Man, it felt like this show would never come. Buying tickets for a friend and I back in October (which immediately sold out), it’s been a long wait, but I finally got to see Lifetime again on Sunday in the First Unitarian Church. I’ve been listening to these guys forever, but I didn’t really start truly appreciating them as much as I do now until the past few years.

I completely missed Iron Chic, and decided gummy bears were really important at that given time and also missed the majority of Title Fight as well (if you’re out of town and come to the church for a show, go to the convenience store a few blocks on chestnut… that place is crucial.

Lifetime

It’s been too long since the last time I saw my home state’s Lifetime, and it was good to see them in a smaller venue as opposed to the Electric Factory. The band took the stage and immediately kicked into Turnpike Gates, to which the stage dives, pits, and pile ons immediately started. The crowd energy slowed down quite a bit because, hey… Lifetime fans are old and our backs just can’t handle two-stepping that long anymore.

They played a tight set with songs off 3 releases, getting the biggest responses off of Hello Bastards and Jersey’s Best Dancers. The set seemed really short, but that is probably just because I can’t get enough Lifetime (and they played Neutral Territory, so it’s a complete win in my book). I know it’s doubtful, but I’m hoping they become more active and play a few more one-off shows in the area (without the 4-5 year wait).

Setlist:

Turnpike Gates
Airport Monday Morning
(The Gym Is) Neutral Territory
—————————————
Daneurysm
Rodeo Clown
Just A Quiet Evening
—————————————
Northbound Breakdown
Young, Loud, Scotty
Irony Is For Suckers
——————————
The Boys No Good
Haircuts and T-Shirts
Bringin It Backwards
——————————
Knives Bats New Tats
The Truth About Lars
Hey Catrine
——————————
Spiders In The Dark
Ostrichized

Encore:
25 Cent Giraffes

Mp3:
Lifetime – Daneurysm

More:
Saves The Day – Can’t Slow Down
Kid Dynamite, And The Art Of Moshing Everywhere
Kid Dynamite – Shorter Faster Louder
Crucial Dudes – 61 Penn

Buy:
Jade Tree

I figured you were all so busy reading other lists, that once we were a week into 2012, you’d be suffering list withdrawal and BAM, housewives have the crack you need. That’s how we roll.

What a year in punk music. I got a chance to see Kid Dynamite and American Nightmare again, was at Government Warning’s last show, got to meet a bunch of cool kids and new bands, broke some bones at shows (surgeon said it’s going to be a lifelong injury… fuck that. Typing this one handed as we speak).

There were plenty of good albums and EPs to come out in 2011, many which I still need to check out (cough Static Radio cough), but without further ado, here are my 10 favorite releases in 2011.

10. Banquets – Top Button Bottom Shelf

Catchy melodic punk that has saved my ass in traffic many times when my mp3 player battery died (kept the cd in my car). Nothing like screaming “I’m petty-full, I pissed in your garden now nothing’s gonna grow” at the top of your lungs. If you like The Menzingers (and who doesn’t?) check this out.

MP3: Banquets – Forever Bender
Buy: Banquets

9. Protest The Hero – Scurrilous

Finally, a band that both me and my metalhead friends can agree on. Picking up where Fortress left off, I’m always amazed by the pure consistency of the albums PTH releases. Scurrilous is technical, heavy, and impossible for me to play any 4 measures on guitar.

MP3: Protest the Hero – C’est La Vie
Buy: Official Site

8. Campaign – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

If I had to describe Campaign’s self release in one word, it would be this: beardy. Gruff, beer drenched, and Hot Water Music inspired, this is the shit kids over at punknews get chubbys over. You should too, it’s fucking good.

Mp3: Campaign – Old Blues
Buy: Campaign Myspace

7. Crucial Dudes – 61 Penn

It’s really rare for me to like bands in this particular genre of pop-punk. Maybe it’s because I’ve been attending emo/pop-punk dance parties lately (philly’s makeout club anyone?) but I completely love Crucial Dudes 2011 release. Reminiscent of incredibly old Saves The Day and Lifetime with enough punk edge to keep this guy interested.

