July 15, 2000: Kill Your Idols, Grey Area, Life's Halt, No Reply, Looks Like Rain @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

I booked this show on the Life's Halt / No Reply tour a couple days after the Philly show. As you can imagine with that line-up, it was a lot of fun. I still have an orange towel that one of those dudes left at my house that night. This may have been the first show I booked at the Sidebar.

July 13, 2000: Kill Your Idols, Life's Halt, No Reply, Last In Line, A Poor Excuse @ 4040, Philadelphia, PA

The following day I headed up to Philly to catch this show. This one was a blast. With the exception of A Poor Excuse, who were decent, every band on this show was a favorite of mine at the time. I was not let down in the least. Every band killed it. Life's Halt and No Reply had some of the most high-energy sets I've ever seen. Great show. Robby Redcheeks put it together. For those unaware, No Reply featured Dave from Suicide File on vocals. Not sure if the other dudes went on to do anything else. I believe someone from Life's Halt plays in Broken Patterns now, but don't quote me on that. If you're into fast, thrashy hardcore and you're unfamiliar with any of these bands, do yourself a favor and check 'em out. All quality.

July 12, 2000: Kill the Man Who Questions, Reversal of Man, DS 13, the Dreadnaughts @ Wilson Center, Washington, DC

I always loved seeing shows at the Wilson Center, even if they weren't all that well attended. The place had such history as far as DC hardcore goes. It was sad to see it close its doors when it did. This show wasn't super small, but the room was pretty big, so shows of 75 - 100 people left it feeling kinda empty. I don't remember who the Dreadnaughts were. And while I liked KTMWQ and RoM OK, I definitely went primarily for DS 13 who were some total Swedish ragers. Members also played in ETA, The Vicious, the Lost Patrol Band, and many others. Great legacy.

July 6, 2000: Good Clean Fun, Throwdown, 18 Visions, Fast Times, Carved In Stone @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

Not 100% sure I went to this show. I probably did but I have no recollection of it. GCF would have been the only band on here I cared about seeing. Carl Caracia made the flyer. Jamie Arthurs booked the show. Sorry I can't give ya more than that.

June 30 - July 2, 2000: Hellfest, Syracuse, NY

The day after that Dillinger Escape Plan show I headed up to Philly to meet up with my high school friend, Doug Spangenburg, who was doing High Roller Productions at the time. He did videos for Brother's Keeper, Earth Crisis, and more, and was the man behind the first, and probably some of the later, Hellfest video. I was on board as one of his camera men, so we rolled up to Syracuse together. Doug was way more into the metallic hardcore scene than I was so he knew a lot of the people involved in the fest and we stayed with DJ Rose (Halo Tattoos, Path of Resistance) for the weekend. (Fun fact: Many years later the Spark was on tour and stayed with Chuck from Black SS after our Syracuse show. We followed him to his house and I was stunned to realize I had been there before, as he moved into the same house after DJ moved out.) I actually met Chuck at this Hellfest as he was helping out with the video shoot as well, but I didn't make the connection until he pointed it out many years later. I was on the stationary camera in the middle of the room so I got to sit down and use a tripod the whole time and I had a great view of the bands. That was a crazy weekend. The original venue was a fairgrounds just outside of the city and something happened they day before the fest was to start where the town or the fire department or something wouldn't allow it. Then they tried to move it to the Lost Horizon, which is a club with about a 500 person capacity, if that. Not sure if the powers that be realized that wouldn't work for all the people that had bought tickets or what but they finally got it set at a large club that seized on the opportunity and charged the promoters out the ass for the venue for the weekend. At least it got to happen. I don't remember every set from the weekend (I never even got a copy of the DVD, somebody hit up Josh Trustkill for me) but highlights I remember are: God Below being one of the heaviest sets I've ever seen (their LP was a big disappointment though), Head On's set cuz it was cool to see my friends and their small band on such a big fest, Bane's set being possibly the biggest 30-minute long pile-on I've ever seen (I think Aaron got about 7 total words into the mic), Every Time I Die's set being a full-on party with streamers and poppers and goofy hats, and Brother's Keeper and their Misfits cover set. That was the one and only time I've been to a Hellfest but it was probably the only one I'd ever cared about being at. Good times for sure. Check me out at the end of the video, during the credits. And seriously, if anyone can get me a copy of the DVD, I'd be stoked.

