by Fred Pessaro // BBG

This is Hardcore have announced their initial 2013 lineup which, for the most part, doesn't have many uber-shocking additions unless you count a headlining set by Gwar (?). It includes names like Kid Dynamite, Tragedy, 7 Seconds, Panic, Trapped Under Ice and more. Full lineup is below. Tickets for the festival pass and the weekend pass go on sale at noon.

The one interesting addition is the reemergence of Modern Life is War, who called it quits in 2008. Though some are viewing the band's reunion as part of an April Fool's joke, the reunion is in fact real according to a valued source. The band issued the following statement regarding their return:

"Modern Life Is War is an active band again. In September of last year, we wrote an album in John's basement in Marshalltown, which will be recorded at God City in May and released on Deathwish in September. The original lineup of Chris Honeck, Matt Hoffman, Jeffrey Eaton, Tyler Oleson and John Eich will be in place. For what it's worth, we are not approaching this as a 'reunion' but rather as a band with a new record that will be working to contribute something worthwhile. Extensive touring is not in the cards for us at this point. Our first show back will be at This Is Hardcore Fest in August, followed by a record release show in Iowa. We will announce an official release date as well as specific show dates and locations as soon as they are confirmed."

Continue reading "This is Hardcore announces partial lineup, Modern Life is War included! (tickets on sale)"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Paint it Black at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Pennsylvania's Paint it Black have returned with a new 7" due on No Idea Records, Invisible, which is available for preorder now. It marks the melodic hardcore band's first effort in four years, and they've has offered a pair of tracks for streaming in anticipation of its mid-April release. Check out "Greetings, Fellow Insomniacs" and "Headfirst", the latter of which makes its debut here today.

In celebration of PiB's righteous return to the studio, we cornered frontman Dan Yemin (also Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, etc) and bassist Andy Nelson (also Ceremony, etc) about the new release, being an elder statesman in punk and what the future holds. The results of that conversation, those song streams are below.

Continue reading "an Interview with Paint it Black, who have a new 7" (stream two tracks)"

by BBG

My final day at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 ran the gamut from 90s-indie-worshippers Lemuria to the poppy-hardcore of Kid Dynamite, the Prince-clad hardcore of Ceremony to the glitchy dance of Flying Lotus, and the operatic/enigmatic Austra to the great Slayer. Of the bands that I was not familar with prior to that day (namely OBN IIIs and Les Butcherettes) OBN IIIs set was my favorite; high energy punk/garage was an excellent way to turbo-charge the day. Le Butcherettes were no slouches though, playing fun and spazzy garage-punk featuring the endlessly watachlbe Teri Gender Bender up front and surprise guest Omar Rodriguez-Lopez on bass.

I'll save the "Fun Fun Fun" knee-slapper for pretty much every single band's pre/intra-show banter ("Are you having fun? Are you having Fun Fun Fun?") but yes, Fun Fun Fun Fest lives up to its name.

Previously posted pictures are here: day 1 & day 2, and day 1 & day 2.

More pictures from day three including shots of Lemuria, Le Butcherettes, OBN IIIs, Davila 666, Ceremony, Nobunny, Kid Dynamite, Zero Boys, Eyehategod, Austra, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Cannibal Corpse, Boris, Del The Funkee Homosapien, Slayer, Blonde Redhead, and much more, below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 3 pics (part 1) -- Slayer, Blonde Redhead, Kid Dynamite, Zero Boys, Boris & more"

by BBG

Lifetime at Webster Hall (more by Brian Woodward)

Good news for us, good and bad news for "The Fest". Lifetime has pulled out of their appearance at the Florida Punk Festival, citing Peter Martin's forthcoming baby. Dan Yemin commented:

"We're sad to say that we're going to have to cancel, or as Tony so kindly put it, "bail," for Fest 10. Pete and his wife are expecting their second baby, and at their most recent doctor visit were told that this precocious creature is coming sooner than expected, which means that Pete understandably needs to stay put at home right now. Unfortunately, there are no guitarists (anywhere) good enough to replace him, even temporarily. We did, however, find a replacement band that's at least 75% as good."

