Black N Blue Bowl 2015 May 16 and 17 at Webster Hall

On May 16 and 17 was the annual NYHC festival The Black n Blue Bowl. Black N Blue Bowl has been around since the 2000’s and each year it brings out the best of NYHC from the old school and the new school. Also features punk and hardcore bands from the rest of the country and around the world. This was my second year going and this year I went both days. Last year I only attended day 2 but this was awesome going both days. This year it took place in the Grand Ballroom of Webster Hall. Also there was no barricade which was great. What was interesting about this weekend is that there was a lot band either coming back to NYC in years or first since forever.                                                 Unfortunately I missed one band throughout the entire festival which was Mizery. I was very upset that I didn’t get to see this band. Mizery opened up day 1. I was very upset about this. Both days had a lot of get merch tables that made wish I could everything they could offer. There were Warzone and Leeway hoodies that looked awesome. Everybody Gets Hurt had merch for their other side project Terror Ave. Also for each band there was a screen behind the bands that would show their logos which was really cool.

Day 1

Since I missed Mizery, Booze & Glory were the first band of the festival for me. Booze & Glory are an Oi band from London, England. Obviously they were not a hardcore band but they sure had fans. There were probably about 20-25 people singing along to their material. The material was about working class and drinking but very catchy songs. They remind me of a lot of Cock Sparrer. Even though they were on the generic side I really enjoyed them and they were a good start for me during Black n Blue.

The next band was The Wilding Incident. They are a punk band from NYC featuring members of Crown of Thornz, Nausea, White Mandingos, and Maximum Penalty. The lead singer was Danny Diablo and I thought it was interesting that he would perform with this band rather than Crown of Thornz. This band was nothing special. They were okay and they got giant pit that only had 7 people in it. A lot of empty spaces for nothing and the music were mostly for circle pits.

Up next was Agents of Man. Agents of Man are from Irvington, New Jersey and this was their first show playing NYC since 2006. Agents of Man seemed more metalcore than hardcore. The reason behind that statement was the singer was doing harsh vocals or hardcore vocals and than the chorus would come and he was singing clean vocals. A lot of the older crowd from 25-35 years olds was into them a lot. I saw the members of Turnstile going off for them. The last song was the best because they got Eddie Leeway on stage to perform Leeway “Rise and Fall”. That pit opened and got very violent. It was very cool to see a Leeway song live and see how big of a reaction it got.

Rude Awakening was up next and this was my second time seeing them. This time I feel like they were a lot better even though I loved them. I saw them back in February on Long Island. Rude Awakening are part of the new scene that blowing up which is Merrimack Vally aka MVHC. RA got a very good reaction from the crowd. People were moshing and crowd surfing. They were the first band of the fest that I feel that had non stop crowd reactions. This band is a great live band and I hope this band goes far. If you haven’t seen this band you’re messing up.

EVERYBODY GETS HURT!!!!!!!!!!! There was a lot of violence during this band set. EGH are a NYHC band that formed in 1996. I never got a chance to really get in this band but I know that this band’s shows get violent. They aren’t a beatdown band but they brought a lot of violence. Very gang oriented. What was great they did a tribute to Lil’ Greg who played in this band and Terror Ave. They did two Terror Ave songs. One was “IDS Head Hunter” where everybody was beating each up to. This band was okay live. Very violent and it seemed like a gimmick to me. The songs I felt were nothing special just the breakdowns. What was also cool they had the lead singer of Alekhine’s Gun guest vocals some songs.

Up next is one of the flag holders of New Jersey hardcore, Suburban Scum. Suburban Scum is one of the top bands from New Jersey right now. This was my second time seeing them and I wasn’t impressed the first seeing them. I’m not a fan of their material when I’m listening to them but this second time seeing them I like them a lot more. I was really into the band this time around. Suburban Scum was very heavy and they got a great crowd reaction for them. Suburban Scum was very good this time and they made me become more of a fan. If you haven’t seen this band you’re missing out because New Jersey Hardcore exploding and they are leading the charge.

The legendary Earth Crisis was up next and most of their set was the album Destroy the Machine. They didn’t play the album entirely because of set times. It was also the 20^th anniversary of this album being released. This was my first seeing this band and they were on point. Earth Crisis is a vegan straight band from Syracuse, New York. This legendary band was so great and the crowd was going crazy for them. Earth Crisis is band that every hardcore fan should see especially if you’re straight edge. Earth Crisis was very good.

Before Turnstile they had American Eagle go on. The reason why I think this happen it because of a few reasons. One, I believe a band drop called Devil In me. Two, this band has not played in 25 years or something crazy like that. Three, this band wasn’t a hardcore band so the audience wasn’t going to get wild. American Eagle are a Oi band from NYC. They played like 5 or 6 songs. To be honest I think a lot of people didn’t care for them at all. The bathroom line had people rather than people watching the band. It was really randomly that they were there but I respect bands from the past. I don’t think they were an hidden gem from the past because they were very American Oi. The best Oi comes from England.