June 28, 2000: Dillinger Escape Plan, Candiria, Burn It Down, National Acrobat, Killswitchengage, Caste @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

I only remember seeing Dillinger Escape Plan and National Acrobat at this show. Most likely because those are the only bands I cared about seeing. Actually, I remember seeing a little bit of Candiria and thinking they were awful. Caste featured the only and only Beast, aka Alex Henderson, Pulling Teeth drummer. I remember hearing their EP and thinking they liked Torn Apart a lot. I used to work with the singer, Durv, and know he was super into Candiria as well so that probably found it's way into their sound somewhere. Killswitchengage was at least one of the dudes from Overcast. I think they got pretty big in the Alternative Press/Decibel metal world but I couldn't tell you for sure. They were no Overcast. Burn It Down were actually pretty good but I didn't realize it at the time. Hindsight.

January 23/24, 1999: Matt Leveton benefit show, Manville Elks Lodge, Manville, NJ

Dan Paulson sent me this flyer to post, so we're stepping out of the chronological order for a minute. I remember this show happening but I was not able to make it. The show was a benefit for Matt Leveton who booked a lot of the Manville Elks Lodge shows and was severely injured in a car accident in South Carolina, on his way to a Quicksand show. The shows there didn't start up until after I had moved to Baltimore so I never went to any, but they were a great boon to the NJ hardcore scene. (My experiences with Manville consisted of trips to the paintball supply store located there when I was in high school.) The line-up of this show is a testament to what Matt's shows meant to some of the best bands of the era. Agnostic Front was the special guest on the 2nd day. Killer show for a great cause.

June 21, 2000: Scumbrigade, Sbitch, Foil In the Works, the Scam, InSpite @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This show was a case of "sometimes I can't say no". I wasn't into any of the touring bands but I'm a nice guy and like helping out when I can, especially for bands from overseas. Scumbrigade were a crusty thrashpunk band from Sweden. I let them stay at my house after this show and my couch reeked of body odor for months afterwards. Sbitch and Foil In the Works were two bands on tour that needed a hole filled. Again, sometimes I can't say no. I think at least one of them, maybe both, was from Texas. Neither were very good. The Scam featured one or both of the twins that did a lot of the Wilson Center shows (Wade and ?). InSpite have been mentioned before. One of Baltimore's best powerviolence bands.

June 16, 2000: Atari, Head On, What Lies Ahead, Looks Like Rain, the Chase, Society at Stake @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

I wanna say Andy Norton put this show together, but I'm not positive. Can't remember who lookitt@hotmail.com was. I don't remember much about this show, which is a shame, cuz Atari were one of my favorites of the late 90s youth crew revival bands. Super simple, but super fun. Head On were from Rochester and featured members that went on to play in The Disaster, Not Sorry, Bad Business, and many others. Looks Like Rain played a bunch of shows with those guys, the most fun being a weekend with them and Gamewinner that took the highway food fight game to unprecedented levels. The Chase and What Lies Ahead were some solid MD bands from this era. I can't remember who was in Society at Stake, but I wanna say it was Andy Norton and some of the Laurel / Columbia kids.

June 4, 2000: I Hate You, Time Flies, No Justice, Damage, Striking Distance @ 4040, Philadelphia, PA

Four days, four shows. Second reunion show in a row. This time around it was Philly's infamous I Hate You getting back together for a gig. This one was at 4040 in west Philly. I think this was in the same building as the Rotunda, maybe on the same block. They were very close. It didn't last too long though. I think UPenn bought the building. Saw some cool shows there. This one was no slouch for sure. Look at that line up. Solid from start to finish. I Hate You were solid. Robby Redcheeks put this one together.