I am sure that Pete's newborn will be happy and healthy by the time that Lifetime return to NYC for a show at Europa on January 7th alongside "Special Guests TBA" and Iron Chic. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (10/18) at noon. Man, that TBA gets a ton of shows.

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

by BBG

"Matt Talbott tells me there's some Hum shows coming this fall! I don't have all the details yet, but here's what I know: there will be one on September 10th, and it won't be in Champaign. A show in Champaign is possibly going to be planned for September 9th, and they are playing Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX in November." -[h-u-m.net]

Hum released You'd Prefer an Astronaut in 1995 and the follow-up Downward Is Heavenward in 1998.

Though they haven't confirmed Hum, Fun Fun Fun Fest did recently "leak" some more of their Austin festival lineup. The first leak had Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, and X (performing "Los Angeles"). The second leak added Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot and Kid Dynamite!

That now makes two upcoming shows for Kid Dynamite who are also playing FYF Fest in LA.

DOWNLOAD: X - Fourth of July (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Early Winters - Fourth of July (X cover) (MP3)

NOFX at Bonnaroo (more by Dana (Distortion) Yavin)

The Bouncing Souls ended their 4-night run at Highline Ballroom last night (7/9). They played all 8 of their albums over the course of the four nights in NYC. A full report and pictures are coming soon. If you missed it, the Souls will now do the same for Philly starting on July 13th. Tickets are still on sale for one of the nights. They also do it in London, Vienna, Denver, and LA. LA tickets go on sale... in September. Bouncing Souls have also added some new US dates in October before the Denver and LA runs too, including a few shows with NOFX.

The NOFX shows are part of a longer North American tour that NOFX headlines in October with Anti-Flag and Old Man Markley. That tour includes two nights at Irving Plaza, 10/7 & 10/8. Tickets for both shows are on sale now. NOFX also tour Europe in August.

Speaking of Los Angeles punk bands playing 2 nights at Irving Plaza, as previously mentioned, X are doing that too. They will head out on tour in September and October, playing "Los Angeles" in full at each show along the way. As previously mentioned that includes Riot Fest East in Philly, Riot Fest in Chicago and two nights at Irving Plaza in NYC. But it also includes September 25th in Asbury Park, NJ and a bunch of other dates which are listed below. Tickets are available for the two NYC shows and the NJ show.

X released "Los Angeles" in 1980. Seven years later the Dave Alvin-written song "Fourth of July" appeared on their album "See How We Are" (which was reissued in 2002). Grab that song, and a recently made cover of it (in honor of last week's holiday), above.

In somewhat related news, Kid Dynamite will, as mentioned, reunite at FYF Fest in LA with Descendents, The Dead Milkmen and many others this September. While we await another east coast reunion, Kid Dynamite frontman Jason Chevchuk's other band None More Black will play some shows to tide us over. They'll play on October 25 at Knitting Factory Brooklyn and November 2 at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. Dig It Up, TheCore and Polygon open both shows as part of a tour down to the Fest 10. Tickets for the Knitting Factory show are on sale now.

To bring things full circle, TheCore covered The Bouncing Souls "True Believers" with Chuck Ragan at their show together on February 26 in Las Vegas. Video of that and all tour dates and other videos below....

Continue reading "Bouncing Souls, NOFX, X, None More Black, other punk shows"

DOWNLOAD: Mister Heavenly - "Pineapple Girl" (MP3)

Descendents at FFFFest (more by Tim Griffin)

Much like last year, FYF Fest 2011 is poppin' off with some incredible bands, many of whom recently reunited. This year the LA fest will host a coveted Descendents appearance, a Death From Above 1979 show, Guided By Voices, another Kid Dynamite reunion, The Dead Milkmen, Explosions in the Sky, the return of The Weakerthans and many, many notable others. Full lineup is below. The show goes down at 1st and Main in downtown Los Angeles on September 3rd. Tickets are on sale.

