When you go to the co-op you never really know what you’re gonna get. With this in mind I felt no need to arrive anywhere near the supposed starting time, particularly since I really had no idea who was scheduled to play much less who was actually going to play. So I got there a bit before 7:30, having missed anywhere from 0-2 local acts and came just in time to see FACADE BURNED BLACK. I didn’t really know anything about these guys and they didn’t leave too much of an impression. The microphone wasn’t working for the first couple of songs and I think I preferred these impromptu instrumentals more than when the guitarist started screaming incrompehensibly when they got everything up and running. The highlight of their set was definitely during the closer when the singer/guitarist inexplicably grabbed a ball someone in the crowd was bouncing around and pegged it against the wall. I guess he was into the music or something. After these guys played, we got the news that the co-op had to be cleared out by 8:30, leaving about 50 minutes for 3 bands.

Speaking of screaming incrompehensibly, the next band to take the stage was MARTYR AD, a metalcore outfit from Minneapolis, and former members of DISEMBODIED These guys were definitely heavier on the metal than they were on the core, but they gave the crowd a few opportunities to get their mosh on in preparation for THROWDOWN. I have no idea what these guys and gal played but I’m sure it can all be found on their Ferret release “”The Human Condition in Twelve Fractions.”" All I know is that it was brutal, and sometimes the pit got equally brutal leading me to wonder if the lunch tables turned on their side were such a good idea as I had visions of an overzealous mosher impaling himself on one of the legs.

The next band, THROWDOWN, seem to subscribe to the “”if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”" school of hardcore. While they certainly don’t sound like your normal old school revival band, I always thought their lyrics were a bit simplistic and traditional and the breakdowns seemed eerily similar from song to song. However, there’s no denying that these guys can get a pit started in no time, and the screamed vocals sounded way better than I ever would have imagined live. As they hurried through their set to make way for the local heros STRIKE ANYWHERE, they played a bunch off the new album including “”Trust”" and “”Family.”" At the urging of the crowd, they agreed to play their cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “”Baby Got Back.”" Apparently this is not a normal part of their live show and we were quite privileged to have witnessed it. Even some of the kids that were working in the co-op at the time rushed out to sing along and shake their booty to this classic. In spite of being short on time, of course they couldn’t leave out “”Get Sick,”" a song so ridiculously stupid that you can’t help but love it.

It was about 8:30 when STRIKE ANYWHERE finally took the floor. Knowing that the show could be put to a stop at any second, they rushed through as much as possible, even offering to move and set up at a different location to complete the show if it was shut down before they were able to play any songs. However, they did manage to get 4 songs off before we were kicked out. These guys have a very west coast type of punk feel to them, with songs so catchy that they get the crowd singing along instantly. In fact, the singer let the crowd handle the singing duties for him at times while he tried his best to keep the swarming hordes of kids from damaging the equipment. They played “”Chorus of One,”" “”Earthbound,”" and “”Cassandratic Equation”" and were ready to shut things down but they conceded to the crowd who begged for one more… and uhh… i can’t remember what that was.

Considering I was only there for an hour and a half I definitely got more than my fill of entertainment. Obviously it would have been nice if STRIKE ANYWHERE had time for a complete set, but for them that’s only 7 or 8 songs anyways. WHAT LIES AHEAD also sacrificed their time to the traveling bands because of the threat of shut down. The bands and the people putting on the show were able to make the best of a bad situation, and after hearing that the show would be shut down shortly after I got there, it certainly exceeded my expectations.

- review by Raif Hoffman