Mp3: Crucial Dudes – 61 Penn
Buy: Jump Start

6. Cerebral Ballzy – Self Titled

I’m definitely going to get shit for this one. Yeah, I don’t care if they are the “hipsters” of punk or whatever. I don’t care if they are on Cartoon Network’s music label. Shit I don’t even care they have one of the most unfortunate names ever in punk rock. These Brooklyn dudes play high energy 80s influenced hardcore, and they pull it off fucking well, regardless of anything else. If you like fast hardcore to skate to, these guys are worth your time. Nuff said.

MP3: Cerebral Ballzy – Puke Song
Buy: Cerebral Ballzy

5. The Copyrights – North Sentinel Island

What the fuck? There is sure a lot of pop-punk on this list for someone who listens to a lot of hardcore… The Copyrights changed things up a bit on NSI, opting for a slightly darker, moodier blend of punk than previous releases, and it gave us one of the catchiest Copyrights albums to date. Definitely a grower.

Mp3: The Copyrights – Trustees Of Modern Chemistry
Buy: Red Scare

4. World Inferno Friendship Society – The Anarchy And The Ecstasy

Speaking of growers, World Inferno released an album in 2011 that received many mixed reviews, with some fans saying that they completely abandoned their roots, while others say the roots are just more subtle. It took me a few listens to get really into it, but I have to say, I love World Inferno’s latest. The cabaret punks slow it down a little bit to create some of the catchiest ballads they’ve ever written, period. They still have some of life’s most important lessons in their songs too (“Learn to burn bridges. Get good at it”).

Mp3: World Inferno Friendship Society – I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit
Buy: Chunksaah

3. The Haverchucks – Demo

Technically released in December of 2010, I’m counting it since it was so close to the start of 2011. I got an email from these Richmond dudes telling me that I should check out their demo, and I am so glad I did. Three chord driven punk rock in the veins of The Ramones, Teenage Bottlerocket, other countless great bands. Their Self Titled EP released was solid also, but I just fucking love the demo.

MP3: The Haverchucks – Allison Don’t Love Me Anymore
Buy: The Haverchucks

2. Lighten Up – Where Fun Goes To Die

True story: I told some girl her soul must be where fun goes to die, and almost got slapped. Anyway, Philly’s finest Lighten Up continued their trend of Kid Dynamite/Paint it Black influenced hardcore and takes it a step further on their EP. The band includes some more rock and roll influences on Where Fun Goes To Die, and it works so well that my only complaint is that the EP isn’t longer… oh and that they pretty much broke up.

MP3: Lighten Up – Same Shirt, Different Day
Buy: Runner Up Records

1. Hold Tight – Call The Zoo

If I had to rank these by pure play counts, Richmond’s Hold Tight’s Call The Zoo EP is easily the #1 spot. I’ve played this EP so fucking much in the past year, I’m sure my non-punk fan friends know all the lyrics by now. However, I don’t have to rank it by play counts, and it still gets my #1. It’s fast, catchy, and not a single song hits the minute mark. Definitely check this one out.

Mp3: Hold Tight – $122.50
Buy: Hold Tight

There are a crapload of releases I need to check out from 2011 that I haven’t gotten around to yet (including ones from Fucked Up, Hot Water Music, Punch, and Teenage Bottlerocket to name a few), but now that you lovers know mine, I’d love to hear what your favorite releases are.

Past Lists:
The Top 11 Albums of 2010
The 10 Best Albums of 2009! (No Paramore, I Swear)…
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007

Ah yes… Christmas. Showing love in the form of mass-consumerism, radical christians claiming there is a war on jesus or something, and The Bouncing Souls playing their traditional NJ holiday shows “Home For The Holidays” in Asbury Park.

I’m a little late posting this (I was away in Boston to go see American Nightmare), but fuck it. I attended the first night of Home For The Holidays at the Stone Pony, and completely missed all of the openers besides Title Fight (who I will be seeing soon anyway).

Title Fight:

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of this particular genre (that emo-y pop punk with a few hardcore influences) but Title Fight actually put on a much better set than I expected. Their songs were heavier live than what I’ve heard on record, making for a happy guy over here.

Bouncing Souls:

This was my first time seeing the Bouncing Souls since I completely shattered my arm at their Philly show and I was nervously excited to see them again (post traumatic stress anyone?) At their last last Home For The Holidays show, the Souls played each record in it’s entirety, so I wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to do this time around.

