Haven't been doing as much posting as I would have liked in the past couple weeks, leading me up to the decision I made the other day to do one final post. Lack of time and other internet-related diversions have made me feel like I didn't have as much to put up in the past. If you want to keep up, there's the typical locations to do so:
Pulling two of my favorite videos from past posts to repost. They pretty much sum things up for me a lot better than trying to post some embarassing wrap up of my thoughts.
First up: It's been posted before, but let's face it, it might be my favorite footage of all time, the final mosh from CBs. Different camera angle and the full set as opposed to the final intro video that just has, well, you guessed it, the intro and horrible sound.
The second is one is of my favorite surfers charging, Tyler Hatzikian. Not much chance of making it but still pulls in. The chances of me ever taking on anything remotely that big is slim, but makes you want to go for it.
If this blog is anything like the final mosh, there may be a few posts down the road in the future anyway.
Browsing through Vimeo on a lazy Sunday, I stumbled across two Floorpunch videos I haven't seen in there entirety before. Figured I'd post 'em up:
There's a clip of this one on youtube, but this is the first I've seen the full set. It was from The Gate in Stroudsburg, PA and FP played with Atari, Rain on the Parade, Rancor, Hands Tied, Purpose and Saves the Day I think.
This set is from the Superbowl of Hardcore in DC if memory serves. Agnostic Front and Warzone were two of the other bands on the bill, but there were more:
Some video from one of the Floorpunch shows from the Japanese Tour. Singalongs by the crowd= D- with crowd participation F-. I think there is one stagedive total. There are some great techniques by the audience to fake their way through the songs and to make up for the lack of enthusiasm:
A) Move your mouth to make it appear you know the words B) Drum on your chest C) Bob your head deeply and never look up D) Don't make eye contact with Porter E) Look behind you to see if others know the words
I may have missed some. Outburst intro into Rise and Fall into is in there too. Wish I could have been at these in person, but job, money and other first world problems.
Two Floorpunch must haves in the digital age for download below If you're a fan, they are required listening....you guessed it...no expections. First up, Floorpunch's Fast Times at the Jersey Shore rehearsal demo. There was talk of this being made into an LP, but I am pretty sure the originals are lost making it impossible to press the record and it won't be happening. It's a shame because I love the sound of this demo, despite the shitty recording.
Next up, the Floorpunch live set from Obsessions in Randolph NJ in 1996. This recording is probably my favorite recorded live set of theirs. No offense to Euros, but the crowds just don't shut the fuck up saying stupid shit in some of the older live FP sets from Europe that are floating around. The only one that should be talking is Porter. I like this set because there is minimal crowd comments and Porter's stage banter is at its best. On top of a good short live set, it includes two of the greatest lines of all time: "Let's go you fucking homos!" during the Intro into Changes and "I wanna hear homeboys go crazy for this one...IT'S A FUCKING COVER!!!" into Last Warning. The placement of those quotes right before both songs triple your stoke. Trust me. The only blemish would be the weird echo in the vocals, but the songs and banter more than make up for it. FLOORPUNCH: LIVE @ OBSESSIONS '96
If there are any other live sets floating around besides the usual suspects (Euro sets, CBs, Fieldsboro), hit me up. I would love to get MP3s of the SFU Showcase or any other of the more recent shows Floorpunch has played.
Saturday was Floorpunch's final show at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, PA. Well, final US show was how it was billed. I thought the word "US" getting thrown in was kind of odd, maybe hinting at some more shows abroad; but I don't care either way. Porter even joked about playing Canada next week leaving the crowd looking around laughing, but I'm sure some were thinking, "Is he serious?". If they want to have 20 final shows, go ahead, because frankly, I'd go see them once a week if I could. Call 'em all your final show, as long as you play all the songs on the demo.
It was a million degrees outside the church and the show had been incredibly hot inside. Despite the terrible outside temperature, as you entered the basement of the church, it was like walking into a wall of heat (Killing Time, anyone?), 100 times worse than outdoors. Without moving and just standing there with my arms folded, watching a couple bands, I could feel the sweat pouring off of me. I couldn't imagine what actually moving around for Floorpunch's set would be like, but there wasn't really a choice, I guess. So sing-a-long and sweat it was gonna be.
Once everybody had arrived from the traffic nightmares north of Philly, Porter gave a couple quick thank-yous and they broke into Warzone's "Intro/Bust", which I was completely stoked on, and apparently the crowd was,too. Even with the time constraints and the obnoxious temperature in the basement of the Church, it was a quality set. I dug the order of things, mainly because it didn't follow the same format of the last two times I saw them, which kept things fresh while still hearing all the jams. All the usual tunes were played and a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure. A girl came out of the crowd to sing "Wall of Hate" by Killing Time and she brought it; a really good job on her part. Geoff was also called out to do Agnostic Front's "Last Warning", and destroyed, upping the intensity of his last AF performance at the Stelton, which was out of control good. Getting to hear KT, AF and Warzone along with the Floorpunch songs was just incredibly awesome.
