Go It Alone/Fireworks/Eating Glass/Easy Days

This past Thursday was Go It Alone's last Toronto show as they're breaking up after this tour, I think a final show is going to happen in December or something.

Anyway, The first band to play was Easy Days. They're from St. Catharine's, a city in Southern Ontario and play a mix of youth crew hardcore and early 2000's Boston Hardcore along the lines of Mental. I thought they played pretty well, musically i really enjoyed them, the only thing that bugged me was the singer wouldn't turn and face the crowd, he always had his back to the crowd. I guess being a new band it takes time to feel comfortable, either way i still liked their set quite a bit and I'm looking forward to hearing new things from this band.

Next up were Eating Glass, they got kids moshing and signing along, which was nice to see considering they haven't been around for all that long. This was my third time seeing them and by far the best time. They seem to have really grown in the past few months and their take on thrashy hardcore is going to start catching eyes. Out of any band in the Toronto/Southern Ontario area, I'm most excited to see what the future holds for this band. If they keep at it i think they'll really catch on.

Fireworks played next. They're from Michigan and play really catchy pop punk that's just rough enough around the edges to make it really enjoyable. I just started listening to this band when i heard they were playing this show. I've given their EP a few listens and I've enjoyed it but it was nice to hear the songs played live, they come off really well and the band seemed to have a lot of energy. I think they sound a lot like early New Found Glory, which isn't a bad thing at all, it reminds me of being 15 again.

Next up was Go It Alone. Needless to say I was really anticipating their set, and they exceeded my expectations in every way. They opened with Rapture from their new record, that song sounded way heavier played live. Right from the start kids were moshing and singing along harder than i have seen in a long while. Next they played two songs from The Only Blood Between Us, Constant Refrain, and Cold Winter. Both those songs are great and only made the atmosphere more intense. Next they played the title track to their Histories 7", Evelyn from TOBBU, and Picking Up The Pieces from the Vancouver Gold EP. Evelyn was probably my favorite song of the night, the end of the song was incredible. The lyrics to that song mean a lot to me, i'll post them further down. Next they played Our Mistakes, Rapture, Flatline and a Chain of Strength cover which was awesome. They finished with the title track from their first LP. I don't think people were ready to see them go, so after a little persistent chanting and encouragement they played one last song, Statement, to finish the night.

I can't really describe how much fun i had at this show, i can't remember the last time a show was this memorable. I was happy to see Go It Alone get the kind of response they deserve and even happier to be a part of it. The intensity level of the whole band was great, even with how much i enjoy their records, their live show blows the records away. It's sad to see these guys go, but i imagine they accomplished more than they set out to. Given the sound of their last record i really think their sound has come full circle, if there ever was a perfect time to call it a day i guess this would be it. Anyway, here are some pictures from Go It Alone's set:

Thanks to Andrew Schoenrock for the pictures.

Here are some more pictures:

Credit goes to antipeterleague

I think I've posted this song before, but it deserves to be posted again.

Evelyn

It's a sick world and innocence doesn't last any longer than bloodstains on the city streets that wash out with the rain, slip through gutters and down the drains. Down here life decays like scraps of old newsprint that yellow with age. There's a place in the city where things go to die and the streets are littered with soiled lives. Human wreckage the byproduct of a diseased society. It's a disease. It's a cold world and the sick and addicted are left to die in the corner of town that tourists don't see and on the street corners at night. Desperation is an ugly sight so we force fake smiles and avert our eyes. We become prisoners of our own privilege, living in fear of those we've demonized. There's a place in the city where things go to die. A spectacle of ruined lives. Destitution and addiction, symptoms of a modern plague. It's a disease. So lock your doors and close your eyes and whisper to yourself: "Everything will be alright." It's a cruel world and innocence gets lost somewhere in piss soaked alleys and on filthy streets.

Growing Up Numb

I had a pretty cool chat with a WWII veteran today at work. The guy was overly conservative and i didn't agree with his anti-Muslim, basically anti anyone who isn't white Anglo-Saxon protestant stance but regardless it was cool to hear some of his stories.

He talked a lot about some of the strategy employed by the British army which he was a part of, the bombings, the reckless disregard for life, as long as it meant victory, even if only temporary. I really admired this guy not only for being willing to talk about his experience but also just because he lived through it, he was a part of the greatest human travesty the world has ever known.

Some of his opinions on the current state of the world got me thinking that those opinions he expressed today are a product of his experiences with war 60 to 70 years ago. War isn't exactly something that gives you faith in humanity, in my opinion it's the product of a wasted human heart that has no capacity to reason with love, it only reasons with self righteousness, lust, and hatred.

After we finished talking i got thinking about the effect of that war not only on those involved but the entire generation that lived through it. The opinions on global issues and the outlook on the world as a whole changed with war. I think it's only natural that when generations grow up with war they can't see the world clearly let alone their place in it.

