44 Fest
Featuring: Sick of it All, Vision of Disorder, Old Firm Casuals, Walls of Jericho, Wisdom in Chains, Ensign, Grade, Last Imprint, Dragged In and the Nasties
Date: Saturday May 28th, 2016
Venue: the Opera House in Toronto, Ontario
This was some punk "festival" in Toronto. It reminded me of those shows MPF always lists in Minneapolis where the promoter just adds a ton of locals to a touring show, just not quite as extreme. It was advertised as the "first and last time this will ever happen in Toronto". That and the promoters somewhat desperate promoting of the show made me think that it wasn't going to be well attended.
Anyho, when tickets went on sale seven months ago and I didn't have any shows lined up for this time of year then so I went for it out of fear that I wouldn't have any shows to be going to. Now I have a show every weekend until mid-July. I was interested enough by Sick of it All and Vision of Disorder and Iron Reagan were on the bill so it seemed good enough. And it was pretty expensive for what it was and I didn't feel like eating the cost. Then Iron Reagan dropped off for reasons undisclosed (which sucked) and there wasn't an option of refunds. Walls of Jericho got added though and that seemed cool enough.
I'm coming off as to negative here; I wanted to go to this show.
I missed Ensign, Grade, Last Imprint, Dragged In and the Nasties. The only ones I really wanted to see were Grade. I remember them from my brother when he first got into punk music twenty years ago. I didn't even know they were still around.
The first band I managed to catch was Wisdom in Chains. They weren't too bad. Typical old school hardcore. Their fast parts were really good. I didn’t really like that they had solos.
Next was Walls of Jericho, who I've heard of them a bit over the years but never listened to them. I've probably heard a song or two on Sirius XM but I don't remember. They played a more metallic hardcore, which I liked more. The only bad part of their set was the lighting. Very piercing, bright strobe lights. It really sucked and made it hard to notice if someone battling invisible ninjas was getting to close.
The last band to play that I'd never heard of was Old Firm Casuals. I guess it's one of Lars Fredrickson of Rancids other bands. I've never been a fan of his but he wins right off the bat for shaking his head at the light guy the second he flashed the first strobe light. The strobe lights never returned for the rest of the show, thank the Goddess. They played "oi" punk and I really don't like that kind of music.
Aside from Iron Reagan the band that interested me the most tonight was Vision of Disorder. I never really listened to them before but I've been slowly getting in to them the last couple years. They're a strange band though. Not metal enough to be metalcore. Too metal to be hardcore. Not technical enough to be mathcore. Too technical to be punk. They're really just themselves. It's not hard to see why Roadrunner dropped them so unceremoniously back in the day. What is hard to figure out is why they signed them in the first place? That said they intrigued and entertained me tonight. Their crowd reaction was probably the worst of the night though. I’d say their ship has sailed.
Vision of Disorder
1. ?Choke?
2. Element
3. Imprint
4. Heart of Darkness
5. Suffer
6. Viola
7. What You Are
8. Set To Fail
9. D.T.O.
I saw Sick of it All once seventeen years ago opening for Slayer. They got probably one of the harshest welcomes I've ever seen and opening act get at a concert. But I think that happens to EVERY band that used to open for Slayer. And they had to go on after Meshuggah. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. I’ll admit that I boo’d them that night too but I was a dumb kid back then. But as time has worn on I’ve gotten into NYHC music so I knew I’d like them a lot more tonight. The crowd finally showed up for them after getting thinner and thinner all night. Sick of it All were really good and I really enjoyed them. There were a lot of scary people at this show but Sick of it All’s guitarist may have been the scariest.
Things came to a grinding halt about halfway through their set though. The crowd was getting really rowdy and stage-divers were starting up. So some guy decided to get up on stage and do a moonsault into the crowd. His execution was perfect but no one caught him. It was hard to see but I think he landed right on his face. Everything stopped and it took five minutes or so until he finally got up under his own power and was helped out of the venue. The band started up again but it took five or ten minutes until the crowd was really back into it. But it made the show all the more memorable. I’ve never seen too many crazy things at shows but that was by far the craziest. That dude shook the floor.
Sick of it All (partial)
• Take the Night Off
• Sanctuary
• Scratch the Surface
• Die Alone
• DNC
• Built to Last
• Step Down
I really wish Iron Reagan hadn't dropped out of this show. They would have made a decent show great to me. The crowd was pretty tough. Lots of face tattoos and shaved heads. I’ve been out of place at a lot of shows but this one was a little intimidating.
