Live: Punch @ ABC No Rio 8.4.12 (early)

While they are no Trust, for the most part I've always enjoyed the lady-fronted hardcore stylings of Punch. Their most recent EP Nothing Lasts has found its way into pretty regular rotation here at JS-NYC HQ and the interview in the new Rumpshaker reminded me that they were pretty aces at the shows with Paint It Black last year so I ran down the block to ABC early to get stamped.

Ended up being for not so much of a need, as while the room filled up pretty well, it wasn't a sold out endeavor from our heroes. That eventuality did little to stop the room getting a hell of a lot smaller once Meghan grabbed the mic and Punch set to turning the room into a mini maelstrom of sweaty punks going bananas. It was, with all due respect to the ladies, hot as balls and, should you be wondering, no new climate control technology has been installed in America's Oldest DIY venuetm. Regardless, the Punch Crew brought it despite the usual bad vocal mix. One does hope a proper PA is in the offing for the new space when it jumps off. Things were gone in under a half-hour, allowing for welcome hydration and respite from the olfactory terrorism put forth by the hygenically challenged youth. Looking back, I'm kind of pissed that I didn't make it across the river the next night for the show Death By Audio.

Bask in the nostalgia and/or keep track of what goes on with the Punch crew (like the Euro dates with fucking Negative Approach!) here.

R

Armalite - Humungous 7"

Hey now, new Armalite record!

I would have though Eric would have hipped me to this (or maybe even recorded it) but it appears to be a solid no on both points. Armalite is a Philly scene-as-fuck amalgamation of your boy Atom Goren (sans His Package) with Dr. Dan Yemin from PIB/Lifetime/Kid Dynamite, Jeff from AAJ and Mike from Kill The Man/Amateur Party throwing down the D4-tinged jams for your listening pleasure.

There are three of said jams this time around, two sang by Mike and one from Atom. All solid, although those unenchanted by Atom's voice previously will probably remain unmoved hearing him in a more hardcore aesthetic. That caveat extended, Humongous is still pretty fucking aces.

If you are a fan of any of the aforementioned acronyms and/or the players therein, you can't really go wrong with Humongous. Get it here from the lovable nerds at No Idea and keep track of all things band-y and Armalite here.

R

Live: Paint It Black with Punch, Iron Chic and Zombie Dogs @ Death By Audio 3.4.11

Eric got us tickets for this months ago and it couldn't have come at a better time. It had been the kind of week where a Paint It Black show was pretty much the only legal (read: unincarcerable) antidote. Yemin's got a kid now, so Paint It Black play in fits and starts, but this was one of three or four over the weekend. Luckily for us, we got Iron Chic and Punch on the bill as well.

Eric and I rolled up at Death By Audio way early and posted up beerside for a couple of beverages. It made for a better atmosphere for seeing Zombie Dogs, a band that has at least one member of Bridge & Tunnel in its ranks. Fun, but not a hell of a lot of what you'd call solid songs from where I'm sitting. I'm pretty sure they are just getting off the ground, so maybe things will come together a bit for me. Nothing world-rocking, but I've heard far, far worse.

Iron Chic I have no ambivalence whatsoever about. I was well-warmed up by the point they came out and kicked things off with a double-shot of the best tracks off their most recent Not Like This. In poking around trying to find the flyer for this show, I found a funny review that called them old, which makes me just this side of Larry Livermore. Relative age aside, they attract a pretty feverish young crowd that romped for the duration of their half-hour or so set. I'm pretty sure IC are laying low in anticipation of a European junket, but check out their web presence here and make sure. Buy their records and merch.

Punch cancelled a month or so before, owing to the singer having broken her foot, I believe. I thought I'd like them more, but they brought out a lot of ladies and the crowd really ate them up, so I should probably listen to Eric and check out the record before I see them again. The same review that called IC old also claimed their was a 10 song punk medley that I'm not sure how I missed, but then again I had consumed a lot of beer at that point. Either way, I'm getting the records currently, so perhaps I'll be eating some crow down the line.

Paint It Black wrapped things up with their usual fervor. They really are the East Coast post-modern Descendents. Every release is hardcore as hell, but more and more Jawbreaker melody insinuates itself into the mix with every EP. They are also some fucking nerds, but lets not dwell on the obvious. Yemin dropped science and talked some shit, kids went batshit and I grinned the whole time. Philly hardcore is a nice happy medium between NYHC and DC and it is always a pleasure when Hardcore Gig Volume and Ian bring it to NYC. I felt like ass the next morning, but its shows like these that remind me why NY has the best shows around.

R

Hardcore Gig Volume

Death By Audio

Jaded Scenester Top 10 EPs of 2009

Ok kids. You loved the comp (still free, just e-mail) and were over the moon about the first Top 10 list where we dropped science on the best full-length records of 2009. Let's ride the wave of nostalgia a little more, shall we? Today we're going to give the little guys some shine and select the Top 10 EPs from 2009. Note that while some of these releases were two song 7" releases, JS-NYC is going to shout out the Top 10 individual songs (i.e. singles) later on this week.

