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Hardcore, hardcore, and more hardcore.

And that's just the wardrobe of those who attended the show!

But seriously, this show was as hardcore as they can get. Roughly 200 of us were packed into the third floor of the historic Eagle's Reception Hall in sunny Rock Island, IL [hell, Black Flag played here in 1985, I figure that's enough history for the venue] and we witnessed a rock show for the ages.

First up were locals Fork Knife Spoon. Their sound was heavy on the hard, even heavier on the core. It was very sludgy and muddy, but the kids dug it. One cool thing is that even though there was a stage set up, the band played on the floor [setting the trend for the whole night].

As FKS finished up their 4 song set, The Organ began blasting their intense rhythms from the side of the venue where they had haphazardly set up shop. The band didn't even wait for Fork Knife Spoon to finish their set, playing instead simultaneously for a few minutes [causing much confusion in the crowd about where to mosh]. The Organ is another local Quad Cities band, and consists of three bassists, a drummer, and a singer. Or so I thought. There were only two bassists tonight, so I don't know if this is a permanent change, or what. The band did sound significantly better than the last time I had seen them, though - their new songs actually are *danceable,* in a strange hardcore way. After they wrapped up their also-short set, the crowd shuffled back to the main floor area where Meth and Goats were setting up.

Meth and Goats, another local band, were described to me as "At The Drive-In meets stoner rock." I could hear the ATDI influence immediately, but the stoner rock notsomuch. To me, they sounded like a perfect example of what kind of angular post-rock Dischord has currently been cranking out for the past decade [although a bit harder than Jawbox, and a bit weirder than Q and Not U]. Their set, also performed on the floor, was good, but not good enough to make me pick up a CD. Their singer did perform barefoot, though, and with a crowd of this size [that continually broke out in random spurts of moshing], that took balls.

The first out of town act of the night, Seattle's Akimbo, set up in the second area, and proceeded to rock the whole crowd silly for about a half an hour. I really don't know how to describe them, besides their bassist screamed/yelled a lot, their rhythm section was impeccable, and they seemed to channel the energy of the previously mentioned Black Flag [remember the beginning of the review? It all makes sense now, right?]. Their screamy hardcore punk brought the house down, with clapping, fingerpointing, and moshing aplenty. They even covered a Black Sabbath song ["Sweetleaf," for those curious]. My roommate bought their CD and just told me it's not nearly as good as they are live, but I didn't expect it to be. Be on the lookout for Akimbo.

And finally, the moment the whole crowd had been waiting for - Seattle five-piece the Blood Brothers set up on the floor and jumped into "Birth Skin/Death Leather," kicking off an amazing 11 song set. From the first note until the last, the crowd was eating out of the palm of the band's hand, and the Blood Brothers knew it, crowdsurfing and riding on people's shoulders at random points in the set. Material played reached all the way back to their first album "This Adultery Is Ripe," with "Jennifer" and "Mutiny On The Ark Of The Blood Brothers" representing the disc. The rest of the set was split evenly between "Burn, Piano Island, Burn" and "March On Electric Children," with the crowd's response being fairly equal to both.

The only downside to their set is a dumb guy in leather pants and a white wifebeater felt the need to try and pick a fight with a girl who was dancing. A few punches were thrown, and the guy [and his girlfriend, who also started to fight] were ejected from the building, and the show continued without a hitch.

Words really cannot describe how euphoric the Blood Brothers are live. I saw the band a year and a half ago in an even smaller venue, and while they were great then, they are *amazing* now. Their spastic rhythms are as tight as you could ever expect them to be, and every word is spat with such authority and vigor that "sasscore" is the only possible word to describe this band.

Even if you're not a fan of whatever recorded material you've heard by the band, go see the Blood Brothers live. You'll come away reborn.

SET LIST
Birth Skin/Death Leather
Fucking's Greatest Hits
Meet Me At The Waterfront After The Social
Ambulance Vs. Ambulance
Jennifer
New York Slave
The Salesman, Denver Max
Guitarmy
Siamese Gun
Mutiny On The Ark Of The Blood Brothers
Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon



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    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 6:10 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Hi there Love your site, thank you very much The http://www.trinitytc.com/888/casino-directory-2005.html

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 11, 2005 at 5:55 PM (EST)

    They are NOT gay.
    They have REALLY hot girlfriends. Jordan and Johnny I mean

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 23, 2003 at 8:55 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Ambulance Vs. Ambulance = one of teh best songs EVA!!11punx0r

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, May 12, 2003 at 12:18 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Doctor Doctor!

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, May 11, 2003 at 6:31 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Well good for him.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, May 11, 2003 at 12:57 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Johnny is homosexual... the plain weird singer guy.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, May 10, 2003 at 8:28 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Who cares if he is gay or not? I could care less. If you give a shit then you shouldn't be on this website. I mean even that chubby webmaster dude is gay, so it shouldn't matter. Man whats wrong with you people. Whats his name scott? I don't care if hes gay or not. Or the fact that he likes to masturbate to old fraggle rock shows. Whatever or whomever he sticks up his ass is of no importance to me. We are all people and should be treated equally even if it involves battery cables and bike pumps. Cmon people we all share this planet together. twat

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, May 10, 2003 at 1:42 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    hey yellowtrash how am i annoying?