The band took the stage and ripped into The Gold Song, and then brought out a bingo lottery device, and while the band was playing, somebody would draw a song, write it on a whiteboard, and show the band and the crowd. It definitely made for an incredibly interesting setlist, and Bryan joked that this is probably the best setlist they ever played (and for some strange reason, a few acoustic songs in a row were drawn).

The band also showcased some of the new songs, and I’m pretty excited to hear what the Souls have in store.

Setlist (From what I remember and not in order)
The Gold Song
Todd’s Song
Blind Date
Single Successful Guy
East Coast Fuck You
Punks In Vegas
Hopeless Romantic
You’re So Rad
That Song
True Believers
The Something Special
No Comply
Gone
Lifetime
No Rules
Neurotic
The Pizza Song
Better Things
The Guest
Some Kind Of Wonderful
Inspection Station
Anchor’s Aweigh
Fall Song
Hybrid Moments (Acoustic Misfits Cover)
Infidel (New Song)

MP3:
Bouncing Souls – Low Life

More:
Bouncing Souls Worst Album
Bouncing Souls – The Good The Bad And The Argyle
Bouncing Souls Split Series

Buy:
Chunksaah

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good one. I am a little behind on posts ( I still need to post my experience at the Bouncing Souls Home For The Holidays, my top 10 of 2011, etc) but in the meantime, here is a little new year’s mix for all of you punks out there!

MP3:
Thursday – Jet Black New Year
Bouncing Souls – The New Thing
The Lawrence Arms – 100 Resolutions
Bedouin Soundclash – New Year’s Day
Armalite – New Years
Cloak/Dagger – New Years Resolution

More Mixes:
Scenester 101: How To Be A Modern Day Street Punk
How To Be A 3rd Wave Ska Dork
How To Be A Skinhead
How To Be Hardcore

Holy shit. Ever since I first saw American Nightmare (aka Give Up The Ghost) back in 2003 with the Hope Conspiracy, they became one of my favorite hardcore bands, and I’ve been annoying my friends ever since saying that I wish they would play a fucking reunion show. So when I saw that they were playing Boston, you can damn well imagine that I made the trek up from Philly to see these hardcore legends.

The openers were a surprise, which led people to have all sorts of crazy expectations (some of the rumors floating around: Glassjaw, Have Heart, Blood for Blood, Converge) and it seemed like a lot of people were disappointed with the openers. Fuck that, I don’t care if Justin Beiber opened the show, American Nightmare was playing.

Salvation:

It didn’t seem like anyone knew who these PA dudes were. They played screechy noisy hardcore and were slightly reminiscent of Some Girls. The band seemed a bit of place on that huge stage, and I got the vibe from them that they were much more comfortable playing house shows (the singer jumped off the stage for a while and into the crowd).
COA:

Brockton Massachusetts hardcore, COA had a sizable pit going of people losing their shit. Not usually my style of hardcore per say, the singer came out wearing a bulletproof vest, and they actually played a pretty solid set. Chock full of mosh parts, check em out if you’re into old NY hardcore, they reminded me a bit of old Agnostic Front and Sick of it All.

All Pigs Must Die:

I’ve never heard of APMD before, but these dudes completely tore it up to say the least. Comprised of members from both Converge and The Hope Conspiracy, these guys really reminded me of Disfear. Heavy as shit, I definitely am going to need to check them out.

American Nightmare:

Shot by ReturnToThePit.com

Fuck. I haven’t been this excited for a set in a long time, and up to the point they came on stage, my heart was completely racing. We immediately broke out into a giant pit, and the stage dives began immediately as the band opened up with “Love American”. I wasn’t sure how into it Wes was going to be, but with his stage dives and head walking in the crowd, the band was obviously into it (as was the crowd).

The whole place was a frenzy, and probably the wildest hardcore show I may have ever been to. American Nightmare also played one hell of a setlist as well. The only negative thing I have to say about the show was the dumb fucking pricks who decided to get into a fight on stage which almost killed the vibe (and had the crowd screaming “Asshole, Asshole”). Seriously, a lot of us traveled fucking far (talked to some kids who drove from South Carolina, Arizona, Florida) for this shit, and it wasn’t to watch dumb meat heads fight. Luckily, after that settled down, the show picked up right where it left off and the frenzy continued as if nothing ever happened.