Other highlights for myself were, of course "My Path" into "Intro/Changes", "Blondie" & "Let It Ride" including the other jams, like "Always", etc. They closed with "Let It Ride" which always has a special place for me living so close to AC. Besides the insanely good setlist was Porter's stage banter filled with the usual good one-liners. One of my favorites: "Then he started listening to weird stuff...like Lifetime." Hilarious stuff.
Towards the end, it was full on, VH1 Storytellers, Floorpunch style, with Porter explaining the details behind the Earth Crisis beef, the Rick-Ta-Life beef and explaining to one young man in the crowd the truth behind the yogurt at the Middlesex show back in the 90s. Even though it was super hot, the crowd was into it, diving, finger-pointing and getting a quick mosh in on the breakdowns. There were lots of familiar faces all up front singing along from the start to finish of the set. The stage dives were much improved over the Rival Mob's set, where it appeared that kids were going to split their skulls or shatter a bone at any moment. The mosh was brought early, but by the end of the set, the heat had taken its toll, leaving most moshers exhausted, but still trying to give it a go.
Never before have I left a show with my shirt and pants completely soaked, but walking out of the Church, sweat was dripping from my clothes. It was a great set to end on even with it being 1,000 degrees and all the headaches of getting everyone playing the show there and then getting everyone off the stage in time for the next church function. For as satisfied as I was with the final, final, final mosh, I can say I woke up the next day with a footprint on my shoulder, a sore body and wishing that there'd be another show in the next couple months, preferably at the Jersey Shore.
As far as this being the last show, it's easy to argue that it's not their last. Since the final mosh at CB's there's been a handful of different line-ups and a couple of reunion gigs in a variety of spots. Based on the amount of merch at the FP table, it seemed like a whole lot for one show. The longsleeves had the 6/26/10 date on them,indicating this was it; but there were a whole lot of zip ups in different colorways, which was kind of odd for one final summer show. Not that merch is any indication of a band's intentions, but by now, people seem to think it won't be their last. I've got no complaints either way. If they're done, so be it. If another show pops up in a couple years, months or weeks, I can't say that I'd be upset about it. I'd only be upset if I couldn't go.
Post Floorpunch show hangover. I can't remember the last show that I enjoyed that much start to finish. I originally was going to skip the detailed show review, but what the hell, it was the last stateside show:
First off, easy drive. It was a lot closer to the south Jersey Shore than I expected and made it there before the doors opened. The Stelton Church was a great venue. Parking was easy, reentry made it a super easy show. I stocked up on my merch ahead of time for hands free sing-a-longs later. Stoked on the FP longsleeve and American Nightmare rip sweat shirt. Got some Get Real shirts too. Shows are about more than merch and posing for the photographers so on with the bands...
Staring Problem had a really good sound that reminded me of Annihilation Time or Black Flag. Not sure what I thought of the vocals, but I may have to pick up a record of their and see how it compares. Was planning on grabbing one after the show, but didn't get a chance.
Next up was Mind Eraser who never fails to disappoint. Brotherhood cover, guest vocalist from Step Forward, and they closed with my favorite side of the Conscious/Unconscious LP. Heaviness, heaviness, blast, heavy, blast. Best quote from DFJ: This is our last song, don't get too excited because its a nine minute song. Or something like that.
The surprise guest came up next, Invasion aka Righteous Jams and tore through a couple songs. Definitely a good set, although I thought it was funny to watch the kids walk around the Stelton Church like Zombies following the box of Invasion Merch.
To be honest, I was so pysched on seeing Get Real. I play the shit out that LP all the time and could not wait to see them live. Opening quote from JR: "You guys have seen this show Jersey Shore right? That's not the Jersey Shore, this is the fucking Jersey Shore!!!" and with that, busted straight into "We Gotta Know". It was insane. At first the crowd was a little stunned, but once they figured out what was going on, the stage rush was on. Kids were diving off everything, including the stacks, etc. The played a great set that was about 50/50 Cro-Mags covers and their best stuff. Definitely a highlight of the evening.
Bracewar was up next and I had never really paid much attention to their stuff previously, but they definitely won me over. Hard as hell, I really dug what they played and will be listening to their releases a lot more now that I have seen them. It's nice to get pleasantly surprised by bands rather than let down. The kids danced fucking hard for them too.
