I got to this show early to say wha’ts up to the guys in BSF and was humbled by the size of their bus. It was huge, but no rock and roll decadence was going on to speak of, just video games and nerdy guitar talk about things like "Line 6" and "Shure wireless packs".

Motley Crue they are not...thank god!

I missed two of the opening bands cause I was in the parking lot waiting for the line at the door to go down before I got on it. There is nothing worse than waiting on line in the freezing cold. I got the feeling that kids were loose and happy when I walked in and although I heard some mumbling about "Vaux", it seems both bands went over well...I think, What the fuck do I know? I was outside.

As I walked in, the hope conspiracy from Massachusetts was about to go on and Morissey was pumping through the speakers. They came out on stage and rocked pure loud mesa boogie distortion with a singer who looks like Henry Rollins, if Henry Rollins went to prep school and never got into body building. He also wore a Black Flag t-shirt which brought the comparison to mind. There's nothing that gets my blood flowing better than when a hardcore band is about to start, the crowd is already dancing without music, the singer goes "We're the hope conspiracy from Boston MASSSSSS" and the crowd suddenly explodes when the first chords and drums start pounding together. They opened with and played a majority of songs from their new album "endnote" on equal vision, but the crowd went nuts every time they played a song off of their previous album "cold blue". The crowd ate them up and loved 'em. I first saw these guys 2 or 3 years ago and wasn't impressed, but they've come a long way. Go buy their albums, get a tattoo and buy the entire Bridge 9 catalogue...Boston became cool again...who would've thought? The Boston mayor needs to give these guys and "American Nightmare" (now known as Give Up the Ghost) keys to the city.
Boy Sets Fire was up next.

I was milling about backstage like a typical hipster and noticed them brining out these huge stage props. Boy sets fire have come a long fucking way from when I was seeing them open for Snapcase and playing hardcore matinees while they were on initial records. They had a backdrop with images of blindfolded children sitting in front of a the screen and two huge screens that blocked the amps, the screens bore the image of the hand with stars on the back of thier new album "Tomorrow Come Today". Before they went on, the crowd looked kinda sparse and Nathan was standing backstage looking a little tense and in a mocking way I walked over and went to massage his neck and said "Ya ready to rock these fuckers?" and he paused and replied "I wonder if our politics has affected our draw?"...we both paused and I said "Its better to be infamous than famous", he smiled and said "Your absolutely right" and then the lights went black and they’re opening sample started at which point they walked out on stage. They opened with "Release the Dogs" off thier new album and the kids went nuts. The new songs went over great and the room started to look way more packed. The band was tight and the crowd was receptive.
In an age when bands are rejecting danger and diluting themselves in hopes of an mtv2 crossover appeal it was cool to see these guys, who have been busting their ass’ for so many years and still be as defiant as ever. With such statements as "They keep telling us to support the troops, well some of us think this war is fucking bullshit and to us, supporting the troops means bringing them home, now!...and we're not gonna apologize to anyone for that."

The standout songs were "After the Eulogy" which made the crowd go so nuts that it looked like a sea of fists and flailing bodies yelling "Rise...Rise...Rise..." and "Pure", as well as "Handful of Redemption and "Release the Dogs". Go buy thier new album, go support them on tour. Music would be alot better of a place if kids took half the time they spend trashing good charlotte and put it towards supporting the bands who are "real", and after 8 years in vans, playing squats and writing the music that influenced everyone out there being called "the next big thing", its about time these guys got the respect they deserve.
-Shane Gill

Photos courtesy of Dawn Fredricks