December 28, 2000: Gamewinner, Standfast, The Disaster, The Gacy Project @ the Mosh Mansion, Laurel, MD

This will be the last flyer for the year 2000. Pat Martin booked this show at the Mosh Mansion, where he was living at the time. Not sure who made the flyer. Here's another show that I know I have pictures from that I'll have to dig up and post. I've mentioned all these bands on the blog before, so I won't go into any of that. I'll just say that this show was four bands that were great friends with each other, had a lot of fun playing together, and many of us are still friends to this day. That's what hardcore is all about. Playing some new town you've never been to and meeting people you instantly connect with and being able to call them friends 12 years later. Good stuff.

Here's a little where are they now...

Gamewinner: Pat (bartends at the Ottobar and Metro Gallery), Alex (runs Grave Mistake Records, played bass in Government Warning), Duff (is married and works for BGE), Nik (is a dad, an author and teaches English to college kids), Ryan (is a family man).

Standfast: Rory (sings for Soul Control), Brian VE (is a fancy chef), Licky (no idea), Nate (plays guitar in Polar Bear Club).

The Disaster: John (sings for Not Sorry), Pieces (moved to NYC to pursue acting), Brian VE (see above), Jeff (played in Bad Business, currently co-owns his own graphic design business).

The Gacy Project: John (does IT work for government contractors), Mike B (no idea), Mike R (writes this blog), Nik (see above), Duff (see above).

December 27, 2000: Hatebreed, Bane, One King Down, Stretch Armstrong, E-Town Concrete, Merauder, Voice of Reason, Age of Ruin @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

This show was, as the kids say, "off the chain". Hatebreed weren't playing Ozzfest yet, but they were headlining huge clubs at this time, so seeing them at a hall with a good sized stage and no barrier was pretty awesome. Speaker dives galore. Some would say the rest of the bill was pretty stacked but Bane was the only other band I cared about. Jamie Arthurs booked the show. Carl Caracia made the flyer.

December 20th, 2000: Strike Anywhere, The Hope Conspiracy, Kill Your Idols, American Nightmare, Rebel Scum @ The Bug Jar, Rochester, NY

Gus Bowman and I were just talking about this show a few days ago. He and I took a roadtrip with Pat Martin and Nik Korpon to this show and the one the next day in Ithaca. For some reason I don't have much of a memory of this particular show but I remember the one in Ithaca being surprisingly poorly attended. As Gus has a much better memory than I do, I'll share his recollections of this trip...

- Raeph, who drummed for KYI at the time, rode with us from Rochester and Ithaca and told some of the sketchiest stories any of us have ever heard. No, I will not repeat them.

- Jesse Standhard was giving out CD-r copies of the not-yet-released Right Bridge LP coming out on Revelation Records. Probably out of spite for all the drama surrounding the record. Read about that here.

- Andy KYI getting back to John 25's house from the spank shack next door, proclaiming "I just spanked it. Gotta freshen up."

- My car got towed and Paul KYI took me to get it. I have no recollection of this.

- Nik Korpon's tics going apeshit on the drive home, late at night, on a snowy ride, and those of us that were awake fearing for our lives.

Great roadtrip! Great bands!

John 25 made the flyer and I'd assume that Josh Lyons booked the show.

December 16th, 2000: What Lies Ahead, Striking Distance, Gamewinner, Red Flower Society @ the Mosh Mansion, Laurel, MD

Here's another show that I know I have some pics from but have to dig up. Like the Longshot 7", which Trevor also sang on, this White Lies Ahead 7" is one of those under appreciated gems of MD hardcore. Their hoodies read "negative youth crew", which is a decent assessment of their sound. Stephen St. Germain released it on his Urgency Records label (not to be confused with the current Christian music label). I'm not even positive that he released anything else. Anyway, if you're a fan of late 80s NYC or SoCal HC, I recommend digging yourself up a copy. Red Flower Society were a fairly short-lived indie-rock/post-hardcore kinda band. My old friend Justin Kovalski ("Toypunks") played guitar in the band. They had a female singer, but I don't remember who else was in the band. I also like the fact that this mentions "DJ Dave Nada" on the flyer. That's gotta make it some Ebay gold in this era of Moombahton (the genre he created) blowing up clubs around the world. This show was at the Mosh Mansion, which was a house in Laurel that a bunch of hardcore kids (Gene M, Pat Martin, not sure who else) lived in for a while and hosted some pretty rad shows.

