Sick of It All: February 9, 2008 at Highline Ballroom, NYC

Hardcore punk depends on an energy and enthusiasm that can only be described as youthful. A style that reveres animated performance and breakneck speed, it lends itself to brevity--short songs, short albums, and often short careers; genre godfathers Minor Threat played for fewer than five years. To endure for any great length of time would be, it seems, to burn-out.

But Sick of It All proves that, with the right attitude, a couple of punk rockers can maintain an angry, earnest, and convincing exuberance for decades. During their show at the Highline Ballroom in February, the 22 year veterans of the New York hardcore scene bounded across the stage like a couple of pissed-off, fun loving teenagers. Guitarist Pete Koller hopped playfully in circles as he churned out sharp, simple riffs in a fashion that was workmanlike without being mechanical. His brother Lou belted leftist political diatribes both old ("Injustice System") and new ("Uprising Nation") like he still meant every word. You couldn't accuse them of going through the motions.

After so many years on the road, Sick of It All understands these shows better than anyone; they know what their fans want. They encouraged the crowd to stage-dive, sing along, and circle pit to their heart's content. The band played for a modest 50 minutes and drew quick, scrappy tunes from all eight of their albums. The three cuts from their latest release, Death To Tyrants, were worthy additions to the set, but the band focused mostly on early material, especially from 1989's classic Blood, Sweat, and No Tears.


While onstage, Sick of It All never felt the need to posit themselves as the torchbearers of the scene, nor did they congratulate themselves for lasting while so many others have come and gone. They came across as a group that's just happy doing what they genuinely love. It's all they know. "After so many years in hardcore," said Lou, "I realize how socially retarded I am everywhere else."

The Koller brothers weren't the only NYHC legends to take the stage. Singer John Joseph, known for his work with 80s crossover legends the Cro-Mags, opened with his new band Bloodclot, which also features Danny Schuler of Biohazard on drums, among other longtime scene vets. Joseph commands attention, shifting onstage, jittery and spastic, and his banshee yelp remains one of the most unique voices ever to grace hardcore, though at times he appeared winded, uttering only every third word.

More disappointing was Bloodclot's overall sound, indistinguishable from that of much recent, metallic hardcore, down to its cookie-cutter, machine gun styled breakdowns. They played the sound well enough--"Revolution" rocked with a heavy, catchy bounce--but one would hope that an outfit with such a pedigree would do more than emulate bands who grew up on their music. The highlights came at the end of their set with a couple of covers: Bad Brains' "I Against I," and "Life of My Own" and "Hard Times" by the Cro-Mags.