Peep it:

Jaded Scenester NYC Top 10 Eps of 2009

1. RVIVR - Life Moves EP

2. Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan split EP

3. Tenement - Icepick 7"

4. Copyrights/Dopamines - Songs About Fucking Up split EP

5. The Jealous Sound - Got Friends EP

6. Capital - Blind Faith EP

7. Paint It Black - Amnesia EP

8. Superchunk - Leaves In The Gutter EP

9. Minus The Bear - Into The Mirror

10. Celeste - Misanthrope(s) EP

Capital - Blind Faith 7"

I had heard a lot about Capital and was pretty sure they were local, but hadn't sought them out until Eric mentioned that he was feeling them. I missed them with Alleyway at Gramercy, but after hearing this, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss my chance to see them at the C.R. reunion benefit in a couple weeks.

Paint It Black have undertaken a little crusade to make the 7" relevant again for hardcore. It's nice to see Capital following suit. The three songs here are quite the assrippers in the hardcore end of things, indebted to local NYHC faves, but not uninformed of Dag Nasty and other DC favorites either. Trust me, you want this. Pick it up from the good folk of Iron Pier here. There's colored vinyl and download coupons, too, so step lively.

See you in Staten Island!

R

Paint It Black - Surrender EP

This the the second of the two EPs the band warned us would be coming out this Summer. The first, Amnesia, dropped about a month ago on Bridge Nine. This one is out today on Fat Wreck, but don't think PIB is jumping on the Lagwagon or anything. Surrender is pretty much a boot to the face for the average Fat Wreck /Warped Tour jocker. This is a fucking hardcore record. Listen to the bass on Worms are see if you aren't manifesting a circle pit in seconds. There are four songs in under seven minutes, each a short sharp shock that you would be a fool to dislike. Buy Surrender from the Fat Wreck kids here and then hustle over to Bridge Nine and grab Amnesia. They go together like straight-edge kids and self-righteousness.

R

Paint It Black - Amnesia EP

Lots of bands talk about 'keeping it real' in the hardcore scene, but very few maintain that realness on the level of Philadelphia's Paint It Black. Fronted by Dan Yemin of Lifetime/Kid Dynamite fame, the Philly foursome are as issue driven as they are anti-barricade. Their live shows are never a bad time, and their records are always great, something very few hardcore bands can muster.

PIB announced last September that they would be abandoning the LP format and heretofore releasing purely 7" EPs. Why? Because it's quicker, and more importantly, hardcore. The first of the two is Amnesia, and coming out on the bastion of East Coast hardcore that is Bridge Nine. It should sell a ton. It's got all the barked vocals, topical content and pick slides that you have come to expect from the gents. Five songs are just over a minute, with the last tune Bliss taking a bit of a Jawbreaker turn and weighing in at a seemingly epic three and a half minutes. Pick up Amnesia here from Bridge Nine, but be sure to clear the furniture and make sure the insurance is paid up before you listen in the home, as shit may very well get broken.

R

Live: Propagandhi with Paint It Black @ Highline Ballroom 3.12.9

(photo at left stolen from D.P. Rubino)

I hadn't been all that impressed by Propagandhi previously, but Eric had always been a big fan and his taste is usually pretty golden, so when I heard the boys were coming through town with Paint It Black, I made a point of getting tickets. It ended up being kind of a hot ticket, and Highline was pretty packed by the time I made my fashionably late entrance.

I crossed threshold and pushed my way in to find Yemin stalking the stage and attending to a small but exuberant copse of finger-pointers. Eric had staked out some good real estate stage right and we got a good earful of the time-honored Paint It Black Philly hardcore, including a handful of new tunes that will be recorded with Kurt Ballou at the end of this tour for their Bridge Nine debut. Save for the inevitable Paint It Black/H20 tour, it seems like the new label will be a win-win for all parties involved.

Propagandi were up in short order afterward. They are Canadian, and beer drinkers and, no doubt owing to their Fat tenure, attract many a drunken jackass. Two or three of the most flagrant offenders were bounced before Propagandhi even took the stage, but there were some closet heroes that showed their true colors in short order. The first song prompted a disjointed flurry of flailing limbs and high blood alcohol levels that was maintained for the duration. Despite the drum kit being a million miles back and the new guitarist being Danny Spitz short, the Propagandhi boys sure did bring it; Chris Hannah brought the noise in admirable fashion, tearing off ripping leads with wild abandon when he wasn't baiting NY hockey fans and dropping revolutionary politics. They played an hour or so, had Yemin come out for Fuck The Border and even played an encore. It's a show you should really check out. Propagandhi don't tour all that often, so you'd do well to work whatever hipster magic you can to check out the show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg tonight before they head back North.