As much I love going to big shows with national acts, some of the best shows are the ones where all the local all-stars come out and just electrify the venue. Tonight’s experience can be summed up with a simple “”Holy crap! This rocks!”" With pit action going on strong the entire time, (note: the term “”pit”" is somewhat inappropriate in this case as more than 50% of the crowd was engaged in a giant web of entangled bodies constantly bouncing around from one place to another, tossing, tumbling, crushing, and so forth. I stayed nice and far away from this ball of energy as I am a wuss) there was an incredible element of excitement throughout – which helped during the last two bands when the PA went out – but more on that later.

PAY THE PRICE started the show off with a few songs of straight-edge grindcore!!! Led by the well-known DC hardcore guy, Forbes, this three-piece drilled through about 5 songs in just under 15 minutes – which included a funny story about how Forbes mishandled a clogged toilet. Musically, this was some pretty fast stuff, with indecipherable lyrics. I really dug the guitar sound of PAY THE PRICE, but overall, they are still an unseasoned local band that needs some time to mature.

Next up were THE CHASE, who were absolutely amazing! I’ve written about them in the past, and I’ll write some more about them now. Combine the best elements of sing along youth-crew with some crazier stuff like THE SWARM, or LEFT FOR DEAD, and it has its own unique twist as well. Crashing through 11 songs in about 20 minutes, there was total mayhem surrounding the band’s playing area. With the crowd knowing most of the sing along parts, THE CHASE played better knowing the crowd was behind them. These guys were extremely tight, and they definitely need to play more shows as soon as possible so people get to know them better – they could help carry this College Park scene, no doubt! By the way, this was their bassist, Justin’s last show for quite some time as he heads off to study in England. I wish him luck!

The only non-local band on the bill tonight was THE LAST FORTY SECONDS, who drove all the way down from Massachusetts to play and hang out. These guys were really impressive reminding me very much of DROWNINGMAN, and FRAIL, bringing an intense screamo sound to the table. Their vocalist has some excellent stage presence (if you call the floor a stage‚Ķ), and a really dynamic style of screaming. His facial expressions came alive, which helped bring the music to an even more throttling level. The crowd was loose and responsive too, which of course always helps a traveling band. I spoke with their singer, Andy, after their set, and he gave me a demo to review, which should be online sometime soon. Since the lyrics were screamed, and pretty hard to descramble, the band was giving out some lyric sheets, which proved to be very intelligent and poetic without sounding corny. I’d be up for seeing these guys again.

After a short breather, CRESTFALLEN shook things up in a hurry, offering some devastating metalcore in an attention deficit blinding rage. The microphone PA gave out after the second song, so from there on, the show was basically an instrument recital – which of course didn’t really matter since you couldn’t hear the vocals anyhow. But now, with a need to make up for the lacking element, CRESTALLEN’s singer went nuts, causing chaos throughout the room, jumping, shaking, leaping and crashing around. At one point he clotheslined a guitarists amp and speaker in one swift leap. Ouch! If that wasn’t enough, he was leaping off tables, tumbling around the ground, and tackling those still standing. And oh yeah, the band was still rocking it in the background. Did I say metalcore? It’s more like METALCORE!!! Let the double-bass rumble. Another awesome performance on the evening.

Could DE NADA surpass the already sweet bands that had played before them? Could it be possible that no one would get hurt even with all the crazy inertia? Yes, and Yes. For DE NADA the crowd packed in real tight around the band area, and right after the first chord was struck, more bedlam ensued. Unfortunately, a minor fight broke out after a seemingly careless “”moshing”" incident, but thankfully, Forbes helped break it up screaming “”No! No! No!”" Thank you Forbes for helping end an unnecessary provocation. Now back to the music. I can’t really report on what songs DE NADA played or didn’t play, but the crowd seemed to soak up every minute. During their set, one guy appeared in a full cow suit, minus the headpiece, and another in a monkey suit with a park ranger hat. Mike Riley sported an astronaut type headpiece, which at one point was lit on fire (hmm‚Ķthat don’t sound too safe‚Ķ). As you can see, there was a lot of fun going on. DE NADA has an extremely fast, almost grindlike feel to their music, but there is a limit to their sonic defiance, which is the way they throw in huge breakdowns in just the right places (well, only on their songs that are more than 30 seconds‚Ķ). This is some high impact music for those that crave it on an insane level.

This show was free, and was put together by Graham of the Food Co-op, who definitely needs to do more things like what went on tonight. So if you see him around UMD’s campus, let him know that you want to see this kind of show some more. And oh yeah, support the Food Co-op, they have some really good stuff!