Blacklisted @ Knitting Factory, NYC 6/8

Being alone at a hardcore show isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as I came to experience tonight after seeing Blacklisted, Ceremony, Life Long Tragedy, and Sabertooth Zombie in an early night performance at Knitting Factory in NYC. It went down at the club’s 200 capacity tap bar space. The audience was ready and pumped to witness the onslaught of these bands.

I missed the first band Condominium, but caught most of Sabertooth Zombie, whose brand of hardcore, surprisingly included a real rock n’ roll vibe with punk sounds to. Next was Life Long Tragedy where kids started jumping on each other, close to the foot high stage, hanging from the ceiling, two stepping, and shaking heads. It was with LLT where I saw the crowd really come alive. Ceremony came on motivating with its fast and short songs, causing me to move around and shake a bit at points during the intro and sweet bass parts. Blacklisted closed with a short, but energetic set, playing songs exclusively off their latest release, “Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God.”

I enjoyed watching the crowd get into it, screaming lyrics, and dancing around. I just wished the band would quickly flow from song to the next. I wanted to keep moving, but felt awkward when all of a sudden the music would stop and I had to get back into it again. But, it was great to finally experience a show at the tap bar for the first time. It was such a release. I needed this show.