Live review: H2O live at Crossroads

Garwood, NJ – 13 September 2024

I See It In Us

Born Tired. Thiev. Calling Hours. H2O. Jesus fucking Christ. That’s it. That is the most accurate review I can give this show. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. But I think my editors would appreciate a bit more verbosity.

It was pure perfection, an encapsulation of everything that made me love hardcore. The singalongs, the push and pull of the crowd, the sweat, the spit, the fucking spirit.. it was all there and it was everything. 

Crossroads in northeastern New Jersey is a pretty ideal spot to catch a show like this. The sound is perfect, the corner stage is conducive to mic-centric dog piles and the club itself is elegantly grimy: the perfect balance for a crowd of business men and elementary teachers to recapture their raised middle finger of youthful anti-authoritarianism. 

The show opened with an aural hand grenade in the form of Born Tired. I didn’t know anything about these dudes before tonight. Now that I’ve seen them I can’t wait to know every track. 

The melodic hardcore quintet featured former members of Nora and Shai Hulud, and their tenure in those classic acts shone through in the way they commanded the stage. High energy, technicality and a sincere connection to their roots and influences across the hardcore scenes. The set left my adrenaline through the roof and my jaw on the floor. 

When I finished lifting my mandible from the masonite, Thiev took the stage. In an embarrassing meet-cute for Thiev, I was introduced to them last year when Colorado skate punks Bridge The Gap included them on their year-end best of list. Turns out the band and I share a hometown in Jersey, share countless mutual friends and yet, it was a band 1,765 miles away who discovered them and introduced me.

Now that we’ve escaped that unnecessary exposition, let’s get to what counts here: Thiev’s ass-kicking skate punk. The 5-piece captivated with shredding solos, killer beards, gorgeous flowing locks and the frenetic energy of frontman Paul Alan, who managed to high kick, jump, bow and kneel across every inch the stage provided.  While the band may have been the youngest on the bill, Thiev evoke nostalgia for the days when NJ pop-punk was beginning to capture national attention and skate-punk influences were at the center of it all. Thiev conjure up the vibes of VFW nights and could easily fit on a bill with NJ’s best Bigwig, Lifetime and Vision.  Each note felt like a visit from an old friend while never taking an eye off of the future. These kids will be able to satiate the punk purists while bringing new fans into the fold as well.

I discovered Farside too late, somehow being oblivious to any of the releases prior to 1999’s The Monroe Doctrine.  By the time I stumbled into this classic, the band was on the verge of its break up in the year 2000.  I never got to see them.  Never got to watch Popeye Vogelsang on stage.  I’ve spent decades chasing down that void, somehow missing every solo performance along the way. Then, in 2023, Popeye resurfaced with Calling Hours. The band dropped a damn near perfect record and it became my mission to finally stop chasing Popeye and to see the band the next time they came to Jersey.  I accomplished that goal back in June, and set a new “See these cats as often as possible” goal for myself.

The 5-piece took the stage and promptly took the crowd into their hands with the powerful sounds of instant classics like “Why Did It Have To Be Snakes” and “ Heavy Future,” leading to standout singles, “Curtain Call” and “Gin Perry”. Despite some technical hiccups in the form of a broken strap from bassist Garrett Rothman, the band hit on all cylinders before closing out the set with Farside’s 1994 banger “Audience.” 

I was spent, my throat was shredded and, because I’m an old man, my back was killing me. I could’ve left right there fully satisfied thanks to 3 killer performances, sets so good I almost forgot that a few goddammed legends were going to take the stage. “About to take the stage” may be a stretch, it was a long intermission but the 3 bands we watched had our adrenaline so high, that the passion wasn’t going to fade.

And then it finally kicked off. Toby Morse came to the stage in an “I Love Sade” T, removed his glasses and transported us all back to younger, more idealistic days thanks to opener “ Nothing To Prove.” Despite a few more rings around their proverbial trees, the elder statesmen of NYHC haven’t lost a fucking step. The energy was electric. 

They hit all the songs I was hoping for from the obvious hits favorites like “Family Tree” and “F.T.T.W.” to personal favorites and deeper cuts like “Sunday” and “Memory Lane.” H2O even took a few crowd suggestions before closing out with perennial favorite “Guilty By Association” featuring a guest appearance from longtime drummer Todd Friend, who left the band in 2022. The set ended and I had bruises ready to form, from beating my chest with the lyrics and the push-pull into the stage. Nothing makes a show more real than waking up the next morning a bit purple, without a voice enveloped in the same ecstatic glee that you carried the whole way home.

One would expect a band that’s been doing this for 30 years to be tighter than the shirt i got at my first H2O show (1997/98 at L’Amours, I believe), but the passion and energy were a shock to even the most tenured fans. For as long as I’ve known the band, I’ve always been amazed by Toby’s presence. He was jumping onto the monitors, in the crowd and wherever he needed to be to make sure everyone there had the best and most personalized time.

On stage this man is insane. With all the hand gestures and moves of an old school MC, and the sincere positivity that, well, that you’d expect from the man behind “One Life, One Chance”. You can tell he was genuinely excited to see the sell out crowd in Jersey, connecting with faces in the crowd, even pointing out a man in the crowd named Mike that he recognized from shows over the last 30 years. H2O is fully aware that their success stems from these people on these rooms, and the gratitude shines through.

After the show they hung out and took pictures with anyone who wanted, shared memories with fans and chatted with kids about how lucky they were to have their parents take them to shows. Our bands look out for us and our family. Every opportunity to see H20 you should do just that, even if you don’t think you enjoy the music, you’ll leave full of optimism, you’ll leave feeling better about yourself and walk with a spring in your two-step for the next couple of days.