No Turning Back, Gama Bomb, Agnostic Front, Biohazard - Worth going at least!
sábado, novembro 28, 2009
quarta-feira, novembro 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 17
When you really miss something, you are willing to make an extra effort, and also pay some extra money, to have it. That’s how it was last week. Maastricht is not exactly the place where you can find good hardcore shows, and so if you want to attend one you have to catch the train and travel for some hours. In this case 3 hours were enough to get me to Rotterdam! Portuguese bands were playing in a European tour and as always all the support was welcome. Broken Distance, Pressure, Critical Point and two other dutch bands joined together at the Watt, which is a very nice venue by the way, to give us a very pleasant evening. Regarding the Portuguese bands, I gotta say that it is really amazing how 6 guys can so easily switch places and create a different band, most of the times with different feelings.
On contrary to what I’m used, the shows started on time, and so I only saw one song from Critical Point. What I heard sounded very good. To see Rafael taking over the microphone was something new for me, but guess what, it looks like he can do a pretty good job as vocals. Good luck with this new project guys.
It was time for Pressure to come up to the stage. I had only seen this band playing once in Lisbon, and I was quite curious to see them again. As expected, it was a quick set with all the feeling a straight edge band should have. Fast songs full of energy, and always with a message behind the lyrics. The venue wasn’t full, and the crowd was far from being warmed up, but still it was very nice to see this band again. It’s impossible not to like Diogo’s energy on stage, even though his voice was not in one of its best days. Plus, the t-shirt I ordered along with their tape got too short, and so it was a good excuse to buy a new one and support the band.
The guys from Algarve needed some rest, and so it was time to hear some new stuff from bands that I never heard of. The first band to play was Birds of a Feather. It seems like there was some kind of problem with the vocals of the band, and so the front man of the next band – State of Affairs – took over his place. Yes, it was a crappy situation, but it was a nice example of what Hardcore is all about, friendship, unity, and “kids” doing their best to make the most out of every moment. Not everyone would take over another vocals place, but the guy did it, and he did quite a good job. You could tell that he didn’t know all the lyrics by heart, so most of the times you would look at him and see the guy on his knees going through the lyrics. Apart from that, it was a fun show and the crowd also seemed to have liked it. By the way, Dutch guys, you should really move more when you are at a show. The whole situation changed when it came the time of State of Affairs. Once again, a very nice show that finally made the crowd move a little. The best moment was clearly a cover they played, which I didn’t recognize, but if I would have to guess, probably something from Carry On. The best show was still yet to come.
Now that some strength had been recovered, Broken Distance came to the stage. I’m a suspect here because I really like the band, but it was probably the best show of the night. It was time for the 5 Portuguese guys in the crowd to go wild ahah (big up to Nuno and the rest of the Step Back! crew who also helped to turn this night into an amazing one). It was already late, and since it was a Tuesday, some people left before the show began. Still, there were enough people in the room to bring the party on. Hourglass seems to be an album quite successful among European people, which doesn’t surprise me at all, and so everybody looked like they were having fun. The best moment of the show clearly goes to the Cro-Mags cover. “Don’t tread on me” was known by most of the audience, and so it was really cool to see people coming to the front to sing on the mic. I wish I could be in Portugal by the end of this tour, I’m sure the last show is going to be amazing.
At the end of the party, we wished good luck for the rest of the tour, we took some pictures with the bands, and we all went home with a big smile in our faces. Once again, thank you Nuno for giving me a place to stay during the night.
It really was a tasteful night. Most of all, it tasted like home…
On contrary to what I’m used, the shows started on time, and so I only saw one song from Critical Point. What I heard sounded very good. To see Rafael taking over the microphone was something new for me, but guess what, it looks like he can do a pretty good job as vocals. Good luck with this new project guys.
It was time for Pressure to come up to the stage. I had only seen this band playing once in Lisbon, and I was quite curious to see them again. As expected, it was a quick set with all the feeling a straight edge band should have. Fast songs full of energy, and always with a message behind the lyrics. The venue wasn’t full, and the crowd was far from being warmed up, but still it was very nice to see this band again. It’s impossible not to like Diogo’s energy on stage, even though his voice was not in one of its best days. Plus, the t-shirt I ordered along with their tape got too short, and so it was a good excuse to buy a new one and support the band.
The guys from Algarve needed some rest, and so it was time to hear some new stuff from bands that I never heard of. The first band to play was Birds of a Feather. It seems like there was some kind of problem with the vocals of the band, and so the front man of the next band – State of Affairs – took over his place. Yes, it was a crappy situation, but it was a nice example of what Hardcore is all about, friendship, unity, and “kids” doing their best to make the most out of every moment. Not everyone would take over another vocals place, but the guy did it, and he did quite a good job. You could tell that he didn’t know all the lyrics by heart, so most of the times you would look at him and see the guy on his knees going through the lyrics. Apart from that, it was a fun show and the crowd also seemed to have liked it. By the way, Dutch guys, you should really move more when you are at a show. The whole situation changed when it came the time of State of Affairs. Once again, a very nice show that finally made the crowd move a little. The best moment was clearly a cover they played, which I didn’t recognize, but if I would have to guess, probably something from Carry On. The best show was still yet to come.
