The breeze was warm, many folk were out and about and once again, it was superb weather to tip a few beers. I couldn’t have thought of a better venue to be doing so than the Corner Hotel’s beer garden. What was to be fantastic night was merely dampened by one of my mates who, coincidently, lost his ticket even after I had reminded specifically not to forget it but we managed to seek an alternative and slid in with discretion.
Now when old school hardcore is in town, it means big business and being the experts of this league would undoubtedly be New York’s finest – Madball. After hitting the streets of Oz fivefold and killing the hardcore scene for over 20 years, you would think that they’d have their position set firm in this genre. Together with the likes of H20, Sheer Terror and Madball’s original project, Agnostic Front, would surely encourage listeners to think twice about who’s who in this gritty, balls deep scene.
Saturday was looking positive as punters were cruising in early to catch up on lost drinking time. The first supporters to hit the stage were Melbourne’s Samsara, in promotion of their first and recently released LP The Emptiness. I haven’t had an opportunity to give it a decent spin nor have I seen them live but I have been told she’s an absolute beauty, and live, well what can I say? Brutal! There’s no doubt that these words are true. I couldn’t help but bounce my head to the numbers I wasn’t familiar with. Vocalist Baina Bainbridge’s style is somewhat similar to his original and current project, Her Nightmare, but Samsara seem to have a little more punch about them. ‘Outcast’, ‘Cruelty’ and ‘Mans Worst Enemy’ were just a minute selection from their fierce set.
The pit circled early and was just in the nick of time for the second support and virgins to Australia; Boston’s Death Before Dishonor. These lads have an extensive support list under their belt in the hardcore scene. Touring with the likes of Terror, they have the ability and image to be one of the heaviest hardcore acts within the scene. Breakdown galore! That’s what their set was all about. I simply couldn’t get enough and onlookers must have agreed with me. Crowd surfing, fists, circle pits, sh*t! What more could I have asked for? As they opened with a majority of hits from their ‘07 LP Count Me In, they also bought out a couple of older beats. The two step to breakdown in ‘Endless Suffering’ was epic. So as a first viewing for all of us, I was certainly one that wasn’t disappointed.
After a beer and some brief chit chat, a glimpse at my watch showed 11.15pm. As I previously mentioned, ‘The Ball’ originally began as a five piece in ‘88 as a side project with majority of their members being from Agnostic Front. After a hefty line-up change over these 20 years, the current and original front man Freddy Cricien is still ‘demonstrating his style’ on the mic but was once was sharing his role with younger brother and then bass player Roger Miret, who now leads the path with Agnostic Front. Once Roger left Madball in late ‘93 to continue with AF, he was replaced with current bass player and the big man himself, Hoya Roc. It seems as though over the years of breaks ups and make ups, the lads are stronger than ever and their commitment to the scene is highly regarded as is their continuous lively performances. It’s also not often you are given the opportunity to play on the same stage as the Ramones at New York’s CBGB’s where Madball were considered regulars, but unfortunately the home of underground has now closed down.
At this stage on the night, The Corner was boasting a decent crowd. Fists were in the air with anxiety and the pit was premature. Opening with ‘Demonstrating My Style’ only made the sh*t hit the fan even more. Followed by one of my favourites, ‘Hold It Down’ and ‘Ball Of Destruction’. For those dedicated Madball fans, you’ll probably notice that Freddy’s weight has fluctuated over the years. He is a big man indeed but one thing that hasn’t fluctuated is his showmanship. From the opening track, then throughout their set, they powered along with ease and there wasn’t a sigh of tiredness. The closing of ‘Heaven And Hell’ pretty much bought more hell than the anything as the pit opened bigger than any other track from the night. The volatile veterans were keen to give us some more so they blew out our ears with ‘Adapt And Overcome’ and ‘Infiltrate The System’. A short and sweet interval had then seen Madball ‘Set It Off’ with ‘Pride (Times Are Changing)’ as Freddy was joined for a sing-a-long with DBD vocalist Bryan Harris. To conclude a fantastic night of nothing but pure hardcore at its best was with no black eyeliner and no straight hair. Nothing but good times.