Future Islands plays FYF Fest and plays Death By Audio in Brooklyn TONIGHT (6/28).

For Kid Dynamite, which features members of Lifetime, Paint it Black and None More Black, the reunion is their first since re-emerging for This is Hardcore last year with Ink & Dagger. The band called it quits in 2000 and reunited in 2005 at CBGB and some other times too. I hope they schedule another NYC show, but it's just LA for now.

This is Hardcore THIS YEAR features an appearance from Ressurection, which also featured Dan Yemin on guitar. Tickets for This is Hardcore 2011, taking place in Philly's Starlight Ballroom, is mostly sold-out, with tickets for the Sunday show still available.

The Descendents appearance at FYFest is one of several dates scheduled for the reunited band, NYC's Roseland, Chicago Riot Fest, and Philly's Riot Fest included. Tickets are still available for the 9/23 Roseland show.

Mister Heavenly will hit the road for a string of dates on the West Coast leading up to FYF Fest. Check out their full tour schedule below, and look for their new LP Out of Love on 8/16 via Sub Pop. Check out "Pineapple Girl" from that record above.

The Death From Above 1979 appearance is one of several slated for the band in the coming months, including a 7/22 appearance at Williamsburg Waterfront. Tickets are still available OR, you can try your hand by winning a pair at our Facebook. The full set of DFA1979 dates are below.

The Weakerthans have a few other dates slated for Europe and Canada in the coming months. Hopefully they add more US dates too. All dates for now are listed below.

A few bands on the FYFest lineup (namely, Cults, Off!, and No Age) will also appear in NYC at the House of Vans this summer, and for FREE. The FYF-presented House of Vans series of shows starts this Thursday (6/30). You just have to RSVP to get in (and maybe get there early).

All Weakerthans, DFA1979, and Mister Heavenly dates, some video, and the full FYF Fest lineup is below.

Continue reading "FYF Fest in LA, This is Hardcore in Philly, Future Islands in BK, Mister Heavenly on tour, a DFA1979 contest & more"

by BBG

Starkweather at ABC No Rio

This Is Hardcore Fest 2010 details are officially in the open, and the three day Philly festival will feature appearances from Sheer Terror, Ink & Dagger (with Geoff Rickly of Thursday filling in on vocals), Kid Dynamite, Cro-Mags, Nails, Ringworm, Starkweather, Trapped Under Ice, Seraphim, and many others. The full list is below. Tickets are on sale for the full weekend, or each individual day (Fri, Sat) though Sunday (with Kid Dynamite and Ink & Dagger) is sold out.

One of the This is Hardcore bands, Starkweather, played ABC No Rio on Saturday (May 29) with Rosetta and Shell Shock, one of TWO Rosetta shows for the weekend (the second was the BV/1000 Knives production with Ken Mode). I ducked out before the headliner Shell Shock, and missed a good portion of Rosetta's set due to beverage consumption across the street, but Starkweather were as good (better?) than I had remembered, playing a mix of metal and hardcore all anchored by vocalist weighty and powerful Rennie Resmini's voice. The band's material from their new LP This Sheltering Night sounded fantastic live as well (cop that). More pictures from their appearance are below.

Another This is Hardcore band, Seraphim, is also on board to play SATURDAY at Cake Shop alongside Altered State, Voyager, and Monolith as part of a BV/1000 Knives/Science of Silence production. The show kicks off at 5PM!

Some pics and video of Starkweather at ABC No Rio, and the full This is Hardcore fest lineup are below...

Continue reading "Starkweather played ABC No Rio (pics), playing 3-day This is Hardcore Fest in Philly w/ Kid Dynamite & many others"