2016 in review (Fury content) Part 1

The author moves to the Bay

2016 sure was a roller coaster ride of a year, right? Some universally respected musicians died, politics got literally crazy, and fake news shared by your distant relatives and barely remembered high school classmates became the norm on Facebook. I, myself, had a pretty swell year; I celebrated my one year anniversary at my dream job, my one year anniversary of living on the west coast and my 6 year wedding anniversary.  But all of this stuff is really not what this blog is about, is it? 2016 also had some really fantastic highlights for me and my relationship with music.

the wife and the author; 6 years on

Best 2016 shows:

I got to see the Prime Evil line up of Venom (playing as Venom Inc) rage through an absolutely incredible set at the DNA lounge in January:  Prime Evil/ Die Hard/ Don't Burn the Witch/ Live Like an Angel (die like a devil)/ Buried Alive/ Raise the Dead/ One Thousand Days in Sodom/ Warhead/ Schizo/ The Seven Gates of Hell/ In Nomine Satanas/ Bloodlust/ Sons of Satan/ Welcome to Hell/ Black Metal/ Countess Bathory/ Witching Hour. It was truly a sight to hear and behold, and being a fan of the Prime Evil record, I had hoped for a couple of songs from the records (especially “Skeletal Dance”) but sticking to the classics really got the crowd rip-riding.  I was surprised at the lack of In League with Satan on the list, but the set was so good, it didn’t matter. The only way the show could have possibly been better is if it was catered to me exactly: At War With Satan into Manitou into side b of Welcome to Hell into all of Black Metal, oh and if Cronos was there.

Venom Inc. photo by the author

Just about a week after the Venom Inc gig, I saw Fury play with Mindset at 924 Gilman. Mindset were good, but this was the show where I totally fell in love with Fury.  The energy of the singer, Jeremy Stith (whose name is LITERALLY a consonant away from mine) was astounding, and I was sold immediately! I made sure to download their 2016 promo tape on my drive home and it got heavy rotation thereafter. I was already aware of the demo and the Kingdom Come 7” but the promo tape, with only two original songs, was already a huge step up performance wise and a hint of what was to come on their full length; but more on that later.

photo by nate zoeller

In February, I got to see one of my absolute favorite current hardcore bands: Boston Strangler and they did not disappoint. Primitive/ Outcast/ Forward to Hell/ Fire/ First Offense/ We Don’t Need/ Take Control/ Disconnect Me/ Overcrowded/ Violence Addicts/ BXS/ The Truth/ Slow Burn. I love that they are a hardcore band from Boston that sounds, well, like a HARDCORE BAND FROM BOSTON. I also really liked Give’s set at the show, and although their style seemed a bit out of place, their short and energetic set made me a fan and absolutely smoked any of their recorded output.

April brought me two shows in one night, Burn and 7 Seconds. Burn played at Gilman with Bane, and 7 seconds was headlining a show about a 45 minute drive away at Thee Parkside.  The last time I saw Burn was in NY at an incredible show in 1998, nearly 20 years ago and in another century. This 21st century set was on point, they have an inherent energy to their style and groove that packs so much punch, that it’s incredible. Out of Time/ Cleanse/ We Don’t Stand A Chance/ Godhead/ You Can’t Stop Me/ The Bait/ New Morality/ Disgraces/ Last Great Sea/ Tales Of Shatou/ Drown/ Decay/ …Shall Be Judged.  I grooved the whole set, in spite of myself. There are videos of the show on youtube, you’ll see me, I’m hard to miss. Right after Burn’s set and while I still had the adrenaline amped, I hopped into my car and sped over to the 7 Seconds gig. They were good, but the lower energy show was very noticeable after coming from a charged set.  I’ve seen 7 seconds sets of varying levels of quality over the past 25 years, and this was good, just not as good as some other shows I’d seen, but still way better than the fucking show I saw in Syracuse in ’95. 

The author looks at one of the few people at the gig in his age range

The author sings along

The last weekend in May, I made a mistake… and that mistake was called Punk Rock Bowling, a sweltering punk rock festival in a fucking parking lot in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was enticed to by promises of sets by my favorite current band, Night Birds, some of my all-time favorite bands, Dag Nasty and Excel, and bands I respect or like a record or two by: The Buzzcocks, The Descendents, Dillinger Four, and like a zillion others. The flight I got ended up arriving too late to see any of the Saturday shows, even a late night Voivod gig not affiliated with the festival that I was on the guest list for, but still did not make on time. I could write paragraph after paragraph about the no reentry policy or the small amount of shaded seating or how bad the Buzzcocks actually sounded, but let’s focus on why it makes my 2016 post.

poor photo the author took of Night Birds

Night Birds were absolutely stellar, a perfect setlist and flawless execution; I just wish it was a club show.  Dag Nasty Played around 7 pm the last day of the festival. They were the band I truly went to see. But, though their setlist was great, Values Here/ I've Heard/ Under Your Influence/ Can I Say/ Circles/ All Ages Show/ Cold Heart/ What Now/ Another Wrong/ Trying/ Safe/ Wanting Nothing/ One to Two/ Justification/ Ghost (swiz)/ Little Friend (minor threat)/ Fall/ Thin Line/ Never Go Back, the cold start of Values Here was a little rough and there were massive tuning issues. My favorite Dag Nasty song has slowly become All Ages Show over the past 15 years or so and hearing the entire song with a grossly out of tune bass was agonizing. But, it was  shortly after that that something clicked; Shawn Brown’s presence on stage is so genuine that by the time they found their groove a song or two later, I was completely sold. I was saying to friends after the set that I wanted to “give Shawn a hug” because I loved the set so much. Low and behold, about 45 minutes later, Shawn and his wife Michelle were walking by, and after a split second hesitation, I got my hug (as did my friends) and got to have a great chat with the two of them. Genuine on stage as well as off! Made the trip worth it, but I don’t think I’ll ever go to another outdoor festival again. Standing in a parking lot for 8 hours, regardless of the entertainment, is still standing in a parking lot for 8 hours.

the author and his friends meet Shawn Brown, all get hugs

I wrote extensively about the Faith No More show I saw over the summer, but I still have to say, I think about it often and am blown away that I got to experience it. I wear my new Introduce Yourself shirt often.

cool unplanned lighting effect, adding to the Fury. Photo by the author

A couple of weekends ago, I saw Praise and Fury play in Oakland. Praise were good and dropped their Egghunt cover in the center of their set, but I like their earlier 7” records best and wished I had seen them in that era. Fury were fucking incredible. I can’t write enough about how much I love that band. I’ve told friends that I feel they are the “real deal” and seeing them after their incredible lp Paramount has been released has not only increased their fan base, but also crowd participation. Jeremy Stith has just enough weirdo to make him a perfect front man. They blasted through the set in a packed 1234 Go! Records, Danse/ Thin Line/ Damage Done/ Duality of Man/ Richochet/ Reality Check/ Death Yellows Life and Reason/ In Extremis intro/ The Fury/ End is Nigh/ The Feeling. After their set, I was bummed to learn they had no shirts with them (luckily I had bought a hoodie last time I saw them) but I thought “fuck it” and bought a copy of Paramount on CD (yes, a CD) for my car.