June 3, 2000: Four Walls Falling, Rain On the Parade, Strike Anywhere, No Justice, American Nightmare @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen. Somehow the Malfunction crew got Four Walls Falling to do this one time reunion show and it was a blast. I got into them just after they broke up so I never got to see them when they were around. They killed it. I've got an OK 8mm video from this show if anyone would be into digitizing it. I definitely remember AN doing the Op Ivy cover at this show. No Justice were a fabulous mess as usual. The venue was a bit large to really revel in the chaos of a typical NJ show, but Timmy made the best of it and managed to throw himself around with the usual abandon. Strike Anywhere were still a pretty new band but I think Chorus of One might have been out at this point so kids were definitely into them. Linas Garsys made the flyer.

June 2, 2000: Earth Crisis, Darkest Hour, Reach the Sky, Page 99, Right Brigade @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

This is day 2 of four days in a row of shows. Sick weekend. This was around the time that Earth Crisis released "Slither" so they were beyond horrible at this point. Right Brigade were probably the highlight of the evening for me, but I loved the fact that Jamie put Page 99 on this show.

June 1, 2000: Strike Anywhere, As Friends Rust, De Nada, Looks Like Rain @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

This was a fun show. I've got a screen-printed poster for this show that David Hardy made. We had to do it as an early show cuz there was already a late show booked for that night. As Friends Rust's first few releases were great. I still revisit them from time to time.

May 28, 2000: Page 99, Creation Is Crucifixion, Xibalba @ unknown, Baltimore, MD

This is a double-sided business card flyer for Xibalba's (Baltimore) last show with Page 99 and Creation is Crucifixion. I know Ben Valis (Stars of the Dogon / the Small Intestine) was in Xibalba. Can't remember who else. Awesome flyer. I don't believe I made it to this show as the venue sounds completely unfamiliar to me. It says it was across the street from the Copycat Building on the 1500 block of Guilford Ave. As far as I know, the only building there is a charter school. If anyone made it to this show, please fill us in.

May 27, 2000: Count Me Out, Time Flies, Wheelbite, Striking Distance @ Falls Church VFW, Falls Church, VA

Here's another one I know I've got some photos of that I'll have to dig up and post. Solid basically-local show. Count Me Out and Striking Distance are two of my all-time favorite bands from the MD/DC/VA area. I can't remember who the other band was. Maybe they're in the pics. I'll get around to digging through the photos this weekend.

May 13th, 2000: Ensign, Shutdown, Time Flies, 200 North, Looks Like Rain @ Kingpin, Hagerstown, MD

The Kingpin was a short-lived venue that Zac and/or Adam from Strong Intention ran in Hagerstown after the 180 Club closed down. I only remember a few hardcore shows happening there. This one was pretty fun. I met Dave Jannes at this show. Solid dude. He got pretty stoked on Looks Like Rain, which made shows with him in attendance more fun. I couldn't tell you much about 200 North besides the fact that they were a youth crew band from western Maryland. I think that Think Fast! Records released something for them. Might have been someone else. If anyone knows if any of those dudes are still playing in bands, fill us in.

May 6, 2000: Page 99, Daybreak, Kissing Contest, The Others @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

This was the 2nd show I attended on May 6, 2000. This was the record release show for Page 99's Document #5 and Daybreak's split 7" with Ultimate Warriors, if I remember correctly. This looks like a Tony Pence flyer. I can't remember anything about Kissing Contest or The Others. I love the little note to the under-agers about bringing a fake ID or helping the bands load their equipment in to get into the show.

May 6, 2000: The Index, Lycosa, Goat Shanty, Pay the Price @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

Keeve from Daybreak put this show together. It was a matinee because Page 99 was playing a record release show for Document #5 with Daybreak that night at the Ottobar. That's a full day of grind mayhem. The Index were a decent metal band with Rich from Enemy Soil, Drugs of Faith, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and many others. I think Jake, who currently plays drums in Triac and Hatewaves, may have also been in the band. Can't remember for sure. I don't remember anything about Lycosa, except that they were from Richmond, or Goat Shanty. Pay the Price featured Forbes Graham of Amalgamation and Kayo Dot, Pat Vogel of Sick Fix, Crispus Attucks, and a million other bands, and I forget who else. Hot show. Literally.