Turnstile was up and this groovy hardcore band got things going. This was my sixth time seeing them. Turnstile is a hardcore band from Baltimore/ D.C. and these guys are blowing up big time right now. Turnstile to me gets better and better each time I see them. This set probably won the award of having the most stage dives in the entire festival. Also of stage dives and also a lot of moshing. The best was the amount of people who took the mic to sing each song. This is why I love seeing Turnstile live because of how fun they are and how much they love the audience. They had a nine song set list and they only thing that disappointed me is that they didn’t play “New Rules” overall they played all of the other songs I wanted to hear.

Madball the guys who ruled the 90’s NYHC scene was up and started off with “Set it Off”. Madball are a NYHC band that brings the old school and new school together. This was my third time seeing this band and every time they are great. They played classics and new songs. I wish they had a longer set list but Madball was very good. Most of the set the songs were from Set it Off ,  Demonstrating My Style, and Hardcore Lives. This is pretty typical for them but still great time and love this band a lot. I can’t wait to see this band again.

The second to last band of the night was Candiria. This was their first official performances in over a decade. Candiria are a experimental hardcore band from Brooklyn, New York. They mix hardcore, metal, jazz, hip-hop, and ambient music. Candiria was very good. I thought I wasn’t going to like this band but they were on point. Even the crowd gave them such a response. The pit was very violent and people were going off left and right. This band was just non stop. Also probably the most unique band of the entire festival. This band kicked a lot of ass and I hope there are more shows with band. Actually while watching them live I hope next year Black N Blue has a day where it’s all Brooklyn bands like them, Biohazard, and Life of Agony. This band was great and I hope to see this band again. If they tour you don’t want to miss them.

The final band of the night was The Regulators are a cover band of the Bad Brains. The Regulators are the members of Bad Brains and Cro-Mags. The members are John Joseph, Mackie Jayson, Dr. Know, and Darryl Jenifer. Such a great performance this was. Hearing Bad Brains songs were amazing. The classics like “Attitude”, “DUB”, “Banned in DC”, and “At the Movies” were all so great live. The moshing was great and the stage diving was great. I actually got the last shirt with the Regulators on it. The Regulators by far where the best old school band of day 1. John Joseph who is the lead singer of the Cro-Mags sang each Bad Brains song so well. Everybody in the band were fanatic. I hope I can see this again because I love the Bad Brains and this was the closet thing to see this band. Overall Day 1 was great. Very violent moshing and there was a lot of booze but overall a great time for hardcore.

Day 2

Freedom was the opening of day 2 and they were a great start for a great day. This was my second time seeing them. Freedom is a straight edge band from Detroit, Michigan. It’s crazy seeing these guys in a hall in Long Island and now I’m seeing them at the main ballroom of Webster Hall. I probably saw them with the same amount of people in both place but still it was great. Freedom was on for maybe ten minutes or so. Incredible they were and I love this band there was a very good crowd response for this band. This band is going to get big and people better listen to this band. I totally recommend this band.    

The second band of day two was Heavy Chains. This was my second time seeing this band and I really don’t remember their performance back when I saw them back at Spring Mixtape 2014. Heavy Chains are from the Jersey shore and part of NJHC aka New Jersey hardcore. Heavy Chains was really good. Really good live band and there a lot of people who where into them. They got a good crowd response. The mosh game was very strong during this band especially for a band that second on the lineup. This band is very good got me into them more.

Bitter End was up next. Bitter End is a very heavy hardcore band from San Antonio, Texas. The main reason I wanted to see this band is because they are signed to Deathwish Inc. Deathwish Inc are the best underground record label in my opinion and all of the bands are amazing. At first people were going off for them but then it got pretty boring and this was the first time I felt bored watching a Deathwish band. The crowd didn’t pick until towards the last two songs and that’s when it got violent. I was little disappointed at the crowd and the fans during this set.

Wisdom in Chains was up next. This my second time seeing this band and I really enjoyed this band this time around. What I like about this band is that they seemed like an Oi but more Punk/hardcore. I feel they are like a heavier H2O. Wisdom in Chains is from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Wisdom in Chains had a great reaction from the crowd and people were really into them. There were a lot of stage dives for this band. The best thing from their set was when the lead singer Mad Joe Black dedicated a song to a person from Twitter calling Wisdom in Chains a Dad Rock band. That was the funniest thing in the world I thought but otherwise great set. They aren’t a heavy band but they have fun which is still better than beating people up during a song.

100 Demons a band I haven’t heard anything from since the 2000’s. It’s been forever since I listen to this band and boy this got crazy. This band was insane and very violent. 100 Demons are from Waterbury, Connecticut. It seems like Connecticut has the heaviest bands from hardcore that aren’t even “Beatdown” but 100 Demons brought that heaviness. I’m going to say they were the heaviest band of day two. The pit was huge for this band and really need to get into this band more seriously so heavy. I’m pretty sure I saw this band in a small club; the club would be shut down. If you’re into heavy hardcore bands see this band and support them.

