Outbreak/Forfeit/New Lows/Wrong Answer/Accident Prone @ The Barbary 2/20/10

Saturday hardcore matinees at The Barbary have been rolling as of late, and the latest installment was another great way to spend an afternoon. Cold, boring winter afternoons in the Northeast don't get too much better than this, especially for only 10 bucks. I haven't seen Outbreak in about four years or so, probably at the Knitting Factory with Bane or Modern Life is War, but I can't remember exactly who. While I'm not all that stoked on their material after the Forfeit LP, I was still excited to catch them again.

I missed out on Philly locals, Accident Prone, but from what I can tell they seem to be worth checking out. I usually try to avoid buying into the "ex-members of ____" gimmicks but its hard to ignore a group with current members of Crumbler and My Turn to Win, and ex-members of Drug Test and One Up. They have a pretty gritty old school straightedge influence, so next time I'll have to get out earlier to see for myself.

Wrong Answer from Bucks County, PA, plays hardcore in the vein of Integrity, but with the metal dialed down a bit. They played a decent set, complete with an old Integrity cover to finish everything up. The singer and lead guitar player have an especially energetic stage presence, clearly feeling the songs they're playing.

I've been really psyched on New Lows from Boston ever since their set at Sound and Fury this past summer. Dark, low, brooding hardcore for fans of upside down crosses and long, slow mosh parts; get into it. They haven't been playing a ton of shows lately, and their set definitely started out somewhat rigid. About midway through "Hatchethead," they knocked the rust off and started to really get into a groove. This was a fun set, as the band played songs from the self titled EP, demo, Paincave Sessions tape, and a brand new track from their forthcoming LP on Deathwish Inc.

Reaper Records outfit, Forfeit, followed up with an equally heavy set, chugging along like a locomotive run off the train tracks. Hearing some material off The Lower Depths live somewhat changed my feelings on the record, and the band makes their recorded songs sound even better. Not every hardcore band can pull this off, so I was pretty impressed with their tight, expressive performance. I couldn't believe how weak the crowd was during this set though, which was kind of a bummer.

Outbreak straight raged through their set, blasting through just under 20 minutes of music without saying a word. I love when bands just hit the stage and rip through fast, pounding hardcore songs like this, with fast as hell drumming and guitars. Even their newer songs sounded alright, and the amount of energy they're still capable of playing with kept things moving at a blistering pace. The crowd obviously felt the same way, rushing the stage during older songs like "Scum," "You're a Waste," and "Braindead." Sing-a-longs were in full effect for most of the set, reminding me of the times I saw these guys back in high school and college.

This was a great way to kick off my Saturday, although the crowd was small and fairly tame for most of the show. There's plenty more hardcore matinees at The Barbary coming up soon, including Skarhead/Bulldoze/Shattered Realm/Punishment on 2/27 and Blacklisted/The Rival Mob/Gods & Queens on 3/7. Until next time...