December 15th, 2000: Crispus Attucks, The Degenerics, Striking Distance, Looks Like Rain, Crestfallen @ the Crispus Attucks House, Hyattsville, MD

This was a cool show that Matt from Crispus Attucks (now owner of Smash! Records in Adams Morgan, DC) booked at the house he and some fellow punks lived in near College Park. One of the dudes from Crestfallen (a heavy, loud, screamy band, not unlike Page 99, Majority of Rule, City of Caterpillar, etc.) now plays in Mean Jeans (a Ramones-y punk band that sings mostly about partying). Not sure what the other dudes are doing. I'm sure I've mentioned this before but the Degenerics are one of the most underrated bands in recent memory. Totally unbelievably talented hc/punk (with dub interludes from time to time) from NJ. Seriously the closest thing I've ever heard to a reasonable Bad Brains comparison. You need to check out their "Generica" full-length if you've never done so.

December 14, 2000: The Hope Conspiracy, Commin' Correct, Gamewinner, Looks Like Rain, The Gacy Project @ The Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Here's two versions of the same flyer for a fun show at The Sidebar. I got to play two sets here: one on bass with The Gacy Project and one on the mic for Looks Like Rain. Jamie Arthurs booked the show. I made the flyer on top. Not sure who made the other one. Maybe Alex D. I like how they both say "Fuck shit up." I have no idea what's up with that. The Hope Conspiracy were great at this time. "Cold Blue" and that next EP before "Endnote" are great. I can't say for sure that I watched Commin' Correct. Just not my thing. 

December 9, 2000: Mouthpiece, Count Me Out, Darkest Hour, No Justice, Shark Attack, Dead Serious @ St. Stephen's Church, Washington, DC

Here's a couple versions of the flyer for one of the greatest hardcore shows in DC history. Sounds like some hyperbole, but this show was legit. Tru and Eric booked the show. Linas made the flyer. The bottom one was the actual line-up. Not sure why Damage had to drop. I did sound for this show and took video from the back of the room. Gotta get that uploaded (Mark Anthony?). Every band was great but most people remember two insane quotes from this night, Gene M (No Justice drummer) being the target of both. To the best of my memory...

1) "If I don't get an apology, not only is it gonna be No Justice's last show, it's gonna be his, too." - Matt Summers, Shark Attack

2) "Fuck this motherfuckers drums up!" - Timmy, No Justice, during their set

There's a few videos of the No Justice set on YouTube. Here's the first one. I know everyone is gonna have a million memories from this show. Please share.

December 8, 2000: New Found Glory, Midtown, River City High, Hot Rod Circuit, the Stryder, and Dashboard Confessional @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

I didn't go to this show but I'm sure it was huge. This show represented all that was wrong with "punk" bands going the corporate route. Jamie Arthurs booked it. Carl Caracia made the flyer.

December 6th, 2000: Kill Your Idols, For the Living, Brace, Standard Issue @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Here's a flyer for a tight little hardcore show at the Sidebar. I was probably at this show since I can't imagine I would miss a chance to see and hang out with the Kill Your Idols guys, but I don't remember it specifically. Jamie Arthurs booked the show and Carl Caracia made the flyer.

December 5, 2000: Anti-Flag, Flogging Molly, Bigwig @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Funny to think this show was small enough to fit in the Sidebar 12 years ago. I don't think I actually attended this show. No recollection of it. Jamie Arthurs booked it and Carl Caracia made the flyer.

November 26, 2000: Torn Apart, Brother's Keeper, Nora, Poison the Well, the Gacy Project @ WMUC, College Park, MD