    Posted by SOYBOMB on 2003-05-10 00:46:44
    My Score:

    lmao @ "sasscore". Sound's too much like "asscore".

    Peace,
    -SOYBOMB-

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 9, 2003 at 12:14 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Out of pure curiosity, which singer is gay, the weird singer guy or the lower weird singer guy?

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 10:11 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    once again, rock island kicks ass. if you're looking for great hardcore in this area, check out Chapter Seven (http://www.chaptersevenonline.com).

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 9:34 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    blood brothers rock. that is all.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 6:33 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Wait. So it would be bad if he was gay and DIDN'T bring it?

    You're a homophobic asshole, get the fuck out of the scene and get hit by a truck.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 12:29 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    one of the singers is gay? wow, thats a shocker. I havent seen too many guys act that flamboyant and not be. No complaints though, they still bring it.

    Posted by maverick on 2003-05-07 18:36:11
    My Score:

    That song is called "Jennifer," and is on their first album, "This Adultery Is Ripe."

    -Scott

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 at 4:57 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    does anyone know the blood bros. song name that ends with "you dont need a doctor you need a mortician, baby"?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 at 3:24 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Blood Brothers rule, and I didn't know till reading about a week ago that the singer is gay, not that it matters to the music really.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 at 2:31 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Poop McPoop is a fat, moist queef. I am from Seattle and have been seeing these guys for literally *at least* 5 years. They have been screaming every step of the way. The live show is like another fuckin world. The albums are some of the best and most original hardcore/screamo out there. So here's to you and your ignorant hillbilly bullshit, fucko.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 7, 2003 at 2:10 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    god i really wanna see these fuckers live before they become a live legend and you need binoculars. i want to be able to smell the sweat from the drummer.. but unless they come cleveland sometime soon i dont believe that will happen.

    Posted by dignin on 2003-05-06 21:37:48
    My Score:

    I know this is off topic but is anyone here who is from the DC area? Because Im going there and I was wonderin if there was any good show from may 13-16. If someone could inform of some that would be great.

    Posted by recordings on 2003-05-06 14:01:07
    My Score:

    he said amazing AND sasscore in the same review. im literally tickled.

    i still think blood brothers are stupid. so sorry.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 1:53 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Two feet, not to. I'm an idiot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 1:52 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I think the coolest part is that the Blood Brothers played on the floor. And even though they had maybe to feet around them to rock in, they didn't complain about it at all. Very awesome show.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 1:15 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Blood Brothers suck...It's whiny emo pussies who used to be into 70's art rock who decided to scream and be hardcore.
    -Poop McPoop

    Posted by Yellowtrash on 2003-05-06 07:59:05
    My Score:

    Hm....that singer from Fork Knife Spoon is annoying, that's why I didn't go. Or maybe because the Blood Brothers are playing here instead! Hehe

    Posted by anonymousswede on 2003-05-06 02:41:42
    My Score:

    and yes, they do prefer gongcore

    Posted by anonymousswede on 2003-05-06 02:32:17
    My Score:

    i loved them... i love "fuckings greatest hits"

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-05-06 02:24:00
    My Score:

    But do the Blood Brothers rock out to gongcore?

    Posted by moldy on 2003-05-06 02:19:49
    My Score:

    oh and the akimbo was fuckin awsome to the cd is a bit of a let down but id still give it 6-7 stars good hardcore

    Posted by moldy on 2003-05-06 02:17:12
    My Score:

    the interview came out good, but the show was hard to hear, i think that was the crappy speaker on my recorder i'll let you know how it turns out once i get it converted

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 2:07 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I seen them Sunday at the Fireside and I must say the blood brothers kill live ! that show was amazing !

    Posted by maverick on 2003-05-06 02:03:28
    My Score:

    Also, just so everyone knows:
    Moldy and I interviewed Jordan Billie, one of the singers, after the show. He was really cool, and answered just about everyone's questions [including which is better - robot pirates or pirate robots]. Look for it up soon.

    -Scott

    Posted by Katie4213 on 2003-05-06 02:01:53
    My Score:

    whaddup seattle music scene! scott you should really move out here, and bring megan too! i'm glad you had a good time!

    Posted by greg0rb on 2003-05-06 01:51:00
    My Score:

    The Blood Brothers were amazing and high energy the entire set. I really would have liked to have seen Every Breath is a Bomb or USA Nails (the one me and Scott could have actually sang along to) but oh well, great nonetheless!
    -Greg

    Posted by Kurt_F on 2003-05-06 01:49:28
    My Score:

    Awesome! They played Guitarmy. I pumped to see them this friday.

    Posted by travis on 2003-05-06 01:40:28
    My Score:

    akimbo is indeed much better live than on their recording. its nice to see that the blood brothers brought a seattle band with them on their tour.

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