Now that some strength had been recovered, Broken Distance came to the stage. I’m a suspect here because I really like the band, but it was probably the best show of the night. It was time for the 5 Portuguese guys in the crowd to go wild ahah (big up to Nuno and the rest of the Step Back! crew who also helped to turn this night into an amazing one). It was already late, and since it was a Tuesday, some people left before the show began. Still, there were enough people in the room to bring the party on. Hourglass seems to be an album quite successful among European people, which doesn’t surprise me at all, and so everybody looked like they were having fun. The best moment of the show clearly goes to the Cro-Mags cover. “Don’t tread on me” was known by most of the audience, and so it was really cool to see people coming to the front to sing on the mic. I wish I could be in Portugal by the end of this tour, I’m sure the last show is going to be amazing.
At the end of the party, we wished good luck for the rest of the tour, we took some pictures with the bands, and we all went home with a big smile in our faces. Once again, thank you Nuno for giving me a place to stay during the night.
It really was a tasteful night. Most of all, it tasted like home…
quarta-feira, novembro 18, 2009
Update
Been a while uh guys… I know, the insane amount of work I have is not a good excuse for not posting anything, but oh well I guess everybody has the right of being lazy.
In a brief update of the situation here in Maastricht, I can say that my first block is over and I passed both the courses. The exams were tough, but somehow I managed to pass both them, and even though the grades were not that great, I’m still on my way to good average in the end of this thing.
Once the exams were finished, my girl came to Maastricht and stayed here for almost one week. Damn I missed her, and against all the problems that the distance creates we were able to have a really good time. We walked around the city, we rode our bikes all over Maastricht, we went to the most expensive Cinema in the world (I guess Dutch people really value this thing), we watched some good movies as like when we are at home, we went shopping to the centre, and we had some fun with the people that live with me. No need to say how much I miss her already.
Then the second block started. Two good courses, being Retailing and Distribution a very nice surprise, as it is one of the most interesting topics I’ve studied here (if the course coordinator could take away all the fucking statistics from the course it would be better though).
Oh right I forgot, 2 weeks ago, we threw a huge house party in our place. Can u picture those parties in American Pie? It was something like that. Ok, maybe we didn’t have the best balance between boys and girls here, but still, it was huge. Picture a place where you can fit 50 to 60 people, and then more than double this number. The police came at 3 am to cut the sound and put everybody out, but I guess they were kinda cool with the whole situation, and they even took photos with. Ahaha we were completely shit-faced that night!
Yesterday I went to Rotterdam to finally satisfy my hunger for Hardcore shows. Portuguese bands were playing, and I couldn’t miss this one. Stay tuned, in few days I’ll post a review from the show and the whole experience of watching Portuguese friends playing abroad. By the way, big up to my friend Nuno and the rest of Step Back! crew who joined me yesterday. Best guys ever! Check their MYSPACE and support!
In a brief update of the situation here in Maastricht, I can say that my first block is over and I passed both the courses. The exams were tough, but somehow I managed to pass both them, and even though the grades were not that great, I’m still on my way to good average in the end of this thing.
Once the exams were finished, my girl came to Maastricht and stayed here for almost one week. Damn I missed her, and against all the problems that the distance creates we were able to have a really good time. We walked around the city, we rode our bikes all over Maastricht, we went to the most expensive Cinema in the world (I guess Dutch people really value this thing), we watched some good movies as like when we are at home, we went shopping to the centre, and we had some fun with the people that live with me. No need to say how much I miss her already.
Then the second block started. Two good courses, being Retailing and Distribution a very nice surprise, as it is one of the most interesting topics I’ve studied here (if the course coordinator could take away all the fucking statistics from the course it would be better though).
Oh right I forgot, 2 weeks ago, we threw a huge house party in our place. Can u picture those parties in American Pie? It was something like that. Ok, maybe we didn’t have the best balance between boys and girls here, but still, it was huge. Picture a place where you can fit 50 to 60 people, and then more than double this number. The police came at 3 am to cut the sound and put everybody out, but I guess they were kinda cool with the whole situation, and they even took photos with. Ahaha we were completely shit-faced that night!
Yesterday I went to Rotterdam to finally satisfy my hunger for Hardcore shows. Portuguese bands were playing, and I couldn’t miss this one. Stay tuned, in few days I’ll post a review from the show and the whole experience of watching Portuguese friends playing abroad. By the way, big up to my friend Nuno and the rest of Step Back! crew who joined me yesterday. Best guys ever! Check their MYSPACE and support!
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