PHOTOS: April 30, 2000 - De Nada, No Justice, Striking Distance @ GWU

I told you I had photos from this show...

PHOTOS: May 13th, 1998 - Hot Water Music @ Supreme Imperial

Nick Vance dug up these photos that Mike Thompson took. My favorite thing about these is that my wife is in these photos, but we wouldn't meet until 8 years later. The only other people I recognize, besides myself, are John Waszak, Mike Dubin, and I think I see Kevin Lamiell, but I'm not positive.

April 30, 2000: De Nada, No Justice, Striking Distance, Arcangel, Bleeding Head Good @ George Washington University, Washington, DC

I really gotta remember to email myself the photos I have of a lot of these shows so I have them when I'm making these entries. I know I have some of this show. Was this the one where No Justice brought that mini-trampoline to the show? Pretty sure it is. I don't think it lasted too long before it got destroyed. I have no idea who Arcangel or Bleeding Head Good were.

April 28, 2000: Fast Times, Worthless, The Real Enemy, Red Angle Dragnet, Looks Like Rain @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This was a pretty sparsely attended show at the Sushi Cafe. Decent line-up but nothing too crazy. Matt Times used to rage behind that drum kit. That was fun to watch.

April 22, 2000: Rain On the Parade, For the Living, Best of Times, Gamewinner, Brace @ Homebase, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Pretty sure this was the first show I ever saw at Homebase. Went up with Gamewinner. It was a pretty small show for such a large space but it was cool that WB had a place like that for a while. They hosted a bunch of Posi-Numbers fests. Not sure why they shut down. Someone remind me who was in Best of Times.

April 16, 2000: the Control, Innerside Burning, Emerge, Think Fast @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This is a show I booked at the Sushi Cafe. The Control were dudes from Buffalo who were previously in bands like Halfmast and No Reason. They had some good songs, but never really seemed to catch on. Jeremy went on to play in Dead Hearts. Innerside Burning was Gus Bowman and crew. Gus went on to play in Looks Like Rain, Never Enough, Desperate Measures, Pulling Teeth, and Unrestrained (OR). Emerge was a chunkier hardcore band from the Bowie area. Matt Moulis played drums. He went on to play in What Lies Ahead, Looks Like Rain, and some others. He's currently living in Austin teaching kids how to play drums. Think Fast were from MD's eastern shore. I have no idea if any of them are still playing in bands but I doubt it.

more from the March 24/25, 2000 weekend

I forgot to post these yesterday. These are the flyers John Bachman made for these two shows.

March 24/25, 2000: Good Clean Fun, Bane, Brother's Keeper, Atom & His Package, the Hope Conspiracy, Daltonic, Dead To the World, Sick of It All, more

Ah, a Jamie Arthurs flyer...an assault upon all that is understood as good design. This one is for a weekend of hardcore at St. Andrew's Church in College Park. Both have pretty stacked line ups. I don't remember anything about the first show so I'm not positive I went. I can't imagine Good Clean Fun actually headlined that show but maybe they did. I definitely went to the second show it was a blast. I can't remember the last time before this show that I saw Sick Of It All at anything other than a large club with a barrier. SOIA sounded so tight and kids were going off their whole set. Lots of speaker dives. I loved every band on that show so I had a blast all night. Helluva fun show.

February 22, 2000: Althea, River City High, Boom Boom Cats @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

I went to this show to see River City High. I'd never heard of Althea before but they were great. I picked up their EP. Still have it, but haven't listened to it in a while. Real catchy indie/pop/punk. I'll have to dig it out and post it. I have no idea if any of them went on to do any other bands. I'm not sure if I watched Boom Boom Cats. They were a rockabilly band with punk rock roots, but not punkabilly, from the area. I didn't know any of them at the time but I currently work with their bass player, Lee Verzosa. He's a tattoo artist at Ghost Town in Ellicott City and does the labels for Stillwater Artisinal Ales. He recently did the artwork for a Pulling Teeth shirt as well. Great dude.

