1997: Integirty, Lockjaw, Catharsis ROCHESTER

Edit:
As pointed out by Sweeper, Burning Human was the other Troycore band on the bill. They had members of Stigmata, a good and often overlooked Troycore band. I should also make mention of the fact that none of the photos seen here are from this show. I didn't start taking pictures at shows until April of 1997 and I actually don't have any of my old photos anymore anyway. I had about seven apartments from 2000-2005 and at some point in time I lost a lot of stuff. If anyone has any photos from any shows from 1997-2003, I need them ASAP!!!!!


For some reason, not all of my memories from this show are as clear as others. There are a couple events aside from the bands' sets that I do remember from this night. Some of these include buying a HATEBREED 7" off either Scott Vogel or Steve Titus. I am pretty sure I wore this record out within a month. I recall overhearing Steve Titus in total shock at the fact that Erik Warner was selling the VIP lp for $50 at the time. I wonder what that record would fetch off EBAY today. This was also probably the biggest local hardcore show I had been to up to this point. It's hard to say though, because the One King Down show a couple months prior had a pretty decent sized crowd as well. This Integrity show was March 15, 1997- not May 15 as the video states. I know because it was three days before my 16th birthday. I remember this was around the time I had first dabbled in vegetarianism, something I would accomplish for good that summer.

I had always heard stories of Nazi skinheads having been around at Rochester and Buffalo hardcore shows, but for some reason I never really believed these scumbags would really show up to our shows. On this night, I was proven wrong. These wastes of space would only make appearances at a couple shows in 1997 luckily though and that was it.

Anyway, like I said before my memory of this show is a little bit fuzzier than I would like for it to be. What's funny about this show was that it was held at a church that I would end up living down the street from ten years later. No hardcore shows were held there again after a 1998 Cold as Life show though. The first band I remember seeing on this show was LOCKJAW. They were a great and overlooked Buffalo hardcore band. a lot of the members in the band are still around in the Buffalo hardcore scene today. Real good dudes.

I remember two Troycore bands played after this. I know Dying Breed was one of them, but I can't for the life of me remember the other band's name. I recall thinking these bands were more entertaining for their in between song banter than anything else. There was a compilation with all of these bands on it that was in heavy rotation at my frind Ben's house that summer. Both of these bands from what I recall were more on the deathcore side of things.

Catharsis was the band that really stood out for me at this show. I would go crazy over this band for the next four years or so, seeing them in Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, and Syracuse several times. While some of Brian Dingeldine's lyrical matter is at a times a little over the top, this music was always perfect for my shitty moods over those years. This music would be perfect for the apocalypse. It was at this show that I bought Inside Front fanzine for the first time as well. Some of the stuff that Erik Warner wrote in there was probably the funniest stuff I've ever read in a fanzine. I downloaded most of the Catharsis recordings a year or so ago and they still got me amped up for the revolution. Also, one of my favorite memories of being a hardcore kid involves shooting fireworks off after Gaineville Fest with Brian Catharsis in 2000. Good times.

I am pretty sure Catharsis played right before Integrity, but the Troycore bands might have been after them. Anyway, there were quite a lot of Nazis at this show. Hardcore and punk in the 80s used to bring a lot of these dickheads out in droves. I guess they had a liking for Integrity too, as at least ten or fifteen of them were there. I was straight edge at the time and had a patch on my backpack stating so of course. One of these assholes came up to me before Integrity started and asked me if I had any beer in my bookbag. I said no and walked away. I have imagined myself inflicting a lot of damage on him since then. I guess I'm just glad Quentin Tarantino was able to take my frustrations out for me on the screen a couple years back.
Anyway, I was not all that familiar with Integrity at the time and I honestly wasn't all that into the few songs we were there for. I think all of the tough guy bullshit was a bit much for me then, too. Of course I love it all now. I think this show was before Ezec beat up Dwid in Europe, but I could be wrong..


If you look closely around the three minute mark of the second part of the Integ set, you can see my friends and I leave. I was only sixteen at the time and my friend had a patch on his jacket that said "Kick nazi scum off our streets." While I do agree with the message on the patch, given how riled up these pieces of shit seemed at the time, it seemed like a good idea to bounce. So we did. I remember the next night at a Snapcase show my friend Jim saying he overheard the nazis say afterward: "Where did the SHARPies go? Now I don't know if they were definitely referring to us or not, but I am glad I never found out. I would love to someday hit a nazi in the back of the skull with a lead pipe but it's just not a great idea. It is crazy to watch this video fourteen years later and to wonder what the hell happened to some of these people. There should be a mid-90s east coast hardcore reunion festival soon.