You know you went to a good show when at the end, you can hear the members of all the bands that played collectively talk about how crazy and amazing the night went. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that with a line-up like such, you’re essentially guaranteed a bang-for-the-buck killer hardcore outing, and without the slightest bit of trepidation, I can honestly say that this show was easily one of the best I have ever had the privilege of attending.

MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, an incarnation of the late, great NYHC act INDECISION opened the show to a pretty tiny crowd, but one that was supportive and impressed indeed. Both friday and last night’s show featured MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD going on first, and for the rest of the mammoth tour, BOY SETS FIRE will be joining the line-up instead. As a relatively new act, MPB didn’t have many original songs to play, so in addition to four new ones, the group performed a few classic INDECISION tracks such as, “”This Time Tomorrow”" (one of my favorite all-time songs with that HUGE freaking breakdown!), “”Hallowed By Thy Name,”" and “”Dream Come True.”" I was totally not expecting to hear these guys bust out the old tunes so when I heard them come on to my surprise, a monstrous smile came across my face. No matter how many times you hear certain songs, the impact is always the same. Seriously, keep on the look out for MPB, as they are going to head into the studio very soon to record their 13 song full-length, mostly likely out on Trustkill Records.

It was only a few weeks ago that I caught the HOPE CONSPIRACY at St. Andrew’s Church, and boy did they set that place ablaze. Well this time, with a larger crowd at hand, and a more intimate stage setting, these guys totally went off with their superior deliverance of tough as nails hardcore with absolutely crucial mosh parts. With the exception of the thick sound this band produces, everything about them sounds so raw and natural. The breakdowns come without any artificial flavoring, and the lyrics, although screamed, are easy to pick up upon. The band played two tracks off their demo 7″” and everything else came from “”Cold Blue,”" their fabulous full-length debut on Equal Vision Records. “”Divinty Sickness,”" “”Fragile,”" and “”Carved in Purpose,”" all sounded phenomenal, but nothing compared to their closer, “”Truth and Purpose,”" which enticed the crowd into a complete mosh-it-up frenzy. That song is just punishing! Make it the first track for your next mix-tape.

After a quick breather, DEATH BY STEREO came out to a much larger crowd than the previous two bands. The last time these guys came around here was in the fall of 2000 with SNAPCASE and BOY SETS FIRE, and they had the opening slot of that tour. Although they held their own on stage, their fanbase was not quite as extensive at the time, and this is truly a band that feeds off the crowd’s energy. Well fast-foward about five months. With their extroadinary Epitaph Records debut, “”Day of Death,”" there was a heck of a lot more people here waiting for them this time around. Simply put, insanity is the only word worthy enough of describing the mayhem that is DEATH BY STEREO and a stoked up crowd joined together. With the first 10 or so rows of people singing along to nearly every word, the Nation became one amped up venue. It also helped that from the side VIP section, where I was standing, a great deal of guests took the liberty to running off the stage and diving into the masses.

With no security barriers in sight, the crowd made it a point to take over the stage as their own personal pit, leaving the band with a little less room than they had probably counted on. This would get considerably worse during SICK OF IT ALL’s set. Playing mostly new tracks such as, “”No Shirt, No Shoes, No Salvation,”" “”You Can Lead a man to Reason, But You Can’t Make Him Think,”" “”Holding 60 Dollars on a Burning Bridge,”" “”You Mess with One Bean, You mess with the whole Burrito,”" and “”Desperation Train,”" the aural wreckage was extensive. “”Desperation Train,”" sounded 1000 times more forceful live and for me, exemplified the pinnacle of diversity in the sound of a truly dynamic hardcore act. Watching the semi-coordinated actions of guitarists Jim and Dan, along with bassist Paul was as always hilarious…DEATH BY STEREO knows how to entertain, and that’s a quality that is often hard to come by these days. Incredible, just incredible…

SICK OF IT ALL is by far and wide the grandfather of the current worldwide hardcore scene. You don’t get any more authentic or real than these guys, and their ever-evolving, but always distinguishable sound is one that has been attempted by thousands of latter day imitators, but never ever matched in either spirit or skill. This tour is their first major US tour since the fall of ’99, and they have a new album, “”Yours Truly,”" backing it. As much as I wanted to hear some of the stellar new tracks, I was itching to hear some of the classic tunes from their vast back-catalog. I was able to interview bassist, Craig before the show, and got an early notice that they’d be playing my favorite SOIA tune, “”Friends Like You.”" Wooooohoooo! Anyway…SOIA puts on one intense non-stop show, which can attributed to their die-hard work ethic. With guitarist, Pete incessantly running and jumping around the stage, and singer, Lou constantly in motion somewhere among the crowd, their set was a revolving whirlwind of action from start to finish. The crowd eventually overtook the stage completely, often causing a bit of confusion among the band, and stage crew, but it was all in good spirit. As Efrem of DEATH BY STEREO said after the show, “”Armand (SOIA drummer), didn’t even have to leave his drum-kit to shake hands with the crowd!”"

The band’s set consisted mostly of new songs, such as “”Disco Sucks, Fuck Everything,”" “”District,”" “”Ruin,”" the killer, “”Hello Pricks.”" SOIA also busted out, “”Built to Last,”" “”Injustice System,”" “”Clobberin’ Time,”" and the obligatory jam, “”Step Down.”" At one point, Lou remarked about the “”2nd pit,”" that had formed and encouraged it to join up with the first, which had already stretched a good 60 feet deep – resulting in the classic New York Hardcore manuever, “”Wall of Death.”" I’m glad I wasn’t anywhere near that! As good as the previous bands were, playing live for more than 15 years harnesses a skill on stage that leaves on mezmorized – SOIA engaged every person in the venue to make the most of their set, and it was undeniably hard to ignore how truly important this band has been to the punk and hardcore music scenes that we have grown up in. After a brief stoppage, that wasn’t quite a full-blown precursor to an encore, the band closed up the night with the ever jumpy and brutal tune, “”Maladjusted,”" a fitting way to drain the lost ounce of energy left among the crowd.

I often leave shows with a sense of fulfillment and an all around glow eminating from my face, but this show left me 100% floored. It wasn’t for another hour after I got home that I realized how extroadinary an evening this was. For everyone who claims punk rock to be dead or some stupid shit like that…I urge you to challenge your preconceptions by checking out this tour. The spirit of hardcore is alive and well, and if you’re not paying attention, it’ll shove a foot up your you know what…