The main thing i took from talking to this guy was how profound the impact of war on individuals can be. After i thought about it a little more Strike Anywhere's song "Chalkline" popped into my head, particularly the end, where Thomas yells "Watch us grow up to war...no more". If we want to see the world in a more hope full way we need to find a way to diminish the corroding effect that the world around us can have on our lives. Otherwise we'll keep running around with bloodshot, rage filled eyes, looking for next scapegoat, when we live this way somebody has to pay.

Chalkline isn't so much about what i was talking about above, it's more about the boundaries we're forced to live in, the false beauty and the symbols that control so much of this society. It doesn't speak exactly to what I'm saying but i think it's easily relataeble.

"Chalkline"

We see the billboard girl the one devoted to ritual standing in the rain holding all of her pain inside I know you're hurting now but I can't point my finger at the words I should or shouldn't say anything to take the pain away to walk alone on the streets tonight and fear nothing to choose to love what we are in this life and shine brighter don't let the crosses and dollar signs the symbols of man unkind make you feel that you're not real all this time walk out out of the shadows we see the lines in chalk the warning sign for where we walk in the shadows of the cities maze to try and fight for better days yeah we're ungrateful yeah we're ungrateful for holy books, religious men values of beauty, original sin all this time we unwind it i won't give up, I'm not afraid Resister go as long as it takes to reverse the hypocrisy challenge the stakes of safety and survival at the heart of women's voices women's art to walk alone on the streets tonight and fear nothing to choose to love what we are in this life all that matters don't let the crosses and dollar signs the symbols of man unkind . . . I won't give up through all this time walk out out of the shadows if we take our strength to market to trade for their ugly beauty watch us grow up to war no more

A Farewell To Outlast

I haven't posted in a while, I've been way too busy with work, by the time this week is over I'll have worked almost 70 hours when you factor in commute time. Not fun. My work is really easy so i get a lot of time to read, I've read a couple Palahniuk books, i like his writing style but sometimes it seems too over the top. They're always an interesting, relatively quick read, and i like how they play on the down n' out people in society.


Today i finished Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell To Arms." My copy is nowhere near as cool as the one shown above. I wasn't sure what to expect from this but i was really surprised. The writing style is simple but at the same time really descriptive and raw. There are some moments in this book where the picture painted in your imagination is so detailed you really feel a part of the story. If you haven't read this or heard of it, i won't give any spoilers in case you ever want to read it. It's basically about an American ambulance driver in the Italian army who "falls" for a British nurse. The story follows the main character through his time at the Austrian/Italian front. I won't get into anymore because it's best to know as little as possible before reading it.

I'm reading "Burmese Days" by George Orwell right now and then I'm going to pick up one or two of Rold's recommendations, I'm leaning toward "The Tortilla Borders".

Also, Outlast, the band Outlast rule. It's all I've been listening to this past week on my way to and from work. Their whole discography is great, some of it could use some better production but all in all it's awesome stuff. Songs like "Had Enough People Making My Choices" and "Misprint" send chills down my spine. Some of bassing just shreds so hard. It's perfect blend of melodic youth crew, if i was in a band these guys would definitely be a primary influence.

Everchanging

So i turned 22 this past Monday. I didn't really do anything, i had to work. The weekend before i went up and visited my parents, it's nice where they live in the summer so it was good to get away from the thick summer air in the city.

I almost did what Kate suggested. Get a cake and eat in my room alone, but i thought better of it when i realized the humiliation i would feel even if i was the only one to know what i did. haha.

Anyway, the past couple years on or around the time when i turn a year older i can't help but feel the urgency of time. Sure, I'm still young but it's easy to stagnate and just stop progressing. It can be frustrating when you look back on the year passed and realize you didn't accomplish what you wanted, you didn't accomplish anything really. But i think it's important to remember that you don't always see results instantly, sometimes it takes years to realize that what you learned at a certain point in time was incredibly valuable, even though you had no idea you were even learning anything at that time.

We're so concerned with instant results that it's easy to get frustrated with yourself, but if your willing to learn and adapt with time you'll be better off than the overwhelming amount of people who opt for the instant success or the instant feeling of accomplishment. Slow and steady i guess. Time can be an ugly thing if we let it but it doesn't have to be.

The latest Go It Alone record and the single preceding it were themed around the challenges of time and the changes that come with it. I think both the LP and the single were really well written and given that Go It Alone are calling to quits after this tour I'll post a song relating to what i was just talking about from the "Histories" Single.

Histories

I used to think i was unchanging like the rock besieged by the pounding sea, but Ive come to realize nothing is set in stone as i once believed. time can change me (and it has) but i cant change time. time can change us (and it will) but we cant rewrite our own histories.

Like i promised before here is a rare picture of me looking approachable or even sensible for that matter. I was an usher in my sisters wedding so i had to walk to my mom up the isle during the ceremony, this is the only reasonable looking picture of me out of a ton that were taken and it's the only picture where it doesn't look like i was trying to impersonate a clown with those stupid shoes i was wearing, my mom also looks extremely nervous and freaked out by something, so enjoy.