Long Island’s own King Nine was up next. This was my fourth time seeing this band and they were very good with the crowd that was there. The pit was huge and I saw a lot of LIHC people aka Long Island Hardcore going off. My problem about King Nine is that I don’t care for their material when listening to them but I see them I love it. Maybe it’s just the way the material is recorded or mix. King Nine is great live and very heavy. This band is huge on the East Coast they did to be big seriously people you need to listen to their album Scared to Death. King Nine was very good probably the best band of the day until later on

Dave Smalley legendary punk rock singer was up next doing songs from Down by Law, All, and Dag Nasty. Dave Smalley was getting a good reaction from the crowd because the material was mostly from the 1980’s. For me I like seeing legendary acts that are punk rock because it will probably be my only time seeing most of these songs live. The best part about this set was he played DYS song “Wolfpack”. People were going off for that and so was I because DYS was the best out of all of Dave Smalley material. 

Up next was the most overrated hardcore of this generation. Expire are a hardcore band from the Midwest. This was my third time seeing this band and once again I was bored to death. Expire does have some good material but they are so overrated and a lot people make such a big deal of out them. The most entertaining think about this set was the pit. A lot of people like this band but the band does not do it for me. Expire is blowing up just like Turnstile but no matter what its still hardcore and people got to support hardcore bands.

Fury of Five the legendary New Jeresy Hardcore band aka NJHC were up next. I was pretty pumped to see this band because I was told people go crazy for this band. The pit opened up right off the bat. People going off and the band themselves were good. The only thing I didn’t like up this set was that the lead singer was trying really hard to look like Fred Durst and trying to scream like Rob Halford. The singer looked like 50 year old nu-metal singer and he was trying hard to sing like 1980’s lead singer with his screams. This was the only bad thing otherwise see this band and if you like to mosh, this is the perfect band to mosh to.

Rival Mob was next. Rival Mob is from Boston and they really got the crowd going. The First note people were going side to side. The Rival Mob was just fast and they really amped up that crowd.  I’m a fan of Rival Mob just because of how good they were. They played maybe 25 minutes or more it felt like 10 minutes because of how crazy it got. I want to see this band again but in a smaller venue. It really helped that there was no barricades because this band didn’t need it. Rival Mob should be on list of bands you have to see.

NYHC finest Sick of It All was next. This was my second time seeing band and I was really hyped to see them again. Sick of It All played a mix of old and new songs. Sick of It All were really on point and I love this band. They did a wall of death which I thought was great. The best part was when Lou Koller, lead singer, was talking about hardcore kids today don’t mosh during the fast parts and only mosh during the one Hatebreed riff. I thought that was funny because back then during the entire song people were moving and now people only mosh during the breakdown. Only thing that sucked was that they stop “Scratch the Surface” because some one got hurt and they didn’t finish the song. I was very mad about they didn’t finish the song but hopefully that person was alright. Otherwise SOIA is a great band to see live overall.

Crumbsucker the legendary crossover band from the 1980’s played their first show since their one off reunion at BB Kings back in 2006. Crumbsuckers are a very much underrated thrash/crossover band because of their more hardcore elements. The Crowd was somewhat into them and people were going off. I just feel that a lot of people just wanted to see Burn and leave already. I notice a lot of people were trying to chill because it was a long day and a long weekend. The Crumbsuckers were good overall.

The final band of the festival was BURN. Burn has not played a show in years and only has about 3 E.Ps to there name. BURN was something else. They were really good and a lot of people were there celebrating the fact of their return. By far the best performances of day two and people were stage diving like crazy. I have nothing bad to say about this set because they were amazing and a lot of people really wanted to see this band. It seemed like 75% of the crowd were singing along, moshing, and stage diving. BURN should just come back and play shows because the set was fantastic. Overall this was a great way to end this day and to end this fest.

I have to say going to both day of the Black n Blue Bowl was tiring but I survived and enjoyed every second of it. Comparing to the last year I think last year was great because I finally saw Hatebreed and Agnostic Front. It was also seeing legends walking around the fest including Lars Frederiksen from Rancid. This year it was more about reunion I felt and enjoying the newer band. One thing that was cool was seeing bands from everywhere who weren’t playing just hanging. Some of the bands were new and old like Stigmata, Regulate, Incendiary, Murphy’s Law, Numbskull, Backtrack, They All Float, Commonwealth, Line of Scrimmage, Vice, Impact, No One Rules, etc. I had a great time this year and I hope I’m able to go again next year. HARDCORE STILL LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!

The Regulators- 10/10

Candiria- 10/10

Madball- 9.5/10

Turnstile- 9.75/10

Earth Crisis- 9/10

Suburban Scum- 8.5/10

Everybody Gets Hurt- 8/10

Rude Awaking- 9/10

Agents of Man- 7.75/10

The Wilding Incident- 7/10

Booze & Glory- 8/10

Day 1- 9/10

BURN- 10/10

Crumbsuckers- 8/10

Sick of It All- 9/10

The Rival Mob- 9/10

Fury of Five- 8.5/10

Expire- 7.5/10

Dave Smalley- 8/10

King Nine- 9/10

100 Demons- 8.75/10

Wisdom In Chains- 8.5/10

Bitter End- 7.75/10

Heavy Chains- 8/10

Freedom- 10/10

Day 2- 9/10

Webster Hall- 9/10