Down to Nothing were up and I was fine with watching them, but can't say I gave their record more than a spin or two before the show. Following their set, I have been playing it ever since. They opened with a hip-hop track and then blasted right into their first song and the place went off. Kids were going nuts. Case in point: I was standing midway through the church near the wall and had a kid land on my head! That's how crazy kids were going off. Unfortunately, the guitarist's cab blew and that's when the game began in which the Lick Heard 'Round Hardcore occurred. If you need further clarification, head to the Bridge 9 messageboard. After a bit of a slow spell, DTN was back at it and like I said, definitely won me over with their performance. Sooo good. Pretty sure I saw a kid do a front flip off of one of the stacks during this set, but I could be wrong.
As Floorpunch was getting set up, I headed up to the front before things got started. The stage itself was packed with family, friends, distant friends and even Porter's daughter. Porter's final announcement was to "fuck this place up" and as usual, the place exploded upon the first song with kids alternating between huge singalongs and mosh parts. As the set went on I crept up closer and closer, finally getting in some good singalongs to the Agnostic Front cover, Let it Ride and the closer, "Blondie" aka "Jersey Shore" aka "Gonna Get Yours". I was proud of the fact that I was the only one who clapped when he announced they were playing "Blondie" since most people didn't know the song by that name. The set was about thirty five minutes, but went by in a blink and honestly, it was an incredible set. Even the attempt at covering "Ready to Fight" was a ton of fun. Dives were a plenty and got wilder and wilder the further into the set things got. In the end, it was a incredible show from start to finish. With no set list, Floorpunch did not disappoint, although I'm sure there are some skeptics as far as this being their last show in the states. If it wasn't I can't say that I would disappointed, seeing as they are one of the few bands out there that makes me want to go up front and sing-a-long until my lungs are sore.
Here's the wristband and the card I snagged that was thrown out at the start of "Let It Ride". Glad Atlantic City was represented. Discovered this blood on my shoe after the show. It's not mine: Here's the full set from the show:
Tomorrow is the final, final mosh, so get stoked. No snow in the forecast so its fully on. Representing the south jersey shore up in Edison tomorrow at the Floorpunch finale.
In keeping with Floorpunch summer, I decided to redo the fin on my noserider in honor of one of my all time favorites. Started with a plain, white fin and using a few paint markers, ended up with the results below:
For some weird reason, the glare makes the hooded guy look like he has a smile, but he doesn't. I'm pretty stoked on how they turned out and am looking forward to getting that board out in the water again.
The tattoo belongs to Klint from Reign Supreme and although I do not know him personally, I do admire his choice of ink for himself. The words are lyrics to my favorite Floorpunch song "clear", and the praying hands with Xs just make me laugh. Classic work.
There is a contest going on right now where you can vote for this tatttoo for a radio station and win a hundred bucks in the process. Klint is up against some stiff competition in a sea people who clearly lack good judgment with their 311, Dave Matthews Band and Avenged Sevenfold tattoos.
Since I headed to the Lehigh Valley this weekend, I made the pilgrimage again to Double Decker. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: hands down the best record store on the East Coast. I spent a solid hour digging through piles, stacks and crates of records found inside Double Decker. I didn't go in with the plan to pick up much, but ended up finding a bunch of stuff I wanted including a copy of Chain of Strength's True 'Til Death seven inch in my purchases. It never ceases to amaze what records are instore or just passed through the crates of DD. Not only did I get to check out an Agnostic Front United Blood ep and a Minor Threat In My Eyes seven inch(in the picture below), but Jamie had told me that he just sold the Antidote seven inch just as quickly as it came in. The price tag for just those three records alone was $1,000 dollars easily (AF- $400, MT- $200, Antidote- $400). Needless to say, a photograph of those two records was all I could afford. Thanks to Jamie for letting me take the picture.
A shot of Atlantic City from last night. Somehow, in what was supposed to be dinner down the street, ended up with us in AC. Insert "Let it Ride" reference right here. I went to bed last night with crossed fingers, hoping that things would be decent enough this morning to warrant paddling out finally for my first session of the New Year. It is pretty pathetic that there are almost two full weeks of 2009 in and I am just getting in the water today. Anyway, here is a shot from the beach this morning toward the south end of Ocean City. About waist high, very clean and very windy. It was a lot of fun, but within the hour, the wind had beaten it down and it was in the process of becoming flat. Luckily, I was able to take advantage of the small swell window and get some fun ones.
Haven't been doing as much posting as I would have liked in the past couple weeks, leading me up to the decision I made the other day to do one final post. Lack of time and other internet-related diversions have made me feel like I didn't have as much to put up in the past. If you want to keep up, there's the typical locations to do so:
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