A loss for words was the first band with as much energy as a pack of wild banshees on Red Bull. Their harmonies were spot-on and they reminded me a bit of New Found Glory with their pop punk essence. Near the closing of his set, the lead singer called out something to the effect of “all the other bands with millions of dollars, I miss moshing. I’m not a rockstar and I never will be.” I guess it depends on what side of the “sell-out”/making money fence you lie on, but I don’t see much of a problem with supporting yourself doing something you love.

We wandered over to the other stage and Broadway Calls was on next. Hints of an Alkaline Trio style with old New Found Glory/Yellowcard pop-punk surged from the stage. Against-Me vocals and heavy guitar riffs meshed and created a fusion of old punk and pop punk with hardcore break downs. They weren’t much for performing and they only talked to the crowd once but I can’t fault them much for that with how exciting their music was. Some lyrics that caught my attention: “War on drugs, war on you, lets pray, I’m up for anything.”

This Is Hell played next—fast as fuck dominating the double bass. Their constant scream-like yells encouraged tons of hardcore dancing and massive crowd shout-alongs. A favorite was The Polygraph _____. These dudes are badass and could bring up the fists of the most mellow of scenesters.

Polar Bear Club entertained the crowd with fun, wandering guitar riffs and heavy fast drums. These kids are more that just the typical hardcore band. Their yelling vocals remind me of Against Me singing intense lyrics like “by midnight my house is ablaze, we fucked up…” The crowd was crazy about these kids and there’s no doubt about the reason why.

By the time I am the Avalanche took the stage, more girls littered the crowd. This band was rock with heavy bass and some songs even hinted at a dance beat, but the lead singer had the rapper attitude. They played songs from their self-titled album released last March like “New Disaster” and “I Took a Beating”, introducing one song saying, “this song’s about my restraining order.” Interesting… A little eclectic and more interesting than your average pop-punk-rock band, these guys knew how to rock the stage.

Crime in Stereo was up second to last and I was anxious to see Four Year Strong. This quintet from New York rocked fun guitar riff melodies and jammed out fast as f*ck snare beats in songs like “XXXX.” A little hardcore and a little punk teamed up in this band to provide us with some ass-kicking, throw-some-fists jams.

FINALLY! Four Year Strong took the stage after a long night of anticipation. They played a plethora of songs off their 2007 release Rise or Die Trying including “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell” “Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated” and a personal favorite “Catastrophe.” They also covered Suicide File and busted out “Your Song” from their demo. Probably one of the best live bands touring right now, they’re a perfect mix of
rowdy stage-dive music and sing-along worthiness. Pitch perfect vocals are teamed with heavy bass beats, and hardcore guitar melodies littered with synth. Kids were running around, climbing all over each other, and diving off the stage all set, ending with half the crowd on stage yelling with the
band. If you have a chance to see any band in 2009 (or the rest of 2008, for that matter), make it Four Year Strong.

Stay Saavy,
Steph

Many many more photos in our “Hardcore Heaven” album on our Myspace