Whoever put together this tour (the above bands minus THE GOONS) was definitely on to something. To have two incredibly engaging hardcore bands and a relaxed, but intricate emo-rock band, in mostly intimate settings is surely going to lead to explosive crowd interraction. Before getting into the details, all one needs to really know is that AMERICAN NIGHTMARE’s set was truly “”off the hook,”" and that AVAIL sweats our more emotion that an entire room full of bitter, divorced women. If it wasn’t for the pleasantries of HOT ROD CIRCUIT playing in between both of those bands, this show could have resulted in a pile of dead bodies.

THE GOONS are scene stalwarts in the MD/DC area, and well, they just bore me. They’ve got a real tight street-punk sound, and thoughtful lyrics, but it’s just not my bag of wet mice. So enough about them – AMERICAN NIGHTMARE are far more interesting. Amazingly, I actually saw this band’s first show outside of the Boston area when they played a church in DC in February of 2000. There was not much known about them at the time (besides their ex-member stigma), but boy were they loud and angry. Those of us who were lucky enough to see them then surely took note. Two years later, these guys are one of the most respected names in hardcore on the East Coast. Their debut full length on Equal Vision “”Background Music”" was groundbreaking in delivery and unmatched in sincerity and devastation. Now, with a venue of approximately 300 people packed in like sardines, AMERICAN NIGHTMARE provided the soundtrack to utter chaos. Crazy stage diving, headstomping, jumpers from the balcony (including a guy who vaulted himself off my shoulder from that second level), and all around pit madness lurked everywhere. I could only imagine that their set this evening would be akin to what Los Angeles experienced in the early 80s. As the band tore through most of their full-length, and a few tunes from their Bridge Nine Records releases (including the stunning “”Shadow of the Pru,”" the crowd gave back just as much as Wes and crew spewed forward. The sing-alongs, the pile-ons, and the overall sense of looming calamity couldn’t have been any more genuine.

As the crowd showed an obvious need for recovery, HOT ROD CIRCUIT gently helped ease the mood. I’ve seen these guys close to ten times (if not more) already, and with every show, they can best be described as being worldly consistent. Armed with plenty of new songs from their brand new, Vagrant Records full-length, “”Sorry About Tomorrow,”" these guys prove that they stretch far past their rather mundane earlier songs. The GET UP KIDS influence is nearly all but lost, and given the energetic presence of their lead guitarist, this band is just fun to watch. For some reason, HOT ROD had a slide guitar with them, but they only used it on one song, which seemed kinda silly. There’s was a decent crowd reaction for these guys, and that’s definitely cool to see the lighter side of this tour hold their own and bring more people into the fold. I can never remember song titles with HOT ROD CIRCUIT, but I recognized a lot of their older, popular material, however, their new stuff really showed off how far this band has come in a relatively short period of time.

Alrighty, as AVAIL proceeded to set up their stuff, it was clear that “”nap time”" was reaching its end. The crowd packed in super tight, and some girl even offered me $20 for my spot on the balcony (I was like 5 feet from the stage), but I refused to budge. AVAIL, having the lengthy discography to choose from, remained faithful to their older material, with only a few tunes checking in from their last two albums. Although I would have liked to hear more from “”Over the James,”" you really can’t complain about being immersed in the epics “”4AM Friday”" “”Satiate,”" and “”Dixie.”" Opening with the crazy “”Order,”" the intense pit action was commenced upon. One the coolest things about vocalist Tim Barry is that he screams while acting out a one-man-kickboxing-machine, kinda like Ian of REACH THE SKY. Making use of the smart venue layout, Tim was able to climb all across the balcony and pretty much hang from the ledges – it was insane, and akin to putting his life on the line every time. When not busy with climbing on stuff, he’d venture into the crowd, 15-20 feet deep (blessed long mic cords), fjording his way through the pits and somehow, someway, nevering loosing grip of the mic.

A sample of the set list contained “”Tuning,”" “”Southbound 95,”" “”Pink Houses,”" the unforgettable, “”March”" (with additional drums provided by Tim), “”F.C.A,”" “”Scuffletown,”" and “”New Song,”" the obvious standout on “”One Wrench.”" As the band churned through an hour of rawness, it wasn’t hard to figure out why this band has lasted so long as a crowd favorite – they toss in everything and more into their set. Even Beau Beau, their “”cheerleader”" and backup vocalist puts these guys past “”notch 10″” by adding fun elements whenever he can (the jumbo #1 foam finger was hilarious during “”Scuffletown”"). It had been almost a year since I had heard some of the songs they busted out, but within seconds, all the words came flying back at me and the music seemed like it never left my stereo. There was one scary moment when AVAIL had called upon all the girls to stagedive and cause havoc, and one, somewhat slight girl got decked, accidentally, as she surfed her way into the pit. The band stopped playing as kids cleared out around her to give her space and it didn’t look good at all as she was barely moving. Fortunately, after a few minutes and some water, she rose back on her feet and screamed out “”Fuck Yea!”" Rock. As I walked back to the car after the show, it only took me a moment to declare the next day officially as “”AVAIL Day”" as their catalog earned a hearty listening again and again.