Here are a couple different flyers for basically the same show that Jamie Arthurs booked. I made the one on top and Carl Caracia made the other one. The top one is more recent because Bane canceled and Jamie wrangled Torn Apart into playing a final show. The show was also originally supposed to be at St. Andrew's Church, but got moved to WMUC, the radio station at UMD, College Park. I can't remember if Bane canceling was the reason Jamie moved it to the radio station, as he assumed it would be a much smaller show, or if there was some other reason. Either way the show was packed. As I believe this is the first flyer on this blog for a show at WMUC, I'll explain it a bit. The campus radio station had a small (maybe 15' x 15') studio where (usually 1 - 3) bands would perform for live on-air sessions, for a show called Third Rail Radio. Somehow one of the hardcore/punk kids involved with the station (I can't remember who at the time) convinced the powers that be at the station to let them hold full-on shows with attendees and everything that they could record for later play on the air. This was far from the first of those shows, but there was a good 4 - 6 year period, with some short interruptions,  where WMUC became a regular venue for shows in the area. I saw and booked some great bands there. More of that to come in future blog entries. This show was one of the first for The Gacy Project, which was a local straight edge tech-metal band, kind of in the vein of Burnt By the Sun meets Harvest, featuring John Frank, Nik Korpon (Gamewinner), Andrew Duffy (Gamewinner), Mike Bast (The Wishing Sickness), and myself (first time playing bass in a band). We did a demo. I'll have to  dig it out and post it on here. It was fun but didn't last too long. It's also interesting to see Poison the Well so low on the bill considering the status they would go on to achieve in the metalcore scene. Oh, and if you've paid attention you would know that this was in fact not the last show Torn Apart would ever play.

November 21, 2000: The Jazz June, Ampersand, Breaking Pangaea, Starcrossed @ the Sidebar, Baltiomore, MD

This is a fitting post for today because I was wandering around the Fine Arts building of my previous, and current, school today and found an Ampersand sticker on a locker that's been there for at least 12 years. I've mentioned them in the blog before and posted their recordings a few months ago. Click their label below to find them if you missed them. Solid band. I've posted about the Jazz June before as well. I was more of an Atari guy. They were decent though. Not sure what any of them are doing these days. Breaking Pangaea were a great indie rock band from southern Pennsylvania. If you liked Cross My Heart, you'd totally dig them. I pulled out an old mixtape from this time recently and it had one of their songs on it and it definitely stands the test of time. The singer, Fred, went on to much bigger things a few years later when he joined Taking Back Sunday. Now he's doing something called The Color Fred. Awful name. He was also in Brody in the mid-90s who were pretty great for the time. The drummer went on to play in another terrible band, Straylight Run. Disregard their later gigs, but definitely check out "Take Apart the Words" on Undecided Records. Great EP. I didn't like their follow up as much so I never bothered with the record they did on Equal Vision. I have no idea who Starcrossed were.

November 18, 2000: De Nada, The Chase, All Is Suffering, Numbers Are Neutral @ the Crispus Attucks house, Hyattsville, MD

I've always loved this flyer. The sort of haphazard cut-and-paste giant lettering over top of the loose "centered" text, with all the "imperfections" bright and clear. Works so well. For those of you too young or not local enough to remember, shows at the Crispus Attucks house were in this strange addition the house that was basically a 15' x 15' concrete block box. They were hot as hell in the summer and cold as a witch's teet in the winter. Pretty much any show "filled" the space as the band took up about a 1/3 of the room. The MD/DC/NoVA scene was pretty strong around this time so turnouts were good to pretty much any show and for a while, the CA house was one of the only spaces for shows. Let's just say that almost every show was cramped and this show, being the final one for one of the area's most beloved bands, was jam-packed. So much fun. I don't remember who All Is Suffering or Numbers Are Neutral were. Somebody help me out there.

November 16, 2000: Gamewinner, Joshua Fit For Battle, El Secondhand, Looks Like Rain, Worn Thin @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

I don't really have a memory of this show. I can tell you that I booked it and I made the flyer. Looks like it was one of Worn Thin's very early shows as I described them as pop-punk. If you haven't heard the first demo, you might not know their origins. That demo was great, but so was the later hardcore incarnation of the band. I'll see if I can dig that up and post it. Also looks like Gamewinner's 7" had just come out. I should post that as well. I can't believe it's been 12 years since that came out. Someone should really convince them to do a reunion. Don't they know how hardcore bands work?

