Essence Of Pain / Words Of Truth / Sick Joke / The Struggle / Traces Of Empire
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 4/11/15
This is Samm Gunn here. I’m a private investigator, P.I. for short. I have to deal with some unsavory characters in my occupation. Loan sharks, gangsters, extortionists, musicians. But none is lower than the low that I have to encounter today. Namely, the boys at TNB. That two-bit paper not worth the pulp it’s written on.
But I take any and all cases thrown my way- you see, I’m a P.I.
So this is one of those “hardcore” shows, meaning, hard on the ears, I guess.
But I’ll sort it out the best I can. I hold no prejudice. I believe in letting peoples actions speak louder than their words, or their music.
First band up is Traces Of Empire. Now, Metal Mike is telling me they’ve improved. And I can see that, see they’re more focused in style. Now they seem more like a hardcore band but I still don’t get why they don’t have a steady beat.
Metal Mike tells me their style is more like Discharge, an old band I’m not impressed with. So the jury is still out with them for me.
The Struggle is next, makes me think of when I have to unbutton my pants and that’s not what I like to think about. Now, some good looking dame doing that- why, that’s a much more pleasant scenario to think about and one that more fits this band.
I notice they have Bill on guitar (who I know as a photographer) and Josh on guitar (who I know as a singer ) and Brian on drums (who I know as the excellent drummer from Providence’s best hardcore band, Reason To Fight).
Now, Renee tells me she thinks they did too many covers of Warzone. I only recognized “Crucify Me” by Agnostic Front. But they turn in a great sounding set and it’s a nice surprise, after, when I’m introduced to a charming, young lady who goes by the name of “Mink Kitten.”
Sick Joke is next and this is a band from the remnants of The Enemy Within, which was one of the best heavy hardcore bands from Boston for a few years recently. So, besides the great name I’m curious of what they will bring to the musical table.
This is Metal Mike’s new band and they sound ferocious. The lead singer, Aaron, has a more snarling, early punk sound than the old singer, Joe, bassist for Disaster Strikes, had- for his style was more in keeping with the heavy, hardcore sound.
They still have a lot of that heavy New York hardcore in their sound but now a little bit more of traditional punk/ Oi shines through which I like.
I hears lots of good response from the crowd after they play about them and I’m actually shocked to learn that this was their very first show- very promising.
Essence Of Pain is next. I try to peg them as another heavy hardcore band. The name sure fits, but soon enough I’m also thinking Oi. It seems they’re working in a new drummer so their set is very, very short- maybe ten minutes.
I’m gonna have to give them an incomplete on their report card but I’ll give them an “A” for penmanship.
Words Of Truth is the last band up. A frequent “warm up” band but one I think quite worthy of headlining, also.
They have a new drummer, sitting in, because their usual drummer is recovering from shoulder surgery. The new drummer is twenty but looks about fourteen but he does an unbelievable job.
I tell the band that they might think of re-injuring the old drummer’s shoulder, maybe dropping an amp on him, but the old drummer was excellent, too.
The band plays tight heavy New York hardcore with a big influence of old school, groove based, hard hitting rock. A lot of songs have traditional hard rock or metal riffs backed by a rockin’ beat.
They have a great front man, prowling the floor in the pit in front of the stage; a rock solid rhythm section and a guitar player who knows what to lay down and more and they have great songs to boot. They play the best set of the day reaffirming their headliner status.
Just before everything raps up I notice a female friend of mine, Mitzi, enter the bar. She just exudes energy and promise.
A shy smiles from her arises that will send shivers up your spine and make your knees weak, at least it does mine.
I give a slight nod and wave through the crowd, through the cigarette smoke rising toward the revolving fans. There’s some loud drunken chatter at the end of the bar. Some drama about some dame’s lost key as yesterday’s dreams and visions are swept up in the debris of the barroom floor.
But I remember that moment and that moment was perfect to me. You get long stretches of life filled with strife and boredom it seems. But those few rare glimpses of beauty, of truth or art are valuable indeed.
It’s what I live for.
(Samm Gunn)
