Baltimore MD – 01 Apr 2023
An Experience Two Decades in the Making
I can still remember the day that I first listened to Start Today. I had gone to a used record shop, long defunct, with a friend on a Thursday afternoon after Intermediate Macroeconomics. Going through the shelves, I pulled out Worth Holding Onto by For the Living and Zen and the Art of Beating Your Ass by 9 Shocks Terror. My friend handed me a jewel case with a black and white cover and a blue header. “Have you ever listened to Gorilla Biscuits? They'll change your life.”
When we piled back into the car with our purchases, I put Start Today into the Sony Discman that fed into my car stereo via tape adapter, forever altering the trajectory of my life.
Fast forward 19-some years. Despite their periodic reunions since my first introduction to the band, I've never seen the Biscuits live. On a gloomy Friday afternoon in December, I received a Bandsintown notification that they'd be playing Baltimore on a weekend tour up the East Coast.
And the openers? Hell, they were as impressive as the Biscuits.
On April 1, I came to the Baltimore Soundstage, paper ticket in hand (because sometimes you want something physical for the memories). There I joined hundreds of other hardcore kids, both young and old, who made the trek from as far away as South Carolina and Ohio for the show.
Locals and also legends Be Well opened the concert promptly at 7 pm. At the outset, Brian McTernan remarked that this was one of a handful of shows they have played in Baltimore despite most members living in the area, and this is the first time I've gotten to see them live.
The band didn't disappoint, playing a 25 minute set that was a mix between their debut LP The Weight and the Cost and their stellar EP Hello Sun. Bassist Aaron Dalbec was sporting the “I'm With Stu” in honor of the late member of Bane, Brendan “Stu” Maguire, and guitarists Mike Schleibaum and Peter Tsouras traded riffs and leads. I had the joy of being up against the barricade with minimal stage diving where I could howl lyrics that mean so much to me.
Be Well ended their set with a cover of 7 Seconds' “Young ‘til I Die”, a singalong anthem for this crowd if there ever was one.
Next up was Charlotte NC's Magnitude, who hadn't been part of the original show announcement. The band had not previously roved into my musical spectrum before the show, but I hold a special place in my heart for straight edge bands. From their set, it felt like they played mid-tempo hardcore with a little bit of chugging. Listening to their latest LP, To Whatever Fateful End, they come off as peak 90s metalcore — Earth Crisis would be a fitting analogue. Not exactly my cup of tea, but they play this style well.
Praise, another Baltimore band, took the stage next. Lead singer Andy Norton came onto the stage with tie dye pants and a swatch, proceeding to tear into a set that was heavy on their recent LP, All in the a Dream. Your humble reviewer was not the most excited about that effort (although reasonable minds can disagree).
With a mixture of tracks from all three EPs and some 7 inches, my main complaint about All in a Dream was largely abated. I was parked in front of their guitar (Austin Stemper, I think?), who was pulling some delectable guitar tone out of a vintage amplifier. Sadly, the group seemed to play to crickets, as their angular take on post-hardcore may have been more on point for Rival Schools than Gorilla Biscuits (as Walter Schreifels bands go).
The next set took a little longer to start, as End It's singer, Akil Godsey, brought his mother on stage to sing a duet. I can only imagine that it was a special moment, as a large sold out crowd watched mother and son croon together. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the band tore into the opening song, “BCHC”.
The band's most recent EP, Unpleasant Living, absolutely brings the hardcore heat, and their live set is twice as wild as I'd imagined. Stage dives abounded, and tall guys like myself had to take a step back (I personally lost my hat and glasses less than a minute into the set). I finished watching the band tear up the Baltimore Soundstage from the bar, where my friend Colin assured me that it was okay to drink a Natty Boh (or two) at the Gorilla Biscuits show.
If you read my review of Unpleasant Living, you know that I really like End It, and their set did nothing to dissuade my opinion. Even from the bar, you could feel the energy emanating from the stage.
At a break between sets, I hit up the merch tables. Sadly, neither Be Well nor End It had any 2XL shirts, so I wound up buying a white Gorilla Biscuits shirt. I had a short conversation with a fellow attendee who noticed I was wearing a Catbite hoodie, as she had seen them open up for Streetlight Manifesto late last year. Even at the late nite hardcore matinee, there's still some ska in the air.
Last up were the legends of NYHC—the Gorilla fuckin' Biscuits. The opening horn lines of “New Direction” gave me the same goosebumps that they first did in my 1995 Mercury Sable all those years ago. The band didn't slow down, going through a hit list of songs that have aged well (“Things We Say”, “Big Mouth”, “Times Flies”) and omitting those that haven't (talking about you, “Finish What You Started”). End It's singer Akil joined Civ on vocals for “Degradation”, trading lines in the second verse. The Biscuits also played a handful of covers sprinkled throughout their set, including “Minor Threat” by Minor Threat, “New York Crew” by Judge and “As One” by Warzone.
As Civ vamped his way into “Start Today”, I looked around the venue and saw a million smiling faces singing along to songs that mean so much to them, whether they just heard Gorilla Biscuits this week or thirty five years ago. Given how much the members have done musically (Civ, Quicksand, Rival Schools, Dead Heavens) since what amounts to their high school band, are they enjoying themselves or just phoning it in for the paycheck? At that moment, Civ called over to Walter Schriefels. I don't remember what Civ said, but Walter smiled back at him with a grin that cut from ear to ear, dispelling all my fears. Walter tore into that introductory riff and the room started dancing again.
At the end of the track, the lights came on and the show was over – no encore to be played. Me and a thousand of my brethren filtered out into the downtown Baltimore evening to return to parts unknown.
YO VINYL NERDS: Do you know that I don't own Start Today on wax? Shame on me.
Once hailing from the salty tundra of Syracuse, NY, Ben now calls the DC suburbs his home. He fell in love with punk after listening to Punk-O-Rama 3, Less Than Jake and MXPX in middle school. He loves to slam dance but is too large to stage dive.
When he's not pretending to have exquisite musical taste, he's raising two children, designing RPG products and practicing law. (Who knows if he'll ever get the hang of it.)
Ben, appreciate the shout out to For The Living. I hope at some point along the way you got to hear the LP “Bridges Burned”, a much better representation of the band, vs the mentioned “Worth Holding Onto” 7 inch/demo collection (I have some copies of the CD if you never haven’t)
I too did a stent in Upstate NY, learned from McKaig how to promote show before returning to DC to have the honor of promoting in DC for a decade. I saw GB several times in my high school years prior to moving to Fort Drum New York in 11th grade (91). This show in Baltimore was a special one for me as I got to bring my 13 and 15 year-old boys who were singing along to “young till I die”, a song they learned to play on bass and guitar, respectively, from none other than Mike Schlibaum!