War Elephants, My Heart To Joy, Maneuvers, and Transit - 242 Main - 3/14

We went to see Maneuvers again, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the other bands were excellent as well.

The show started with War Elephants, a young instrumental band from Enosberg Falls that plays progressive music. They played a pretty solid set. They are good with meter changes, the drummer in particular.

Next up was My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone, from Kensington, Connecticut. They play music in the style of classic emo or screamo, and they can certainly do that well. They brought a ridiculous amount of amps, and rocked everybody's faces off for a while. Their closing song was really intense.

Maneuvers came next, and they played an awesome set as usual. This time, they brought out a couple of new songs, which are going to be on the upcoming full-length they are working on. Two of these songs, "Black Horse Pike" and "Mare Oceanum" are on their Myspace, so check them out.

I didn't get to see Transit, unfortunately. They are a Massachusetts independent hardcore band, and they sound a bit like Braid or Lifetime. If you're at all into that, check them out, they're pretty skilled.

So, another day, another great concert at 242 Main. Be on the watch for more good music.


War Elephants
My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone
Maneuvers
Transit

Cccome?, Maneuvers, and Amadis - 242 main - 1/28

We've mentioned Maneuvers and Amadis before, but not cccome?. We had run across them in our spidery interweb music quests, but the mp3s we found were lackluster and didn't seem promising.
Enter the live show.
The mandolin player cranked the gain and just shredded it to bits, with RATM style riffs interspersed between solos. One of the coolest, most original things I've seen here.
The vocalist used his voice like an instrument and his harmonica like a voice. He had a great stage presence too, like he was playing from another world.

Act 2 was the Maneuvers. They put on a stunning display of alt-punk power. Their songs have a complexity that breathes new life into their style, but remain incredibly catchy.
I purchased their new EP and highly recommend it, but definitely go see these guys play if you can- the recordings just cant capture the energy I saw last week.

Amadis played like it was the 70's all over again. Leather, shredding, and flying v's...
I wasn't able to attend their entire set, but what I did see was full metal. I gotta say, Vermont having an old school metal band is pretty awesome.

Myspaces-
Amadis
Cccome?
Maneuvers

Combatwoundedveteran

Combatwoundedveteran was an experimental hardcore band. They condense breakneck tempos, buzzing guitars, and the throat-destroying screams of two vocalists into a wall of intense noise. And they do this all in under two minutes per song. They broke up in 2003.

Recommended Albums:
This Is Not An Erect, All-Red Neon Body

CWV on No Idea Records
Official Myspace
CWV live
More CWV live

Wow, Owls!

Wow, Owls! was a Virginia screamo band. They were signed to Perpetual Motion Machine, who have some other good hardcore bands (La Quiete, Life At These Speeds, CTTS). They went from just being a fledgling local Richmond, VA band in 2003, to a tour of Europe 2.5 years later in 2006. They had some troubles with debt, and decided to call it quits after three final shows. 3 of the ex-members are now in a new band, Mouthbreather.

Recommended Albums:
Pick Your Patterns
Wow, Owls!/The Setup split

Official Myspace
Wow, Owls! live

Bad Brains

Bad Brains is a Washington, DC punk band, and one of the really influential bands in early hardcore. They started off as a fusion band, but got into punk rock. They threw their considerable musical talents into the mix, and produced their own style of intense and complex punk. They could also play reggae, and included some reggae influence on most of their albums. They had some metal influence on some of their stuff as well. They have broken up and got back together again multiple times, and they are currently back together with their original lineup, and have produced a new album.

Recommended Albums:
Bad Brains
I Against I

Official Website
Official Myspace
Their Epitonic Page
Pay to Cum live at CBGB
Big Take Over live at CBGB

Circle Takes The Square

Circle Takes The Square is a modern screamo band. They use rather technical song structures to back up their intensity, with complex guitar, bass, and drum parts. They also use a very cool male/female dual vocalist style, and intricate lyrics. They work with Robotic Empire, who have some other good stuff out.
CTTS came to 242 Main over the summer, but I missed it. Hopefully they'll pay us another visit in the future.

Recommended Albums:
s/t
As The Roots Undo

Official Website
Official Myspace
CTTS live
More CTTS live

Romans

Romans is a Vermont metalcore band. They incoroporate post-metal influences from bands like Pelican or Isis, and some mathcore. They've produced their first album themselves. They've been gaining a lot of notice in the VT scene lately, so you might want to be watching them.

Recommended Albums:
All Those Wrists

Official Myspace
Romans live

Limp Wrist

Limp Wrist is a queercore band featuring ex-members of many other hardcore bands, in particular, Martin Sorrondeguy, founder of Lengua Armada Discos and ex-member of Los Crudos. They claim to "put the "core" back in "queercore." Personally, I'd say they do a damn good job at it. Homophobes, take notice: Limp Wrist are here, queer, and fuckin' hardcore!

Recommended Albums:
Limp Wrist - The Official Discography


Official Website
Official Myspace
A live set

The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escap Plan is a rather influential mathcore band. They are on the excellent Relapse Records. Their sound has changed over their career, moving away from their more straight-up mathy hardcore sound, and incorporating more eclectic influences. This has produced mixed results. Their line-up has changed even more than their sound, with guitarist Ben Weinman as the only original member left. At their best, they create uncompromising and intelligent music.

