Shape Shifter

My favorite set from this weekend wasn't at This is Hardcore. Hardcore's version of Old Country Buffet was really good (unlike OCB) and completely worth the money shelled out, but the Ox show surpassed the other sets I caught at the Starlite by far. And don't take the fact that this was the highlight of my summer as an indication that I had a shitty summer. It was actually a really good one. Take it for just how fucking great this sounded live and in person. Most scenesters with a basic hardcore background know that Sean McCabe was Ink & Dagger and initially looked at the shows with some skepticism, but in the end, the whole thing seemed like a pretty fitting tribute. Despite all the baggage/backstory/justifications that go with explaining why this was ok, it felt pretty right as the band ripped through both seven inches a couple songs off of "Fine Art".

It would have been great to catch all 3 sets, but out of the trio of shows they played this weekend, a warehouse show on Friday the 13th with very little advertising, felt like the best fit to me. While I'm sure the set at TIHC was equally impressive, I was more concerned about the collection of boners, meatheads and doofuses that wouldn't "get" what was going on and put a damper on things. The dust hasn't had a chance to settle on the weekend, but all of the Ink & Dagger comments I've heard in 2010, remind me of the same comments that would follow them back in the late 90s. You either get it, or don't understand it. Whatever. That's the way it was in the beginning and the way it will continue to be.