After some trouble getting into the show I literally ran inside and up the stairs to catch Punknews Records artists RYAN’S HOPE. Luckily, I made it in time for their first song, and watched a 25 minute set of older material from the recently signed Joliet trio.

I was only casually familiar with newer RYAN’S HOPE songsl (“”When Life Steals Life”", “”Haven’t Got the Time”" and their absolutely ripping cover of “”I Turned Into a Martian”") so when the only new cuts were “”The Carpathian”" and “”My Motivation: Your Demise”" I felt out of the loop. I’m going to have to agree with my comrades at Punknews that the band’s metal tendencies are very much highlighted live, so I must say that their set was one of the few times in my life that I wanted a band to play more new material.

After RYAN’S HOPE finished, FIRST BLOOD came on. These guys had some strikes against them from the beginning. Everyone wore some kind of camouflage clothing, and their name belied a generic mosh-core band. I’d love to tell you that somehow, they did something new with a predictable and hopelessly macho art form. They didn’t. What they did do, however, is take shots from audience members about playing songs without a breakdown gracefully and crack a few jokes of their own. Were there guys busting out moves in the pit? At least five at all times. Were kids in the front row singing along? Yes. Did I care? Not really. It’s relatively easy to take shots at FIRST BLOOD, after all, they’re a generic mosh band on Trustkill Records, their singer used to play bass in TERROR, and their song titles are “”Next Time I See You, You’re Dead”" and “”Firing Line.”" You know what you’re getting into with FIRST BLOOD, for better or wose, and if you still can’t get enough MADBALL and HATEBREED, then look up FIRST BLOOD, too.

STRETCH ARMSTRONG came onstage to the quietest applause of the night, and didn’t really change that until their last two songs. It wasn’t for lack of trying, certaintly, but something just didn’t feel right. Maybe it was a new bassist and (perhaps) a new guitarrist. Maybe it was the fact that the audience seemed like well intentioned extras in a George Romero movie or that no one seemed to know the words to their songs, until, of course, “”For the Record”" (their closer) came, in which kids came out of the woodwork to sing along. It occured to me that I probably should have tried to get a picture of the insanity. I entertained that thought for about 3 nanoseconds before jumping at the microphone myself.

If the concert was a dinner, then it makes sense, in retrospect that people were saving their appettite for SICK OF IT ALL, and they went home well fed. SICK OF IT ALL came on to thunderous applause from a venue filled halfway and leveled the joint with the same instruments they’d been using for the last 20 years. It wasn’t intense, it wasn’t overwhelmingly heavy, it was a sing along good time with the masters of the NYHC sound. Was it bludgeoning? Not too much. I don’t wish to make it sound as though SICK OF IT ALL has gone soft, but that the difference between them and their contemporaries is that SICK OF IT ALL relies less on heaviness and more on sweeping hardcore/punk shout alongs. And that was music to the ears of the 300 or so attendees at the Metro, a 1110 capcity venue. So what if the Metro was half full? It allowed more room to breathe and created a sense of a family atmosphere.

Onstage, Lou spoke about his disapproval of Alternative Press’ 2/5 rating for the new IGNITE release, and took a moment to take some cheap shots at emo artists, including the acerbic waxing “”I took a poetry class in high school. Didn’t like it.”" A highlight came from a “”Cubs fans vs Sox fans”" themed Braveheart crowd event. “”What’s the rules”" he said? “”#1 If you see someone on the ground, you pick ‘em up! And #2? You don’t sue me.”"

I said this about 7 SECONDS, and I’ll repeat it about SICK OF IT ALL: I’m shocked that after 20 years can still thrash around with more energy than groups half their age. It’s not just that they hold their own against younger groups but that they blast most of them out of the fucking water. After seeing the guitarist Pete Koller onstage, I have to wonder if it’s not just ball players taking “”performance enhancements”" and energy supplements, and being able to say that about a group 20 years old is certaintly nothing to look down on.

Though this was my first time watching SICK OF IT ALL, I have no compunction saying after 20 years, they still got it.

- Photo by James “”I love the zoom”" Hepplewhite