Recommended Albums:
Calculating Infinity
Ire Works

Official Myspace
Their page on Relapse
43% Burnt live
Sugar Coated Sour live

Antioch Arrow

Antioch Arrow was one of the early screamo bands. They were on the legendary, and absurdly awesome, Gravity Records. Their music is played at high speed, and mixes melody and noisy atonality. Their vocalist, Aaron, is cool, with his excellent control of dynamics. Their live performances were ridiculous. It's hard to explain, just watch the videos and you'll see. They broke up in 1994.

Recommended Albums:
The Lady Is A Cat
In Love With Jetts

Official Myspace
Their Epitonic Page
Antioch Arrow live
More Antioch Arrow live
Sorry about the abysmal sound quality on the videos.

Orchid

Orchid was a late-90's screamo band from Amherst, MA. They worked with the awesome Ebullition Records quite a bit. Their albums are somewhat obscure and hard to find (they were originally released on vinyl), but they are certainly worth it. Their music is absurdly, incredibly energetic, with breakneck speed and throat-destroying screams. And you absolutely must see the video of their live performance. It is intense.

Recommended Albums:
Chaos Is Me
Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow
Totality - This was released on Will's label Clean Plate

Fan Myspace
An mp3 on Clean Plate
The full video of their last show - seriously, watch this. it's a good candidate for Best Video on Youtube Ever.

Song of Zarathustra

Song of Zarathustra is a hardcore band that formed in 1997. Aside from their radical music, odd meters, and intense vocals, they used keyboards and electronics to supplement their sound. Their chaotic, cathartic brand of noise is definitely worth a listen, if you're into this genre. From what I've seen, their live stuff is even better than their recorded stuff. It's got a more raw, real sound. I believe they've broken up though, and I've found it difficult to find live footage or recordings. If you have any info, I'd be glad to hear it.

Recommended Albums:
The Birth of Tragedy

Myspace
Some pictures of a live performance
Their Epitonic page
Some mp3s are available on Troubleman (who rock)
With Hands That Bleed live

My Revenge!

My Revenge! is a Burlington, VT punk band. They've been around since 2001, releasing hardcore in a pretty traditional style. They remind me a bit of Minor Threat and Agnostic Front. Their lyrics are often about skateboarding, gay rights, and fighting against intolerance. They are playing a final show on April 5, 2008. If you're in the Burlington area then, I recommend you go see them. It will be worth your time, and it's the last chance you'll get to experience it.
Hopefully, I shall be there.


Recommended Albums:
Any of them.

Official Myspace
Their page at Thorp Records
My Revenge live (sorry about shitty sound quality...)

Aus-Rotten

Aus-Rotten was a classic crust punk band. Their anarchist politics and excellent lyrics are as good as the music itself. Their primary topic was politics, and they covered it damn well. They officially broke up in 2001, but its members have gone on to participate in other bands in the Pennsylvania punk scene.

Recommended Albums:
Not One Single Fucking Hit Discography contains the majority of their music.

Myspace
Some free mp3s are available from Havoc Records (who rock, by the way)
Aus-Rotten live

From The Ground Up

From The Ground Up is a melodic hardcore band based in Burlington, Vermont. They sound a bit like Bane, Kid Dynamite, or Turning Point. They did a lot of their recording at Strangeways Recording back before it relocated from Burlington to Providence, RI. The very cool Mike Poorman and Daryl Rabidoux worked on their records. They've got an album, "Words Can't Explain," out on Round 2 Records. There should be a new self-titled album coming out on Stop Whining Start Winning soon.

Recommended Albums:
Words Can't Explain

Official Website
Official Myspace
Greater Good live

Envy

Envy is one of the most famous Japanese hardcore bands. Their sounds can be compared to classic screamo bands such as Orchid, Yaphet Kotto, or Heroin. They tour internationally, and they have quite a few fans even outside Japan, with good reason. Their music is intense and earnest, with contrast between calm instrumentals and hardcore outbursts. If you like this general style of hardcore, Envy are a very good example of it, and definitely worth a listen.

Recommended Albums:
A Dead Sinking Story
Insomniac Doze

Official Website
Official Myspace
Some free MP3s from Temporary Residence Limited
Chain Wandering Deeply live
Scene live

chainsaws.and.children

chainsaws.and.children is a self-described "guitar heavy electrocore band" based in Vermont. Their music is a pretty brutal midpoint between hardcore and industrial. Unfortunately, they've been on "indefinite hiatus" since 2004. It's also difficult to find much by them online, since the mp3s on Big Heavy World's website aren't all working.

Recommended Albums:
.daca.
It will be hard to find, but it's worth it if you like industrial. It should be on Amazon, if you want it.

Official Website

Unrestrained

Unrestrained is a fuckin' awesome hardcore band from my local Burlington, VT. They are composed of veterans of such other bands as My Revenge!, Spies in America, Dog Days, and others. I'll let the music speak for me here.

Official Myspace
Unrestrained Live
More Unrestrained Live


Like it? Support the Vermont music scene and buy their CD "Appleseeds." While you're at it, see one of their frequent shows if you're in the local area.

Vocalist Ryan also works for a certain Vermont music organization by the name of Big Heavy World. Take notice of this, because I'm probably going to mention BHW at every opportunity.

Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson was one of the classics of the thrashcore/powerviolence scene, and they're fucking amazing. They play ultra-fast, ultra-short lofi hardcore. There are quite a few movie samples incorporated into their music. Almost none of their songs are over 1:30. Sadly, I won't get the chance to see them live, since they've broken up. But from the videos here, you can get a little idea of what it was like.

Recommended Albums:
Complete Discocrappy has all their songs. Get it.

"Marriage Can Suck It"
Charles Bronson on Myspace
Youth Attack Live
More Live Charles Bronson