feb16review

This show was absolutely amazing. Every single band was unbelievably great. I must begin by apologizing for the fact that there are only pictures of H2O and none of the other bands. It seems that The Rave's policy on photo passes is that you wear a sticker into the show. Well...there's a problem with that, especially if you're like me and want to mosh your life away. So, the sticker fell off during Snapcase's set because that was the most hardcore mosh pit I've ever seen. I was unable to take any more pictures after that point so no pictures of Snapcase or Face to Face were taken. A thousand apologies sent forth from myself to you.

The first band to take the stage was Hot Rod Circuit. I have never heard these guys before but apparently it was their last show ever, which is uncomfirmed to my knowledge. They were a very good pop-punk band very similar to New Found Glory. They featured a four-man line-up including the most crazed guitarist I've ever seen. He ran around stage and dropped to his knees often but never ever lost tune with the rest of the band. He even played while leaning on his elbows and guitar with his feet in the air, basically doing a guitar/head/hand stand. They played a very good set and I was quite surprised by their performance.

Second to play was NYC punksters H2O. H2O definately have their own style of punk. They are a very aggressive hardcore-skate punk band and they are very energetic onstage. They got started right away as they took the stage wasting no time getting ready. Once they played the first couple of songs, I had to get a closer look at the band because they were great. There were a lot of H2O fans there and the pit was storming throughout their set. Vocalist Toby Morse ran around the stage and was very interactive with the crowd which made it even better. They will be on the upcoming Warped Tour this summer, I suggest catching that!

The next band was none other than hardcore masters Snapcase. It took a long time for them to set up which was a bad thing but they made up for it immediately. The first song they played was "Caboose," an excellent choice for an opening song. They played some of their older songs including a few demo songs. Snapcase is one of the hardest and most aggressive bands I've ever seen on stage and Daryl Kaberski has the most ear-shredding voice I've heard. They got the mosh pit quite violent as I had predicted. They played a good bit of songs from their latest release "Designs for Automotion" including "Energy Dome" with which they ended their set with.

Finally the headliners Face to Face came out and showed why they're one of the greatest live bands. They played every one of their best songs throughout the years including "Blind," "Pastel," and "I'm Trying." They also played new songs including a few off of their new album due out soon. I was expecting something great from Face to Face but their performance was absolutely outstanding. Except for a few drawn out monologue type acts they played their set perfectly. Overall, this show was the best I've been to as of yet and Face to Face topped it off excellently.