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Posts Tagged ‘Polar Bear Club’

  1. Polar Bear Club

    July 12, 2010 by John

    The Chain Reaction June 23, 2010 Anaheim, CA

    Polar Bear Club, a band of Rochester, New York natives, was formed in the summer of 2005.  Bridge 9’s latest hardcore punk band is fashioned of vocalist Jimmy Stadt, lead guitarist Chris Browne, rhythm guitarist Nate Morris, bassist Erik Henning and drummer Emmett Menke.   The outfit added their sophomore full-length album Chasing Hamburg in May of 2009 to their already explosive and strong portfolio.  This record is littered with raw vocals, passionate sing-a-longs, and fast, catchy melodies.  Polar Bear Club’s consistent sound and style only flowers with the gravity, momentum and worth of a band that knows who they are and who they want to be.

    Polar Bear Club’s last stop before their first ever Warped Tour was at The Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California on June 23, 2010.  Vancouver, British Columbia’s Living With Lions warmed up Anaheim with smiles, despite it being the end of the road.  This pop-punk party will be releasing their new album – Make Your Mark next week on Adeline Records. Bridge 9’s most recent signing, Lemuria, was next to take the stage and kept the blood flowing.  This Buffalo-based indie punk trio did nothing less than leave me wanting more; their crunchy and honest voice is anything but hard to hear.  Purchase, New York’s indie rock quartet Moving Mountains transformed the atmosphere in Anaheim.  The experimental and ambient melodies made my toes curl and the crowd geared up for what was to come.

    Without further adieu, Polar Bear Club proceeded to shut the Chain Reaction down.  Their energy and intensity was nowhere near matched by any of the preceding bands.  The crowd quickly became a wave of screams fighting through an ocean to get to the stage.  Because it was the last night of the tour, Polar Bear Club treated Anaheim to an extra long set.  I’ve never once seen a band rock so hard. I left the Chain Reaction dripping with sweat with ears that would be ringing for the next three days.  I wish Polar Bear Club the best of luck on their first Warped Tour, and hope to see them again soon in upstate New York.

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  2. Hardcore Heaven

    December 12, 2008 by Steph

    It would be ridiculous for me to sit here and try to describe how amazing the show at the Knitting Factory was. Deemed “Hardcore Heaven” by Alternative Press Magazine, it was nothing less. Conveniently, two amazing tours converged at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles and to celebrate, the divider separating Main stage from Front stage was opened allowing us to pass through. While a band was playing on one stage, the next was preparing for their set in the other room. Hardly a lull in the excitement and seven bands in four hours, this night was pretty much the epitome of a great show.

    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

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