Hardcore rules, ok?

YOUTH BRIGADE, The Casualties, Off With Their Heads, Detournement - Asbury Lanes, Sept. 18, 2009

I love when an old-school hardcore band like Youth Brigade comes through on tour. A few things happen: First, the hardcore punk underground crawls out from the underground and you see things that you never see at shows anymore: Libery 'hawks, studded leather jackets, circle pits, shirtless moshing, and of course the exuberant gang singalongs. The other thing is that the event becomes a true "all-ages" show, with an audience that ranges from kids in their teens to crusty veteran punks older than me.

The whole show was fun, from the Bad Religion-esque whoa-oh choruses of Chunksaah Records' Detournement, to the frantic pop/punk of OWTH, to the early 80's throwback insanity of the Casualties, who turned Asbury Lanes into a CBGB Sunday hardcore matinee circa 1981.



And Youth Brigade still rock, with a nearly 30-year discography of feisty, fist in the air punk-rock songs that range from furious political agitprop to plain dumb fun. The band was touring behind BYO Records amazing box set which includes the documentary film "Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records," a photo-filled historical booklet detailing their 25-year history, and a compilation CD of BYO's greatest hits. Well, not hits, of course; no label has remained this feistily indie, DIY, and underground, and its survival is definitely a feat that everyone who considers themselves "punk" should salute.