018

Lineup: Turnstile/Touche Amore/Culture Abuse/Razorbumps 

Venue: Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA

Date: May 7th, 2018

Razorbumps: Full disclosure: My score for Razorbumps went up once Jeremy Bolm from Touche Amore mentioned it was their first national tour ever. Their off-kilter brand of punk wasn't overly appealing to me, but they brought a level of poise and presence to the stage that you don't typically see from a band that's just starting out. While I wouldn't put them down as a lock to blow up, they definitely have the chops to enjoy a long, steady career in the industry. 

Culture Abuse: Outside of their vocalist trying way too hard to be funny, Culture Abuse was pretty decent. Their bouncy hybrid of pop punk and hardcore made for a briskly entertaining albeit not overly memorable set that offered a brief preview of the infections energy that the bands that followed delivered in spades.

Touche Amore: LA's kings of melancholy post-hardcore were the catalyst behind my decision to attend this show and they did not disappoint. Having a passionate crowd to feed off made the emotional content of their music even more powerful than it is on record and Jeremy Bolm is a terrific frontman that pours every ounce of his soul onto the stage. Very glad to have finally checked Touche Amore off of my bucket list and I look forward to seeing them again in the future. 

Turnstile: As an outsider to the hardcore scene, this performance helped me understand why Turnstile has developed such a rabid following over the past few years. Their 45-minute set was a bullshit-free wave of intensity that emphasized and enhanced the strengths of their music. By keeping the between-song banter/crowdwork to a bare minimum, they were able to build up an impressive stream of momentum that maximized the effectiveness of their frantic, groove-based sound and create an atmosphere of good-spirited madness that their diehard fans ate up. These guys are natural-born performers and as long as they don't lose sight of the organic punk attitude that has made them the most respected act in modern hardcore, Turnstile should continue to set this genre ablaze for quite some time.

Scores:

Razorbumps 6/10

Culture Abuse 7/10

Touche Amore 8/10

Turnstile 8/10

Setlists:

Touche Amore:

~

Rapture

Just Exist

Pathfinder

Flowers and You

And Now It's Happening in Mine

Uppers/Downers

Amends

Palm Dreams

The Great Repetition

Displacement

Green

Honest Sleep

Turnstile:

Bomb

Come Back for More (intro only)

Canned Heat

Real Thing

Big Smile

Gravity

Generator

The Thing You Do

Pushing Me Away

I Don't Wanna Be Blind

Drop

Moon

Death Grip

High Pressure

Fazed Out

Blue by You

7

Keep It Moving