Show Review: The A-Team (reunion show), Last In Line, Close Call, xProclamationx, Jan 18, 2014 @ Hardcore Stadium (Cambridge Elks) Cambridge, MA

The flyer for the show.

As most of the shows I attend these days, that is the ones that I don't play or the BNB Bowl in NYC, I found out about it no more than two weeks in advance. When I saw the lineup I got really excited because The A-Team rules (in present because the music forever lives). I remember going to their last show in the same venue about ten years ago in the middle of a snowstorm, and still the show was pretty awesome. If I recall correctly, this also happened to be Last In Line's last show as well. It was one of those kind of awesome shows, but at the same time sad, because two bands were calling it quits. Imagine how awesome it is that those 2 bands playing together again, ten years later. Let alone it being the same venue where they played last together. For hardcore punk standards that is pretty amazing. Not that many places that were around back then are still in existence, maybe the Democracy Center is the only one that still holds shows every once in a while, but most venues that had shows from that era are gone. Even Burrito Max at Kenmore Square, which was the meeting point for either pre-show or post-show food, is been gone for a while now.

One of the craziest things, I woke up really late, and first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a lot of snow outside, the first thing I said out loud was "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO". In reality I said "fuck" that way, but this is a serious blog... haha. It pretty much had to be this way, The A-Team playing a show in the middle of a snow storm. Later, I was on my way on the Commuter Rail, to find out that when I got to the city it wasn't really that bad outside, I mean, there was snow on the ground, but not as much as I there was up in Lowell.

Well, the flyer said 7pm, I got there somewhere about 6:22pm thinking this was going to be packed already, but I found out it started at 8pm. The show did pack up eventually. Crazy thing was that the crowd at this show was pretty much the exact same crowd that I would have seen at a show back in 2003-2005, pretty crazy.

The first band that played was Proclamation, as not a lot of people know, or may know, this was the first Bridge Nine Records band, when B9 was a sXe label. (Fun fact: I own a B9 sXe t-shirt I got for my birthday few years back while on tour.) Anyway, to be honest, I really never paid that much attention to them when they were around back in 2001, because they were pretty much fading out then. I got to listen to some of their stuff, but it never got stuck to me, so to me this was my very first Proclamation set. I have to say I really liked it. They were fast as I remember, but I didn't recall (from years ago) that they were even almost to that powerviolence/metal fast, which I really liked. They played a Seige cover, and that was cool as hell. Their set was pretty cool.

After Proclamation was done, it was time for Close Call. This was another band from that early 2000's era that I remember seeing, but never listened to them outside shows. All I remember from them was them being cool, and putting a fun set while aggressive. It was pretty much what I remembered it to be, and people were starting to go off more for them, and singing along. They did this rap interlude, and I really enjoyed that part of their set. But like I said, i have always been familiar with the name and the style they play, but not specifically with their specific songs.

Last In Line were up next. I was really looking forward to seeing them again after all this time. And let me tell you one thing, they did not dissapoint. They are one of those bands that every time I listen to them, I want to start a band just like that. This is when everyone in the room really started getting really into it, and it was awesome. Like those shows back 10 years ago, it didn't seem like any time had passed. That's how crazy it was.

Then it finally was A-Team's turn. When I tell you that it really didn't feel like they lost a step, it would be an understatement. These guys played ON POINT. I wuld even dare to say that they played even better than when they were playing regularly. A fact about this band, is that I have all their songs in a burn CD, and all it shows is "track 01", and "track 02", you get the idea, so I am very bad with song names. They did play the song about punching babies, which I always found hilarious, and the one that said "Ho Ho You Fucking Ho" also that intro with the crazy drum part, that I find the most badass intro in hardcore punk, up there with Behind These Walls by No Warning, and Leeway's famous Rise and Fall intro. They closed with a Last Rights cover, and I moshed, I did. I wanted to do all night, but that was the drop that spilled the water.

As a whole, this probably was one of the best Boston shows I have attended in long years. I can't remember a Boston show that I was this pumped for, maybe the DTN/Bane/Have Heart show at the same place when I was drumming for Maintain, but in that show I was just psyched for DTN, as I was puking for the rest of that night, and don't remember how I was able to play drums.

To finish it off. Polar Bear.