Fuck yeah. And to all the people I’ve met who traveled far for this show, I hope you all got home safely.

Setlist (From what I remember, I don’t think all the ones in the pic were played):

-Love American
-(We Are)
-Protest Song #00
-AM/PM
-Shoplifting in A Ghost Town (I think)
-I Saved Latin
-Postmark My Compass
-Hearts
-I’ve Shared Your Lips and Now They Sicken Me
-Fuck What Fireworks Stand For
-The Ice Age Is Coming
-Please Die!
-Young Hearts Be Free Tonight
-Calculation Nation
-There’s A Black Hole In The Shadow Of The Pru
-Farewell

Mp3:
American Nightmare – The Ice Age Is Coming!

More:
American Nightmare – Year One
Scenester 101: How To Be An Old School Hardcore Kid In 10 Easy Steps!

Buy:
Screaming Gets You Nothing

Some of you may have caught this already, but this past weekend Black Flag played a mini-sort of reunion show at the Goldenvoice 30th anniversary party. The line-up featured Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, and Bill Stevenson… and they got Stephen Egerton to fill in. While not a complete original reunion, still pretty sweet that they played Nervous Breakdown in it’s entirety.

Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Stephen Egerton & Bill Stevenson GV30 from Dave Naz on Vimeo.

Slip These Articles In:
Black Flag – Loose Nut
Black Flag – Damaged
Black Flag – The First Four Years

Holy shit. Philadelphia super group (featuring Atom, Dan Yemin, Jeff Ziga, and Mike McKee) has finally, after half a decade, released some new material! Of course, it’s only a 3 song EP, but I’ll take what I could get from these guys.

Instead of writing a normal review, I’ll just post a few drunken tweets I got from my friend regarding Armalite. They get better as the drinks got heavier.

-New Armalite EP? @botmhw review or it didn’t happen.

-@botmhw If you listen to the lyrics in the first song New Years they’re actually really touching. #Armalite4eva

-@botmhw Tried to look up Armalite guitar tabs, no dice. “Did you make a typo, are you looking for Marmalade?” #armalite4eva

There you have it folks. #Armalite4eva

MP3:
Armalite – Double Negativity-ing

More:
Armalite Album Review
Armalite Live (7/19/09)
Back When I Saw Them In 07
Atom and his Package vs Fugazi

Buy:
No Idea Records

Ah the good ole fashioned split: a staple in punk rock. I’m usually mixed on splits, because it may be one band I love paired with another I’m not so keen on, so I wind up just listening to one side. Once in a while though, I’ll get a split from two bands I have no idea who they are, and it completely blows me away on first listen. The “Prevenge | Dig It Up Split” falls into this category.

Both Prevenge and Dig It Up hail from Montreal, and both contribute two songs each. Prevenge gives us two gritty punk songs (Buried Alive and Wicked Mess) that sort of remind me a bit of Banner Pilot. Both are incredibly catchy basement anthems.

Dig It Up is rougher around the edges, and without looking at a picture of the album I imagine the singer has a beard (just a guess). Giving us two melodic hardcore songs (Move My Way and Cops on Horses), Dig It Up is both heavy and catchy at the same time, sort of like One Win Choice or Western Addiction.

Definitely a solid split, check it out if you’re looking for some damn good punk rock.

MP3:
Prevenge – Wicked Mess

More:
This Is Your Life 7″
Smoke or Fire – This Sinking Ship
Fifth Hour Hero

Buy:
Bandcamp

Whoa, it’s been a little while since my last update… things have been insanely busy as of late but once the new year comes I promise you’ll see the regular updating again. Still, as busy as I may have been, I always find time for a good hardcore show, so last night I headed out to The Barbary to check out old time favorites Ignite, Mother of Mercy, and Ensign.

Ensign:

Unfortunately I completely missed One Win Choice (always a great time) but made it just time for NJ old school hardcore dudes Ensign. I’ve been listening to these guys for fuck knows how long (way over 10 years) but somehow, never got a chance to see them. They’ve had a shit ton of line-up changes over the years, but their show was solid as hell.