November 12, 2000: Le Shok, Charm City Suicides, League of Death, Revenge of Nigel Winston, Bad Blood @ the Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

Here we have a great flyer from Nolen Strals for a show at the old Ottobar (Look at that early love of hand-lettering!). Pretty sure I only went for League of Death and Charm City Suicides. I'm not sure who Bad Blood were. Revenge of Nigel Winston was a sort of performance art thing from Ben Valis (the Small Intestine, Xibalba, Stars of the Dogon). I don't remember how it went exactly but I seem to recall him reading from a book dressed as a sort of stereotypical late 19th century explorer or anthropologist. That's the memory I have in my head. I could be way off. Someone please clarify if you can. League of Death was Bruce and Nolen's band pre-Double Dagger. They all wore home-made black t-shirts with white skulls printed on the front. I can't remember who was in the band besides those two. Pretty sure it was all MICA students at the time. They played pretty rad punk that wasn't too far off from some of the early Double Dagger stuff. The flyer says "x-Denim Skeleton", but I don't remember that band at all. I've mentioned Charm City Suicides on the blog before. Cool off-kilter noisy punk rock from Baltimore. Walker (Baltimore's Mike Muir) played bass and wore giant Xs on his hands. He's played in South Carey for a bit, I think, but I don't think he's done any other bands since CCS. Mike A. sang and was a fucking wild man. He went on to "head" Human Host, who still plays shows from time to time. I can't remember who else was in the band or if they've gone on to do anything else. The only thing I know about Le Shok was that they were from California and they did a split 7" with Ink & Dagger. Screamy, chaotic hardcore if I remember correctly. Don't know who was in the band or what else they've done.

November 9, 2000: Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio, Strike Anywhere, Fairweather @ St. Andrew's Church, College Park, MD

Here we have the Carl Caracia version of the show flyer alongside the Jamie Arthurs version. I'm really glad Carl did flyers for Jamie for a while. Anyway, on to the show... This was a real humdinger. Look at that line up. I don't really think much needs to be said. This was probably the last time I saw Alkaline Trio in a smaller venue. After this it was big clubs and small arenas. If any of you have specific memories of this show, please share.

November 5, 2000: Ralph Nader rally, MCI Center, Washington, DC

The next day it was back to DC for me to attend this Ralph Nader rally. I don't recall getting there in time for any of the bands but some of the speakers definitely blew me away, particularly Cornel West and Tom Tomorrow ("This Modern World" comic), who isn't on the flyer. I'm still registered Green and I still believe the two party system we've got going on now is doing more harm than good.

November 4, 2000: 400 Years, Kill the Man Who Questions, Engine Down, Milemarker @ the Wilson Center, Washington, DC

Here's a flyer for 400 Years's last DC show. I can't remember where there actual last show was. Probably Richmond. I actually don't have any memory of this show. I may not have actual been there but I'm pretty sure I was. If you were, tell us about it.

October 21, 2000: Mouthpiece, Count Me Out, The Killing Flame, Intention @ The Kill Time, Philadelphia, PA

I only attended the Mouthpiece show on this double-flyer. The Kill Time was a cool space right next door to Stalag 13 in West Philly. It was basically a gutted rowhouse that was primarily an art gallery, if I remember correctly. It probably held 200 people jam-packed. Robby Redcheeks booked this one, which was one of the first, if not the first, reunion shows that Mouthpiece did when they got back together for a little while in the early 2000s. Count Me Out were (and are) one of my favorite bands of the time so travelling to Philly for this one was a no-brainer. I never cared for The Killing Flame (mems. of Unity, Uniform Choice, Ignite, Hands Tied, No For An Answer) and seeing them live didn't help. A bit of a bummer considering the resume of the members. Intention were a band of younger kids doing some straight forward youth crew hardcore. The band was decent but not long after their demise came the birth of Full Contact, who released a decent demo and then went on to become Knockdown who put out one of my favorite records of the mid-2000s. Zach later formed Violent Minds who put out a bunch of killer records. I have no idea if he's still doing bands or not.

October 15, 2000: Staring Back, Time Flies, Rod, Standard Issue, Worn Thin @ The Green House, Vienna, VA

I didn't actually attend this show but I've always found this flyer interesting as it has a band I've never heard of headlining over Time Flies. If anyone knows who Staring Back are, please fill me in. Same goes for Rod and Standard Issue. This is probably also one of Worn Thin's first shows, so that makes it pretty cool.

