Bane - October 23th - Gent

I loved the early Bane recordings, but kind of lost touch with them after 'Give Blood'. So I never checked out 'The Note' when it came out and only did so years later. It's easy to say that Bane is one of my favorite active bands around. They have the message, the music and the shows that keep me interested.

Their new records are solid. And after my wife got to see them in New York it was my turn for some Bane action.

Johan Reflections, Bust! and I geared up for a roadtrip to Gent. After setting up shop in the venue and eating some fries it was time for the bands to begin. And for me to sell records.

As for the bands: Belgium newcomers Hessian played a solid set of metalcore, not unlike Rise and Fall who in my opinion aren't as good as they used to be. Their set just didn't rip like they used to. Los Angeles band Alpha and Omega have released a pretty good record, but couldn't live up to it in Gent. They seemed to be going to the motions and not really interested in the show. When Trapped Under Ice hit it, they do it good. Though I'm not into their style, I can appreciate a band that knows how to set a whole bunch of hardcore kids on fire. And tonight was pure mayhem.



Bane. Swan Song, Count Me Out, Can We Start Again, Pot Comitted. New songs and old ones. Good words between the songs. Stage-dives and singalongs. Up front with x-es on my hand.



I can still see the reasons
that I opened my eyes to this scene in the first place.
I can still feel my beliefs growing stronger - stronger everyday.


Pics by Anne Kohler.

Ceremony - October 13th - Eindhoven

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the This Is Europe fest. So when the opportunity came along to go and see Ceremony a few days later I jumped in the Reflections van and went for it.

The Dynamo youth centre is a great place for hardcore shows. But you never know how the Dutch audience will respond to a band. Will it be 'let's stand and see' or 'let's have fun together'?

Midnight Souls opened up the night. Despite my review and interview the Dutch haven't warmed up to this band so far. Which is a shame if you aks me. Besides the bad sound and a bit of an apathetic crowd reception Midnight Souls played a pretty solid set.

Next up were Sabretooth Zombie. By far the worst band I've seen this year, though other people seemed to think differently. The riffs and weird song structures just aren't my thing.

So Ceremony. I actually only like their latest record a lot and was a bit sceptical about tonight's perfomance. Which soon dissapeared after the band pressed go and went for a highly energetic, entertaining set. A lot of younger kids went wild on the band. Massive pile-ons, weird stagedives and even weirder dances were introduced this night. All around mayhem. With suprisingly Get The Most/ Devotion drummer Aaron behind the Ceremony drumkit.

A nice way to spend a wednesday evening.







All pics are by Anne Kohler. See more here.

Up next: Bane this saturday in Gent and The Real Danger, The Fake Boys and Dave Smalley in Tilburg this sunday! Good times!

Bane in Brooklyn

My wife went to visit New York a couple of weeks ago. On twitter I read Bane, Strike Anywhere and Touche Amore were playing the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Since that is a line-up I would love to see, I contacted her and she went. She got me some nice Bane-shirts and 7" and some stuff from Touche Amore.

Bane, they might just be one of the best bands around right now. I was really into their first stuff, but kind of lost my interest around 'Give Blood'. That's also why I didn't pick up 'The Note' untill years after it's release. Since then I'm totally into the band again.

The combination of simple, heartfelt lyrics with some of the best tunes out there plus having something to say on stage make Bane one of the few bands that will stand the test of time.

My friend Jammi York made some pics during the show in Brooklyn:

Hardcore 2010 - Still Alive

Who says hardcore is dead? The Effort will drop a new record soon on Panic Records, Skull Crusher and Stay Hungry will tour Europe in autumn as well as Bane and Alpha and Omega, Kid Dynamite and Hands Tied are reuniting for This Is Hardcore and Said and Done, No Turning Back, State Of Mind and New Morality show the world there's still life in the Dutch scene as well.

Hardcore - nothing can compare

Bane - Dublin, 11:58 PM - 7"

Almost five years after the release of The Note Bane finally comes with some new material. Three new songs of which two are titled after soapoperas (but that can also be a complete coincidence). However Dublin, 11:58 PM, which is also released under the name Boston 6:58PM is good, very good.

Let me first admit that I think The Note is the best Bane full length released up until now. I never was into the chaotic and way too technical stuff on Give Blood and though It All Comes Down To This has some great songs, it also has some very weak moments.

Another confession: my third year old son loves it when I play Swan Song in the car. He always asks me if I can turn up the volume when that song is playing.

But enough of that. Dublin, 11:58 PM:
7" opener The Bold And The Beautiful has been on the Bane Myspace for a while and easily follows in the footsteps of The Note with its fast oldschool sound backed up by massive gangvocals. In a way it also reminds me of the first Comeback Kid record. If the band is ever planning on being the new Ten Yard Fight only with lyrics around Basketball, this sure could be their first anthemic song.

One Life To Life is another fast song, about finding faith in something other than God, or as Aaron Bedard sings I didn't find God and he didn't come looking for me but someone showed me Minor Threat

To me the reason to get this 7" is on side BThe Young And Restlessis bound to be another highlight of any Bane live show. It's gripping, and anthemic. You just want to scream along with Bedard and be that kid that over romanticizes everything. I will believe in dragons for as long as I run with dragons that sounds like some fairy tale lyrics, but the band manages to make it ring as true as ever.

Dublin, 11:58 PM is just another reminder of how much the hardcore scene needs a band like Bane. A band that has maintaned its strong ethic of superb songrwiting and great shows.
Let's hope the announced follow up Rome 12:58am 7" on Hurry Up! Records also to be known as the Los Angeles 3:58pm 7" on 6131 Records or the Perth 7:58am CD/EP on Resist Records will be such as good.

On a sidenote: I have the limited European tour edition on green vinyl. 480 copies of these were pressed.