The band was high energy, with the singer going all over the place and shredding in general. It seemed like the majority of people didn’t know who they were except for a few dedicated few, who danced and stage dove intermittently.

It was awesome to finally see them, and while the majority of their set is escaping me, I remember them playing Tourniquet and The Spark.

Mother Of Mercy

I’ve never heard these guys before, but these PA dudes completely tore it up. They had what was probably the biggest pit of the night, and their singer was energetic as hell stage diving into the crowd. I don’t know any of their songs, but they reminded me a lot of Hope Conspiracy’s Endnote (which is never a bad thing).

Ignite

It’s been years since I’ve last seen these California dudes (mostly because they rarely come to the east coast) and the place was packed it was difficult getting a pit going (still, didn’t stop us from trying). The crowd was an interesting mix of hardcore fans and Pennywise bros, ever since Zoli joined Pennywise (still incredibly strange to me).

Needless to say, they put on a fantastic fun set spanning over the course of all their releases. The only really strange thing was that people were getting kicked out of the Barbary if they stage dove and hit the lights… I think a warning would have done rather than kicking people out (especially it’s never been an issue there before).

Setlist:

Poverty For All
Veteran
Fear Is Our Tradition
Burned Up
Let It Burn
Are You Listening
A Place Called Home
Embrace
My Judgment Day
Who Sold Out Now
Run
Ash Return
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Know Your History
Banned From DC (Bad Brains cover)
Live For Better Days
Bleeding

Mp3:
Ignite – Embrace
Ensign – Tomorrow’s Shadow

More:
Ensign – Direction of Things To Come
Scenester 101: How to Be Hardcore in 10 Easy Steps!
Gorilla Biscuits
Ten Yard Fight

Buy:
Interpunk

Housewives is back with our latest addition of Scenester 101, your guide on how to be the a stereotype of your favorite scene! Are you an angry, upper middle class white kid in their teenage years who lives in the suburb? Fret not young buck, street punk is here to save you!

Up The Punx

First off, it’s punx not punks (because FUCK rules such as spelling and grammar), and you need to constantly talk about upping them. Why? If you don’t know you must be some sort of poser. You’ll get some extra scene points if you throw some oi’s in there too.

Accessorize

What do you and tween clothing stores such as Claire’s have in common (besides the fact you see it on the way out of Hot Topic)? ACCESSORIZE! Accessories lets others now just how punk rawk you actually are: lock necklaces, bullet belts, plenty of safety pins, the possibilities are endless (as long as they fit the strict punk fashion code).

Leather

Vegetarians? HA! That sounds like a rule, and you don’t do rules. But you do leather… lots of it. Leather jackets are a MUST (studding is optional… but if you don’t do it, at least put a Crass patch up there.)

Mohawks

I cannot stress this enough… punk rock is all about fashion. Forget the whole “thinking for yourself”, not giving a fuck, ignoring social trend things… you need to make a fashion statement on how unique you are, just like everybody else. We already went over accessories and leather, but a mohawk or liberty spikes are a must. Every true punk rocker spends hours on their hair, cramming it with Elmer’s glue to get those spikes and dying it weekly with Manic Panic. How are you going to start a revolution if you’re not looking punk?

Rebel

You don’t know shit about politics and you don’t want to learn either because it’s boring, but you know you want to rebel. Awesome! Just draw lots of Anarchy symbols on yourself or better yet buy anarchy patches and place them all over. Smash bottles in the street randomly just to show how much of a badass you are. FUCKING LITTER!

Conclusion:
The list could go on and on, but this is a good starting point. Remember friends, it’s all about looks, and make sure that you let everyone know you’re the biggest punk around by calling everyone else a poser.

MP3:
4 Past Midnight – Fuck Them All
The Unseen – Social Security
Adolf and the Piss Artists – Abrasive Punk
The Casualties – Get Off My Back
The Virus – Vicious Rumors
Action – Suicide Squad
Violent Society – I Wanna Know

More Scenester 101 Guides:
How To Be A 3rd Wave Ska Dork
How To Be A Skinhead
How To Be Hardcore

Buy:
Interpunk