October 9, 2000: The Movielife, The Misery, Brace @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Solid little show with a couple melodic hardcore bands as well as one more straight up. I can't remember which Brace line up this was. I also have no idea where I got that image for the flyer. What the hell is that? Since the Misery first popped up on here I started listening to the demo a bunch. Pretty decent stab at Saves the Day / Lifetime - style melodic pop/hardcore. The Movielife were great. I never bothered with "Has a Gambling Problem" but I love everything else they did.

October 2, 2000: The 65 Film Show, Kind of Like Spitting, Looks Like Rain @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

I've written about all of these bands before and I don't remember any specific details about this show, so I'll keep this one short. Jamie Arthurs did the show and I made the flyer. I don't remember who the "plus one more" was. Solid line up though.

September 29, 2000: Strike Anywhere, Midiron Blast Shaft, the Allied War Effort, Looks Like Rain @ Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

I'd never met or heard of the promoter before this show but I had somehow heard that Strike Anywhere were playing at Johns Hopkins and found his contact and hit him up about Looks Like Rain getting added to the show. He was into it and I got to promoting the show right away. I'm not positive that Chorus of One was out at this time. They might have only had the demo still. Definitely a cool show. This may have been the one where The Allied War Effort didn't have a guitar player and convinced me to pick one up and make some noise while they played their set. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun.

September 24, 2000: the 1985, Swyvid, Looks Like Rain, Michinoku Driver 3 @ Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

This was one of the oddest shows I've ever played. I'm Looks Like Rain only got asked to play because Todd (Monozine/Ottobar booker) needed a band to fill out the bill. I have no recollection of what the 1985 or Swyvid sounded like or where they were from or who was in the band. Michinoku Driver 3 was Boson Au and maybe Joe Mitra doing really discordant noisy stuff. I can't remember if there was an angle behind it or not. Strange show for sure.

September 23, 2000: Time Flies, Fairweather, What Lies Ahead @ house, Falls Church, VA

Goddamn, I wish I could remember this show because this is one of my favorite Linas Garsys flyers. Who was there? Help me out.

September 19, 2000: Pollen, Choker, Fairweather, Looks Like Rain, Velvet @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Again, one of these things is not like the other and Looks Like Rain gets put on a show more out of our love for good pop/rock than a similar sound to the other bands. Pollen were a rad poppy band from Arizona. The first song ("Pollen") on their last full-length (Chip) is still an all-time favorite. Choker were a too-short-lived Doughboys-ish band from Baltimore featuring Dwayne from Latebloomer/Cross My Heart, Chris Camden from Cross My Heart, and a few others I forget, except the singer, Kevin, though I don't know if he did any other bands. They were pretty great. I loved Fairweather's demo, solid catchy pop/rock, but I couldn't get into much more than a few songs after that. Still, great dudes, and people still love that band to this day. I think they recently reformed or maybe just played some reunion shows. Velvet were from northern VA if I remember correctly, but I don't remember what they sounded like. Craig Boarman booked the show and I made the flyer. Coincidentally, the guy who made that drawing, which was scanned from a City Paper article, is the same guy who did the cover art for Ruiner's What Could Possibly Go Right? EP and a bunch of Misery Index records.

September 15, 2000: De Nada, The Chase, Crestfallen @ UMD Food Co-Op, College Park, MD

If this is the show I'm thinking of it was a blast. Tons of good friends in one room and everyone going nuts for all the bands. I had found this weird protective helmet, kinda like this one, while roaming around the underbelly of UMBC and I brought it to the show with the idea that I was gonna pour rubbing alcohol all over it and set it on fire and run around during De Nada's set. I hadn't tried lighting rubbing alcohol on fire in years though and I guess I was expecting a hell of a lot more of a blaze than I got. Oh well. It's the thought the counts. The show was still a lot of fun.

September 4, 2000: Leatherface, Cross My Heart, Pezz, River City High @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

This is definitely one of my favorite shows ever. Getting to see Leatherface in a place as small as the Sidebar was near euphoric. The place was packed with friendly faces and something about it was just really special. Cross My Heart played one of the best sets I ever saw them play. Dwayne somehow managed a dive off the 6" high stage at the end of their set, guitar in hand. I'm not sure I watched Pezz or River City High, but I'm sure they were just fine. Jamie Arthurs booked the show. Looks like he made the flyer as well.