Featuring: Sick of it All, Vision of Disorder, Old Firm Casuals, Walls of Jericho, Wisdom in Chains, Ensign, Grade, Last Imprint, Dragged In and the Nasties
Date: Saturday May 28th, 2016
Venue: the Opera House in Toronto, Ontario
This was some punk "festival" in Toronto. It reminded me of those shows MPF always lists in Minneapolis where the promoter just adds a ton of locals to a touring show, just not quite as extreme. It was advertised as the "first and last time this will ever happen in Toronto". That and the promoters somewhat desperate promoting of the show made me think that it wasn't going to be well attended.
Anyho, when tickets went on sale seven months ago and I didn't have any shows lined up for this time of year then so I went for it out of fear that I wouldn't have any shows to be going to. Now I have a show every weekend until mid-July. I was interested enough by Sick of it All and Vision of Disorder and Iron Reagan were on the bill so it seemed good enough. And it was pretty expensive for what it was and I didn't feel like eating the cost. Then Iron Reagan dropped off for reasons undisclosed (which sucked) and there wasn't an option of refunds. Walls of Jericho got added though and that seemed cool enough.
I'm coming off as to negative here; I wanted to go to this show.
I missed Ensign, Grade, Last Imprint, Dragged In and the Nasties. The only ones I really wanted to see were Grade. I remember them from my brother when he first got into punk music twenty years ago. I didn't even know they were still around.
The first band I managed to catch was Wisdom in Chains. They weren't too bad. Typical old school hardcore. Their fast parts were really good. I didn’t really like that they had solos.
Next was Walls of Jericho, who I've heard of them a bit over the years but never listened to them. I've probably heard a song or two on Sirius XM but I don't remember. They played a more metallic hardcore, which I liked more. The only bad part of their set was the lighting. Very piercing, bright strobe lights. It really sucked and made it hard to notice if someone battling invisible ninjas was getting to close.
The last band to play that I'd never heard of was Old Firm Casuals. I guess it's one of Lars Fredrickson of Rancids other bands. I've never been a fan of his but he wins right off the bat for shaking his head at the light guy the second he flashed the first strobe light. The strobe lights never returned for the rest of the show, thank the Goddess. They played "oi" punk and I really don't like that kind of music.
Aside from Iron Reagan the band that interested me the most tonight was Vision of Disorder. I never really listened to them before but I've been slowly getting in to them the last couple years. They're a strange band though. Not metal enough to be metalcore. Too metal to be hardcore. Not technical enough to be mathcore. Too technical to be punk. They're really just themselves. It's not hard to see why Roadrunner dropped them so unceremoniously back in the day. What is hard to figure out is why they signed them in the first place? That said they intrigued and entertained me tonight. Their crowd reaction was probably the worst of the night though. I’d say their ship has sailed.
Vision of Disorder
1. ?Choke?
2. Element
3. Imprint
4. Heart of Darkness
5. Suffer
6. Viola
7. What You Are
8. Set To Fail
9. D.T.O.
I saw Sick of it All once seventeen years ago opening for Slayer. They got probably one of the harshest welcomes I've ever seen and opening act get at a concert. But I think that happens to EVERY band that used to open for Slayer. And they had to go on after Meshuggah. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. I’ll admit that I boo’d them that night too but I was a dumb kid back then. But as time has worn on I’ve gotten into NYHC music so I knew I’d like them a lot more tonight. The crowd finally showed up for them after getting thinner and thinner all night. Sick of it All were really good and I really enjoyed them. There were a lot of scary people at this show but Sick of it All’s guitarist may have been the scariest.
Things came to a grinding halt about halfway through their set though. The crowd was getting really rowdy and stage-divers were starting up. So some guy decided to get up on stage and do a moonsault into the crowd. His execution was perfect but no one caught him. It was hard to see but I think he landed right on his face. Everything stopped and it took five minutes or so until he finally got up under his own power and was helped out of the venue. The band started up again but it took five or ten minutes until the crowd was really back into it. But it made the show all the more memorable. I’ve never seen too many crazy things at shows but that was by far the craziest. That dude shook the floor.
Sick of it All (partial)
• Take the Night Off
• Sanctuary
• Scratch the Surface
• Die Alone
• DNC
• Built to Last
• Step Down
I really wish Iron Reagan hadn't dropped out of this show. They would have made a decent show great to me. The crowd was pretty tough. Lots of face tattoos and shaved heads. I’ve been out of place at a lot of shows but this one was a little intimidating.
Do you like old people porn? Because I just put enough to fill an old folks home in the wrestling section!