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05/08/2010 Snapcase, Sick Of It All, Cancer Bats, Walter Schreifels (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
By Eric | May 10, 2010 1:10 pm
It goes without saying that Snapcase is one of the most influential hardcore bands ever to come out of the genre, and the fact that they’re from Buffalo allowed a mostly non-hardcore kid such as myself to be exposed to them and appreciate how good they really are. I say that with a bit of perspective, as I have seen Snapcase a handful of times over the years, but not since 2001, and I never got to see anything live off of End Transmission. I also missed their previous “last show” in 2005, so needless to say, I was excited for this show from the minute it got announced.
I arrived at the Town Ballroom, and nailed down a spot on the 2nd tier to the left of the stage. Walter Schreifels was on first, and I confess at the outset, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Knowing of his Gorilla Biscuits / Quicksand / Rival Schools pedigree, seeing him come out with an acoustic guitar took me aback for a second. He played a variety of different stuff, including a Rival Schools song, some of his own solo stuff, and even an acoustic take on “Start Today”. Very Cool.
The Cancer Bats were up next, and they made the most of their time. The Toronto-based band mixes punk, metal, sludge and a couple other genres into their style, which to my unfamiliar ear sounded like Down and Every Time I Die (whom they’re touring with this summer), among others. It was a fairly entertaining set, punctuated with a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”.
Next up, Sick of it All. Hardcore legends in their own right, they’ve been around since 1986, releasing material all the while. It was a treat to see them, and it was a treat to see a good deal of the crowd as into them as they’d be for Snapcase. (Not surprising, I figured there’d be a lot of crossover fans.) A very energetic set from them, and the crowd was equally energetic. Certainly something to see.
[flickr-gallery pagination=”0″ mode=”tag” tags=”2010-05-08, soia” tag_mode=”all”]
Finally, it was time for Snapcase. The crowd roared, the band came out, and away we went. Easily transitioning from album to album, the pacing of the set was perfect. High energy right out of the gate with Coagulate, coming down a bit with the more subdued tunes like Ten A.M., then ramping right back up. I’m sure some super die-hard fans might have wanted to hear a couple different songs, but I was quite happy with everything they played, especially Zombie Prescription, as that’s always been my favorite Snapcase song. They closed out the main set with Caboose, and then for the encore came what I’ve always thought was the quintessential Snapcase song, Incarnation. They stayed with that album for the last song of the night, playing the title track, lookinglasself. I don’t know what to say about the show other than it was awesome. They sounded perfect, the crowd on the floor gave back just as much energy, just awesome to watch. Lou Koller from Sick of it All came out to help on Energy Dome! I know I had a great time, and I’m pretty sure all the die-hards went home just as happy. I hope it’s a little less than five years between shows for them, and a lot less than 9 years between shows for me!
Setlist: Coagulate, Bleeding Orange, Cognition, Aperture, New Kata, She Suffocates, Harrison Bergeron, Ten A.M., Typecast Modulator, Interrogation, Ambition Now, Zombie Prescription, Drain Me, Energy Dome, Exile Etiquette, Caboose. Encore: Incarnation, lookinglasself.
Energy Dome (w/ Lou from SOIA):
Topics: Concerts | Tags: 2010, Buffalo, Cancer Bats, Sick Of It All, Snapcase, Town Ballroom, Walter Schreifels | Comments Off on 05/08/2010 Snapcase, Sick Of It All, Cancer Bats, Walter Schreifels (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
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