August 24, 2000: Neil Perry, Joshua Fit For Battle, Contra, Latterman, Break of Dawn, Buried Inside @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This is one of those shows I did because I'm just such a nice guy. I can't say I really had any interest in any of the bands. I knew some of the guys in Break of Dawn because Looks Like Rain would play Rochester a bunch and we got friendly with the Head On/Standfast crew, and someone from Head On played in Break of Dawn, who were on tour with Buried Inside. I was a part of Emogeddon Records, who put out the Falsies' "Theory and Motion" CD and they would play shows and trade records with Latterman (well before anybody outside of Long Island gave a shit about them) so I volunteered to help them out on their trip with Contra, also from Long Island. I think I was familiar with Neil Perry and Joshua Fit For Battle through the board.crewcial.org (or whatever incarnation it was at the time) messageboard. I honestly don't have any specific recollection of this show. I'm sure some people were stoked. Glad I could help.

August 20, 2000: What Lies Ahead, Project 208, Latchkey, Looks Like Rain, Tries Too Hard @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

I booked the show, Brian Flowers made the flyer. Project 208 were a hardcore band from VA Beach with a sense of melody to their music. No idea what those guys are up to these days. I still have no idea who was in Latchkey. Any help would be great. I also don't remember who was in Tries Too Hard, but I know they were from southern Maryland. What I do remember about them is that they insisted there name was Tries To Hard. At least, that was what was on their stickers, and when I mentioned the grammatical error to them they told me that was how it was supposed to be. Don't ask me what it means to try to hard. I've never heard hard used as an action. Still makes me chuckle after all these years.

August 16, 2000: the Honor System, Looks Like Rain, the Chase, Latchkey @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

This one was a Craig Boarman (now Ottobar co-owner) joint. The Honor System were the two dudes from the Broadways that didn't go on to form The Lawrence Arms (Dan and Rob), along with Nolan McGuire (who would go on to tour manage and play live 2nd guitar for Alkaline Trio) and Tim McIlrath (who would go on to form Rise Against), although I'm pretty sure Tim was already out of the band at this point. Pretty decent poppy punk stuff. I don't remember who was in Latchkey but they were from southern MD/DC suburbs.

August 13, 2000: Misfits @ Recher Theater, Towson, MD

I don't believe I ever saw the Misfits at the Recher Theater so I don't think I actually attended this show. The two times I saw the Misfits in Baltimore were once at Memory Lane with H2O opening and once at Bohager's with H2O and Sick Of It All opening. The Memory Lane show (Oct. 30th, 1996) was amazing because American Psycho hadn't been released yet so they just played classic songs from start to finish. I had no idea that H2O was on the bill so that was a pleasant surprise to see them when I got there. There's also the fact that the place could not have held more than 150 people or so, but it was waaaaaaaay overpacked, but so much fun. The Bohager's show (Nov. 1997, according to the Google / 2 tracks from Evillive II are from that show) was way less fun because the venue sucked and the Misfits played too much crappy new stuff. I did however interview H2O that night for a zine that I never completed. I still have the tape and have daydreams about publishing that interview in some new zine I have yet to get started on. Same for the Descendents, who I interviewed at the 9:30 Club on one of their tours for Everything Sucks. Maybe one day.

If anyone actually went to this show, please tell us about it.

EDIT: Some friends have jogged my memory...

Ryan Brown: "Pretty sure I went to this one. I think Ignite played as well. For some reason, I'm also thinking that Zoli sang for the Misfits instead of Michael Graves."

Tru Pray: "Reach the Sky opened up and Zoli did sing a few songs [for the Misfits]."

August 11, 2000: The Grey AM, The Gap Scatter Recovery, The Misery, Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

The following day we're back at the Sushi Cafe for a little indie rock and melodic hardcore. I don't remember anything about The Grey AM. The Gap Scatter Recovery were from New Jersey and were friends of a friend so that's who I booked the show for. Pretty standard emo/indie rock of the time. I've mentioned The Misery before and if you missed it, I posted their demo on here about a week ago. Check it out if you dig the Saves the Day/Lifetime sound. I've also mentioned Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine on here before, and if you haven't heard Dead Mechanical, which is Lucas's current band, please do yourself a favor and check them out.

