(gig report) SLAPSHOT – 02 07 2025 – Vintage Industrial Bar Zagreb

Sinoć smo pohodili Vintage Industrial u Zagrebu kako bismo po zadnji put vidjeli uživo hardcore legende Slapshot iz Bostona. Nije bilo baš previše ljudi, pomalo zahvaljujući tome da je bilo i drugih koncerata taj dan u Zagrebu, bila je sredina tjedna i vrućina i tako dalje. No, bilo je sasvim zadovoljavajući broj ljudi da ne bude gužva i da se ne guramo haha. Koncert je bio predviđen za 21 15, nije bilo predgrupa, pa smo taman ušli u Vintage kada je Slapshot počinjao sa svirkom. Odmah su krenuli u glavu sa hitovima No Friend Of Mine, Watch Me Bleed i I Told You So. Choke je karizmatičan frontman i legenda hardcore scene i bilo ga je pravo zadovoljstvo gledati kako vlada binom, uz poneku duhovitu i sarkastičnu opasku, iako je napunio 62 godine života. Ovo je inače bendu zadnja turneja, pošto, kako je Choke rekao, nakon 2025.više neće postojati. Uz Chokea, dugogodišnji basist Ryan Packer je također impozantna pojava na bini, uz omanjeg, ali odličnog gitarista i nabrijanog bubnjara. Kreću dalje sa I’ve Had Enough, obradom Big Mouth koja me jako razveselila, jer prethodnih dva puta kako sam ih gledao nije bila na setlisti. Redaju se hitovi kao No Time Left, Firewalker, Old Tyme Hardcore, What’s At Stake. Iznenadilo me ugodno da su u set ubacili Say Goodbye koju do sada nisam čuo kako je izvode uživo, a meni je vrlo draga stvar. Kraj je prebrzo došao nakon kojih 50-ak minuta odsvirali su za kraj Back On The Map, Chip On My Shoulder, Step On It i neizostavnu zadnju himnu Hang Up Your Boots. Nije bilo previše slemanja i poga, ali publika je imala dobar kontakt s energijom koju je bend prštao s bine. Povukli su se nakratko i vratili na bis i iznenadili me obradom Chokeovog starog benda/projekta Stars And Stripes i to himnom Shaved For Battle. Još su za kraj otprašili obradu GG Allina You Hate Me & I Hate You i to je bilo to. Hvala Slapshot i Choke na svim ovim godinama u kojima ste zavladali našim hardcore srcima. Sretno momci i hvala na hardcore energiji.

(review) Dutch Nuggets – Fishbowl’d (Thousand Islands Records)

Dutch Nuggets are coming from Montreal, Canada and this is their long awaited second album. What do we get here? Well, we get 12 songs of excellent melodic hardcore punk. The music is cleverly written, enough technical to appease fans of more technical side of skatepunk, but also retaining that old school nineties vibe and atmosphere in the song structures. We have been waiting for over a decade for this one and it was worth it. Songs are fast and driving, vocals are excellent also backing vocal harmonies deliver mighty combination, which is very important in this kind of music. The whole album reminds me a lot of Croatian band called Kriva Istina. Lyrics are personal, yet engaged politically, but I think everyone can relate to somehow. It is hard to highlight some songs as favorites, but to me they are Ignorance Is Bliss, Catharsis and Dead-Tired. Great album and great band, I totally recommend this one!

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(new post – review) Jerkswitch – 100% Wholesome Pants Party

Jerkswitch are coming from Montreal, Canada and this is their new E.P. containing 5 songs. I don’t know how to characterize their music but I will try. First song Pushin’ Daisies is pure hardcore punk smash, short and sweet on point. Second song Code Red is basically fast hardcore punk, but has ska core parts and this song shows how much this band is tight musically. There is also melancholic guitar melody in this song. Vocals vary from nice melodic singing to more screaming parts, also backing vocal harmonies are in place all the time and fit perfectly to the song structures. The whole energy has some beautiful yet raw hardcore punk vibe and shows diversity and originality of this band. The third song Fight a Table reminded me of early Suicidal Tendencies turning into more modern hardcore punk with speed, energy and surprising change in style almost jazzy and post punk dancing part. Fourth song RX leads us back into hardcore punk with ska punk song parts and more angry vocals with hardcore breakdown. Lyrics of the band are personal but with a touch of humor and self irony looking the world around us. The last song is Lidocaine(Acoustic version) and ends this little opus perfectly. Nice release, i would love to hear more of this band in the future.

Bandcamp

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