February 19th, 2000: De Nada, Striking Distance, What Lies Ahead, Gamewinner @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This is an Alex D flyer. He loved using artwork from Ebullution records for flyers. Kevin Hodges booked the show. I've got a great photo from this show that I've gotta dig up. The Sushi Cafe was in one of the more run-down neighborhoods in the city and sometimes the locals would come check out the shows. On this night a guy came up during De Nada's set and started freestyling between songs. This was a super fun all-local show. Apparently, according to the flyer, it was Michelle's birthday. I'm guessing Michelle Metrinko, but I could be wrong.

February 12th, 2000: In My Eyes, Ann Beretta, Time Flies, Count Me Out, Right Brigade, American Nightmare, Brace @ 1st Cong. Church, Washington, DC

Sick show. One of these things is not like the other. I love Ann Beretta's first LP though, so it didn't bother me, but I think the room kinda cleared out when they played. I think this was the one where I was doing sound and got stuck in DC traffic on my way and didn't get there until an hour or so after doors opened. Needless to say, sets had to get shortened. I think this was also the last time the Malfunction crew used the First Congregational Church, but I'm not sure why. This may have also been the first time AN played the area. First time I remember seeing them was at the Falls Church VFW though.

Update from Alex Z: "This was the first time AN played DC. They covered Op Ivy and had the demos and matt rinks designed shirt for sale. I think may have been dave and aarons first show with Brace too."

February 9th, 2000: Turmoil, Himsa, Haste, Daybreak, The Allied War Effort @ Phantasmagoria, Wheaton, MD

I have no recollection of this show so I'm not positive I actually went to it. Maybe I did. I liked Turmoil, and Daybreak and AWE were friends, so it's quite possible that I went, but I have no idea. I never liked Himsa and I have no idea who Haste were. Tony? Mike Wolf? Jamie? Help me out here.

February 8th, 2000: Future Perfect, Ampersand, Red Died Out, Spot @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

This is a Carl Caracia flyer. He played guitar in Ampersand. Kinda funny how they're the only band name in bold. The Future Perfect were a cool indie band with members of Blank and Bridgewater (Kerry and Jeremy Silanskis, Scott Cullum). I forget who else was in the band. To my knowledge they never recorded a demo but I was always bugging them for one when they were around cuz I really dug a bunch of their songs. I'm not sure if the Spot on this flyer is the SST producer or some other band with that name. It would be weird if it was that guy and he was opening this show.

January 29th, 2000: De Nada, Ultimate Warriors, Daybreak, Striking Distance, Gamewinner @ Kaffa House, Washington, DC

What a great line-up. Unfortunately I don't remember a thing from this show. Alex D, please grace us with your memories. Until then...the Ultimate Warriors are the only band on this flyer that I haven't already mentioned in the blog. They were a powerviolence band from the Lehigh Valley in northeast Pennsylvania. Members also played or currently play in the Gatecrashers, Pissed Jeans, and Slingshot Dakota. If you can't tell by their name, their schtick was wrestling. They put out a couple 7"s, an LP, and a bunch of split 7"s, including one with Daybreak. Rad, fun band.

January 20th, 2000: Kind of Like Spitting, Ampersand, Apathy, Red Died Out @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

After an unexpectedly long break, about six months, the blog is back in action. Sorry for the wait. I'll do my best to keep it updated on a regular basis from now on.

This was the first time I saw Kind of Like Spitting. Pretty sure it was just Ben and his guitar at this show. Really nice quiet songs with huge emotional tension in many of them. Haven't listened to any of this stuff in a while, but I'm sure I'd still dig it. Ben went on to play in The Thermals for a while. Great band. I've mentioned Ampersand on here before. Carl and Adam now play in a band called Black Birds. Their love for 90s Dischord sounds still shines through. Apathy were a terrible metal/hc band from Glen Burnie. Their sound was much more proto-nu metal than anything that really had to do with hardcore. Red Died Out were a local band featuring Tom Fortwengler, Donald Lefkowitz, Josh Medoff, and maybe someone else. Their sound was sorta a more indie-rock version of bands like the Doughboys or Big Drill Car. Donald went on to play in Can't Say, who were a great pop-punk band.