August 10, 2000: The Convocation Of..., Ampersand, Blue Skies Burning, With Arms Still Empty @ the Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

Three days later and we're at the Sidebar for a show with the Baltimore supergroup, The Convocation Of..., headlining. The band was the new project featuring Tonie Joy (Universal Order of Armageddon, Moss Icon, The Great Unravelling, Born Against), Guy Blakeslee (Behind Closed Doors, Entrance), and George France (Prisoner of Conscience). Ampersand was the other local on a bill filled out by two out-of-towners who I am not familiar with. Carl Caracia made the flyer and Jamie Arthurs booked the show.

August 7, 2000: Carry On, Count Me Out, Striking Distance, Gamewinner @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

We're back at the Sushi Cafe for the 3rd day in a row. This was another great show. I believe it was the first time Carry On had come out east (south of Boston, at least) and they were doing this tour with Count Me Out, who had just put out "110". "Roll With the Punches" had been out for a couple of months and people were pretty psyched on them. Little would we know that they'd go on to become one of the biggest hardcore bands of the 2000s.

August 6, 2000: The Ultimate Warriors, Kung Fu Rick, Mad Cow Dizeaze 182, Daybreak @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

For those that were there, this was a show of legendary proportions. People still bring it up to me to this day. Easily one of my favorite shows I've ever booked. It was a few hours of people going apeshit in that little room upstairs above the Sushi Cafe. Complete mayhem. Every band tore it up and everyone had a smile on their face the whole time. For those unaware, The Ultimate Warriors were a power-violence band from northeast Pennsylvania. Members were/are in Pissed Jeans, The Gatecrashers, Slingshot Dakota, and a million other bands. Kung Fu Rick were a midwest power-violence band and members went on to form Seven Days of Samsara, Hewhocorrupts, High on Crime, and others. Mad Cow Dizeaze 182 were a spazzy thrash band from Long Island. The only member I know is Alex Sanchez. He did Mike Fitzgerald Records (who put out a couple records for The Spark) and now he lives in Allentown and sells stuff on Ebay. Daybreak were some record nerds from Baltimore. Great show.

Here's some video clips from the show (I'm the guy in the DS-13 shirt in the Daybreak clip):


Pissed Jeans - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuYdA2eGiJE&feature=plcp&context=C32cc450UDOEgsToPDskI_MyABPvUY8wtENTXVr2y6


Daybreak - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5MVOP9Fm1s&feature=plcp&context=C393c4bbUDOEgsToPDskJ1Vlj1AjYxUmmzYQgoz-F3


Kung Fu Rick - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM172wiZkYs&feature=related


EDIT: Quote from Tom P of Ultimate Warriors - "on the first day of that tour with kung-fu rick, we were all in the van talking about how unfamiliar we were with KFR's music. we agreed that no matter what, if KFR were dicks or even if they sucked, we would go crazy during their set. turned out that they were really nice dudes and their music was insanely good."

August 5, 2000: Standfast, What Lies Ahead, Shock Radio, the Chase @ Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

This one was an Andy Norton joint. Standfast were a screamy emo/hardcore band from Rochester, NY. They had a lot of friends in Baltimore so would come down here often, but they actually canceled this show. Rory now sings for Soul Control, Nate now plays guitar in Polar Bear Club, and Brian is the head chef at a vegan restaraunt in Boston called Veggie Galaxy. I'm not sure what the other guys are doing these days. I have no idea who Shock Radio were.

Andy Norton: "I was pissed at those dudes for years. Nobody contacted me about canceling until a year later!"

The Misery demo & Althea - Ladders To Climb and Stones To Throw

As promised, here is the Misery demo and that Althea EP I mentioned a while back...

The Misery - demo: http://www.mediafire.com/?j2btpong6z7qy5a

(check it out if you like Saves the Day and all those early 2000s bands that were taking the Lifetime sound and running with it)

Althea - Ladders To Climb and Stones To Throw: http://www.mediafire.com/?9404mcioaniyr08

(check it out if you like Deep Elm Records at their prime [first few Emo Diaries comps])

July 25, 1999(?) & May 16, 2000(?): I Farm, Clancy 6, Boom Boom Cats, Charm City Suicides, Caste, Kerum, Die Cheerleader Die, and the Overprivileged

Sorry for the lapse there folks, I had to scan more flyers. While doing so I found these two older ones, so this post is a little out of sequence.

