108 and Damnation A.D. Demolish Philadelphia 2011
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the announcement for 108 and Damnation AD at the Barbary in Philadelphia. I purchased my ticket the day they went on sale and anxiously awaited the day of the show, which arrived last Sunday 1/9.
I made the pilgrimage through the snow and ice back to my old neighborhood for the show and passed the ugly Sugar House Casino that we fought for years to keep from being built. It occurred to me that this would be a good location to go and take a shit if needed.
The last proper hardcore show I saw was Grief and Dystopia in 1999, so at first it was a foreign feeling to be crammed in with a lot of folks in the dark in a tiny space. However, this was as much a spiritual quest to reconnect with my roots as it was about entertainment, and it proved to be all worth it. I arrived in plenty of time to see Skull Crusher take the stage. I had done some research on these guys before the show and bought their EP. They have a new fan! There are a lot of influences and styles at work in their music, but it results in a unique formula of fast, heavy, metallic hardcore brutality. They put a lot of energy into their performance and it was musically tight. Singer Ed introduced the song "Chase the Dragon" off of their EP with the summary, "...Addiction: fuck that." I'm with you on that. They played a new tune "Break the Mask" about "refusing to be something that you're not." Finally, they unloaded the blistering title track "Blinded by Illusion." I've seen enough bands in my life to be able to tell the difference between sincerity and trying too hard, and these dudes are deadly serious and play real deal hardcore.
I was intrigued to have the chance to see The Eddie Leeway Show. I remember seeing the badass cover art and write-ups of Born to Expire in Thrasher Magazine and I owned that album. Those dudes were legends of crossover back in the late 80's. I didn't really know all of the material, but I could appreciate everything they were doing, and the crowd was loving it. Once again, the musical skill of the band members was impressive, and despite the dive bar atmosphere of the space I could hear every instrument well. Eddie mentioned that his drummer was 16 years old. That gives me hope for humanity that a kid that age nowadays plays this style of music with that level of skill! They closed the show with "Rise and Fall," the one tune I absolutely knew and the place went completely wild with stage dives and dancing.
I've been a rabid fan of Damnation A.D. since 1994 and I was thrilled to see them set up. I removed the earplugs to fully hear the angelic/demonic frequencies being emitted by Ken Olden's axe. They opened up with "No More Dreams" and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy. The set was filled with a lot of old favorites: "In Memorium" from No More Dreams and "Addiction" from Misericordia. Then, "Let Me In" from the latest album. "Sleep" and the "Hangedman" delivered more can't-miss favorites. To close, they busted out with "Hold Your Ground" which the band recently covered for the Revelation 150 comp. Their trademark loud, crushing sound has lost nothing and has gotten even more refined and technical over the past 16 years. The crowd energy that day even blew away some of the early DC shows I saw where people could only stand in awe as their expectations of what hardcore was evaporated in front of their eyes.
Next, the audience welcomed Vision with a warm reception. I had never really checked these guys out, but I remember seeing pictures of them in magazines and their logo on flyers headlining with some of the greats of the old days. I was honored to have a chance to see a classic band and share the joy and community of folks who were obviously psyched to get down and sing along to these tunes. Lots of different styles were present, including straightforward NYHC, "skate rock," oozin' ah's choruses, and Descendents/All-esque bits. They took requests from the crowd, and busted out a Stiff Little Fingers cover "Suspect on Ice."
After a long day of being stiff from standing, I was absolutely prepared to see what 108 had to unleash on this place. They ramped up a powerful intro into "Curse of Instinct" and it was on! Fevered dancing and crowd sing-a-longs engulfed the stage. "Opposition"->"Deathbed" was super-heavy and intense and there was no doubt from the response that these were deeply-felt fan favorites. Rob announced "Arctic," apparently a Philly exclusive, and there was no let up with a segue into the pummeling blasts of "Invocation." "Declarations on a Grave," the opening track from New Beat from a Dying Heart followed. Rob introduced "Son of Nanda," another nod to the era of Songs of Separation. He urged us to embrace only the things that are important to us in life, as all of our plans for the future could disappear "in the blink of an eye." This is the theme of "Forever is Destroyed," from the latest album, which the band teared into in earnest. A dark build-up of feedback and psycho-tronics, with the mantra "DON'T... EAT... ANIMALS!" led into "Killer of the Soul." These performances are about as far away from "going through the motions" as possible, and everything played and sung was heart-felt and flowed with emotion. "Being or Body" punctuated the close of the set and the crowd stood respectfully as the band continued into a tension and release jam over the beautifully-sung Maha Mantra.
It was an incredible show with talented awesome bands, and a great crowd. I cannot overstate the technical prowess of these musicians and how good the years have been to their skill and dedication. I thought that maybe I'd missed my last chance to see 108 when I'd heard that Rob was leaving the band last year, and I'm thankful that I didn't and hope that they will continue to tour and create amazing music. Interestingly, my wife Jen later recounted a story of how when she was putting my son to bad at around the time I would have been waiting for 108 to come on, he was messing with an iPod on a dock and 108 randomly came on shuffle! He was shocked at first, but then began bobbing his head and digging it. Thanks to the bands, crowd, and to Joe Hardcore for a great day out. -Jamie P.
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