Turock, Essen, Germany23rd June 2019
Agnostic Front - “Something’s Gotta Give” Tour 2019 – Support: Billybio
When it comes to New York Hardcore, it does not get any more old-school than AGNOSTIC FRONT. These are the guys who have been keeping it real since the early 80ies, and they are the true godfathers of the once again thriving New York Hardcore scene, paving the way for countless bands to come. But despite their age you can fully count on them giving you the full CBGB Hardcore treatment straight from the East Coast. Not taking any chances, they brought with them another undying fossil from the New York Hardcore scene: Special Guest BILLYBIO, the current musical outlet of Billy Graziadei, who some might remember from BIOHAZARD.
Billybio
The opening slot of the evening was dedicated to BILLYBIO, the newest band of legendary BIOHAZARD shouter and guitarist Billy Graziadei. While it has become relatively calm around the legendary Brooklyn Hardcore band, Billy seems to be incapable of containing the itch for making music and has channeled it - after two albums with POWERFLO - into the BILLYBIO release ‘Feed the Fire’, which was released end of last year. Check out http://www.billybio.com or https://www.facebook.com/BillyBioHardcore.
Music & Performance
It seems quite a lot of people were actually pumped to see BILLYBIO, as space in front of the stage notably got scarce. And the blonde and muscled-up Hardcore icon delivered. Billy - not inhibited by microphone stands or cables as he was wearing a wireless mic attached to his ear - sped back and forth on stage - all while shredding his signature Gibson guitar and screaming and shouting the lyrics of the songs. During a song break Billy shared that it was his 9 year-old son’s idea to get a headband mic like JUSTIN BIEBER. The band played songs from their new album, as well as some old-school BIOHAZARD hits, such as ‘Punishment’, or ‘Shades of Grey’, which definitely got the crowd to move, or “party like it’s 1995” - as Billy put it. For the song ‘Feed the Fire’ Billy got into the area in front of the stage to incite the first circle pit of the evening. In the second half of the gig, the band’s drummer had to take a longer break to vomit twice into a bucket which the bassist was holding, and it does not get any more hardcore than that.
However, he was cheered up by his bandmates and got a big round of applause for being able to continue the gig, which ended with the Uber BIOHAZARD hit ‘Punishment’ after a playtime of over 50 minutes. This was definitely one of the first highlights of the night, which left a lot of people exhausted and sweaty in the mosh pit. So people, who missed BILLYBIO on this gig, as well as during their support tour for LIFE OF AGONY last fall, should definitely put this band on their “must see”-list.
Setlist
01. Sodality
02. STFU
03. Shades of Grey (Biohazard cover)
04. Generation Z
05. No Apologies, No Regrets
06. Enemy
07. A Lot to Learn (Biohazard cover)
08. Feed the Fire
09. Love Denied (Biohazard cover)
10. Untruth
11. Authority
12. Rise And Slay
13. How It Is (Biohazard cover)
14. Sick And Tired
15. Get Up, Stand Up
16. Punishment (Biohazard cover)
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 7.8 / 10
Agnostic Front
As indicated, AGNOSTIC FRONT started the book on Hardcore together with the CRO-MAGS. They are currently on their 11th studio album, which is named ‘The American Dream Died’ and has been released in 2015. Except for a four year-hiatus between 1992 and 1997, they have been making music for 35 years straight. Go to https://www.facebook.com/agnosticfront to learn more.
Music & Performance
AGNOSTIC FRONT kicked off their set at a quarter past 9pm with ‘The Eliminator’ from their 1996 album ‘Cause for Alarm’. The approximately 400 people inside the hot and humid Turock went wild. And the band showed that they still got it after all these decades. They pumped out hit after hit from their extensive back catalog. Billy Graziadei joined his brothers on stage for ‘For my Family’, making it feel like some family celebration. Singer Roger Miret shared vocal duties with their new lead guitarist Craig Silverman, while rhythm guitarist Vinnie Stigma whirled across the stage like the mad man he is. For one song he also went down from the stage into the pit with dozens of people swirling around him to celebrate one big hardcore fest. The song ‘Addiction’ was celebrated with dozens of people from the audience who were pulled on stage to sing the song with the band.
Finally, after 50 minutes of playtime, AGNOSTIC FRONT paid tribute to the mighty RAMONES and celebrated the hymn ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ before calling it a day. No encores were granted, but the depleted oxygen levels made sure that the audience was not too unhappy about that, and people streamed back onto the street.
Setlist
01. The Eliminator
02. Dead to Me
03. My Life My Way
04. Police Violence
05. Only in America
06. Old New York
07. For My Family
08. Friend or Foe
09. Victim in Pain
10. Your Mistake
11. Never Walk Alone
12. All Is Not Forgotten
13. Peace
14. Crucified (Iron Cross cover)
15. Gotta Go
16. Riot Riot Upstart
17. Police State
18. Take Me Back
19. A Mi Manera
20. Addiction
21. Pauly The Dog
22. Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones cover)
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10
All Pictures by Christian Beyermann
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