The first flyer was actually on the flip side of a flyer I was scanning from 2000. I didn't go to it. I've asked the promoter and one of the band members and the best guess is that this show was from 1999 (but possibly 1998 or 2000). Josh from The Sound Exchange in Ellicott City booked the show.

I didn't attend the 2nd show either. Someone gave me this flyer for the blog, but now I can't remember who. Club Ozone was what is now the Ottobar. The best guess for the year of this one is 2000 (not long before the Ottobar took it over), but possibly 1999.

We'll get back to the regular rotation of flyers tomorrow.

July 28 - Aug 12, 2000: Sidebar calendar

This is a calendar flyer designed by Carl Caracia for a handful of shows at the Sidebar. I don't remember who Box Car Children were (did they play that Swarm show at the Kaffa House?), but The 65 Film Show were a rad post-hardcore-ish band from Virginia Beach. I think Curtiss Williams from Time Flies played in that band if I remember correctly. Not sure if any of them made any music after that band. Garrison was a post-hardcore band on Revelation that had a couple of decent songs, but didn't really grab me. Same thing goes for The Stryder from Long Island. That August 5th show was pretty cool. Midtown sucked and I don't know who The Falls Version was, but The Stereo, The Movielife, and The Misery were all great. The Misery were a melodic hardcore band out of Baltimore with Aaron from Torn Apart/Behind Closed Doors, PJ (Ziggy from The Wire), Pete Hilton, and I can't remember who else. I'll try to remember to upload that demo this weekend. I definitely didn't attend that Commin Correct show, but CodeSeven were a decent band with cool guys.

EDIT: Found this post-posting this post...

July 27, 2000: Purpose, Worthless, Holding On, Looks Like Rain @ the Sushi Cafe, Baltimore, MD

I don't remember this show being hugely attended but I do remember having a good time. I really enjoyed every band on this show. Purpose were some cool "Revolution Summer" inspired hc/punk from NJ. The singer and I went to the same elementary and high school. He was a few years younger than me, but it's cool to think that anyone from my tiny grade school in Bumfuck, NJ went on to play in a cool band. (The drummer from Rad also went to the same elementary school.) He (John) went on to sing for the Break a few years later. Their first record is great. Not sure what any of the other members went on to do. Worthless were a cool punk band, also from NJ. Matt Times (Fast Times, Tear It Up, the Rites) played drums for them. I think this show was right around the time they were suing Ann Beretta (no shit, AB just popped up on my iPod as I'm writing this) for ripping them off on a song that was on their Lookout! album. I remember being told about this situation at this show. Not sure how any of that ever panned out. Also not sure what any of the other members went on to do except for a short-lived band called Rock, Star that put out a decent demo. I think this was the first time Holding On came through Baltimore. Looks Like Rain would go on to play with those guys quite a bit and it was always a pleasure. Good band and really good guys. Karl went on to work for Bridge 9 Records, and is now at Epitaph. Some of the other guys formed bands but the only one I can remember right now is Hope You Choke (named after a lyric from my favorite Poison Idea song). Not sure if any of them are still playing in bands. Fun time.

July 23, 2000: Churner, Looks Like Rain, Angel Eyes, Ourselves Alone, Victory Red, Flirting With Disaster @ 1253 Columbia Rd, Woodbridge, VA

First things first, I actually did what I said I was gonna do. Here are Ampersand's two EPs for your listening pleasure:

1a34959u - http://www.mediafire.com/?oh8h2o2wompx12b

Telluric Currents - http://www.mediafire.com/?3ves3anw7m0pv6o

Check 'em out if you dig 90s heavy discordant hardcore, somewhere between Bloodlet, Die 116, and Lungfish. Mitch Olshansky, I'm looking at you. "Interrogation Techniques" on the first EP is the jam.

Onto the flyer...The only recollection I have of this show is that it was in the back yard. I have no idea whose house that was. I remember that Churner were from NoVA. Heavier stuff if I remember correctly. No idea what any of them did after that band, if anything. Angel Eyes was Matt Bidwell from the Green House in Vienna, VA and friends. They played Gravity Records-kinda stuff. I have no idea who Ourselves Alone or Victory Red were. Flirting With Disaster were an all-female band, though I don't remember exactly what they sounded like; metalcore, I think. So much for my memory.