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This show was supposed to be at a venue that recently closed down after about a month of doing shows (I unfortunately never went to the club). Instead, it was at an American Legion in a somewhat shady area in Pawtucket. The place was pretty big (and was relatively full), and had a Bingo board, leaving me wishing for a game to spontaneously break out.
I wasn't a huge fan of Effort, but they are still a pretty young band with potential. They mixed styles from Modern Life is War and Righteous Jams, combining that with some youth crew drumming and riffs. The vocals didn't always match the music, and their songs seemed to go on far too long, but they did have some parts that I enjoyed.
Energy was (again) pretty good. They were very lively and had a lot of sing along crowd participation going on. They did an awesome cover of "Where Eagles Dare," which had a tall guy from the crowd run towards the pile on to sing the first chorus, only to walk away when it was done. Energy's set was short but sweet, still clinging to that Ignite influence and riding high on the singer's excellent voice.
Harder the Fight opened by covering "Rise Above" by Black Flag. The first half was awesome, but than the singer barely sung during the second half of the song. I don't know if he got lazy or forgot the words, but it seemed effortless, leaving me highly disappointed. I also wasn't a fan of the rest of their set, minus two really good breakdowns.
It took what seemed like much longer than forever for The Mongoloids to take the stage. After being unimpressed by their songs on Myspace, I had a feeling that they wouldn't be worth the wait. After taking so long to take the stage, they still found time to have a moment of silence for James Brown before muffing through their intro. Their songs weren't very good, sounding like goofy-not to be taken seriously hardcore songs, which had me leaving the venue before their set was over, stopping to get gas and a delicious sandwich.
Bracewar was really good. They played an old school Negative Approach style of hardcore with some really good breakdowns. The crowd was really into them, setting off a dancing frenzy that was quite enjoyable.
The lights were all off with the exception of five small stage lights and a string of colored Christmas lights hanging randomly on a side wall. This made for a very good aura as Down to Nothing opened their set by covering "Filler" and "I Don't Want to Hear It" by Minor Threat. They played each song flawlessly, making for a great way to start a set.
Their own songs were just as good and energetic. Their singer had a lot of charisma, and it rubbed off onto the crowd. There were stage dives and mosh pits running wildy (especially during their last three songs). with the singer hopping around the stage like a rabbit on a sugar high. Their set wasn't technically perfect, but it was pretty damn entertaining, and I really enjoyed the new material they played.
Before Verse took the stage, a new band called Soul Patrol (or Control-I forget which), which featured ex members of Verse and What Feeds the Fire, play one song. The song was alright, sounding a lot like Burn, but I wasn't a huge fan of the vocals. The music was really good, featuring some awesome Burn-like breakdowns.
I was never a big fan of Verse, but I haven't seen them live in a long ass time. I wasn't expecting to enjoy them, but I was pleasantly surprised as they played a spirited set that had the crowd going nuts. There were sing alongs and stage dives to match the strongly written and creative hardcore songs Verse was pumping out. There were more than a few times where the crowd was singing so loud that vocalist Sean Murphy didn't have to. He didn't even have to give the mic to anyone, as everyone singing along was pretty in synch.
I'd say about half the people before Have Heart took the stage. As good as Have Heart is, I don't quite blame them, as having to sit through eight bands can seem like a daunting task. Regardless of that, Have Heart played with a lot of energy and emotion. The people that stuck with the show all had a great time, singing, dancing and stage diving throughout their set. One kid got knocked on the head pretty hard, possibly suffering a concussion, but he walked back to the stage area after taking a few songs off (which were spent clutching his head in intense pain), not being able to hold back from the awesomeness that Have Heart was dishing out during their set.
Written by: RF
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