I have another show coming up at the BUG JAR in a few weeks. This isn't something I do nearly as much as I would like to anymore. Times have changed, the scene is a lot different now, and things are run a little bit differently than I would like at times. There are however still a lot of people that remind me of my youth, so when I book shows I try to find bands that fit into this spectrum. I also try to keep the bills somewhat diverse when I can. The $5 Sunday show is something I am testing out with this show. If it works, I hope to put on several of these Sunday shows throughout Rochester this year. This show features five bands, four of which are from this area mainly and one that is from Cleveland. NIGHT TERROR are a good up and coming Rochester band, they will be opening the bill. Next up is another good up and coming hardcore band from Rochester THE WEIGHT WE CARRY. These bands are newer, but their members have been supporting Rochester shows for years. Up next is OLD GHOSTS who will be appearing at the Bug Jar for the second time. If you have not checked out their LP Caskets yet, you definitely should. DEAD WORDS will be making the trek out from Cleveland for this show. I am excited for them to be playing this show, as I think their sound will be displayed perfectly at the Bug Jar. Rounding out the bill are Buffalo/Rochester's BEARDAGE . The beards will be getting loud and probably a little under the influence by this point in the night, so you won't want to miss this.
I have put on at most 4-6 shows per year since 2004. Depending on the outcome of this show, I would say that is an accurate estimate of how many shows I will be putting on in 2012, give or take one or two.
I only saw this band once, in 2004 on New Year's Day in Syracuse. I was still drunk and started going off with my glasses on during their intro. I would love to see this band again sometime. Their EP on Indecision Records is real solid.
As quickly as news travels these days, I am sure most people are aware that Rise Records is reissuing Poison The Well's LPs "The Opposite of December" and "Tear From The Red." Most people in the hardcore/metal underworld have likely already developed their own opinions. I personally am excited by this news.
I grew up listening to mostly traditional hardcore, and a lot of hip-hop, so I rarely found myself digging around for much else. Occasionally, though bands like Poison The Well would come along. When Trustkill Records first released "The Opposite of December" in late 1999, Poison The Well had one release under their belt already. I have never personally been too into this release. I remember "Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder" having one or two memorable songs on it, but it wasn't anything like "The Opposite Of December".
Again, I will take a step back and mention that I didn't usually listen to bands that sounded like Poison The Well. It was actually kind of by chance that I heard this record of theirs. At the time, I was really involved in the hardcore scene and had a fanzine (The Right Path) and I had a distro that I would bring to shows. At the time, record labels didn't have a lot of money and neither did I. So to get my distro off the ground, I would trade ads in my Zine for bulk CDs from record labels. I would also in turn review these CDs in my fanzine. Everyone usually walked away pretty happy, unless the band sucked.
I had already heard some of the hype about Poison The Well before I checked out this CD. Even though the internet had only a few message boards and chat rooms back then, you could still find out information if you wanted to. It's amazing to wrap your head around that concept, I know. I still didn't think Poison The Well would be anything for me to be all that interested in. I remember being floored by this CD pretty much right when I listened to it. Maybe it's because of my background, but this wasn't like anything I had ever heard before. Not only that, but by the time I got to the end of the record, I realized that I had listened to a perfect record. A perfect record to me is a full lp, with no filler songs. To me, pretty much every hardcore or metalcore had at least two filler songs on it. Realistically, there's probably less than 25 flawless hardcore/metalcore records in my opinion. "The Opposite of December" happens to be one of them. I realize a lot of my contemporaries are probably shocked by this and would look at Poison the Well as my "guilty pleasure." I would disagree with that. I don't stray away from the traditional NYHC beats all that often, so when I do I make sure it's something special. The melodies and the breakdowns are all placed perfectly here and I just can't deny that. Of course with a band that puts so much emotion into their recorded output, you would have to see them live to get the full package...
In between releasing "The Opposite of December" and "Tear From The Red," Poison The Well went on a pretty hectic touring schedule, or so it seemed to me anyway. I saw them quite a few times from 2000-2002, mostly in Syracuse. The first time, however was in Rochester at the second annual pre-Hellfest picnic. I remember them getting adding onto this show towards the last minute. This performance and their performance at Hellfest that year sealed the deal for me. Honestly, that weekend was the best weekend of my hardcore life. The first day of Hellfest was canceled so I went to Wilkes-Barre and saw American Nightmare, Bane, Adamantium, and a few other dope bands. Then, I saw one of the best fests I got to see in my years going to hardcore shows. Poison The Well was on tour with Twelve Tribes that summer. I remember catching this tour in Buffalo as well. Poison the Well played the last day of Hellfest. I had already broken my nose the night before during RTS so I just stood up front taking pics during them and Every Time I Die. I am not positive, but I think Poison The Well played in Syracuse on Black Friday that year with Bane, too. Either way, I went down to Gainesville Fest and caught them there with a bunch of other great bands. I remember some UFC dude cockblocking me from stagediving during their set. Oh well, I went off to AN and Kill Your Idols before anyway. I didn't really see Poison The Well too many more times after this.
Their next album "Tear From The Red" wasn't quite as incredible as "The Opposite of December," but it is still a great album and received much airplay for me when I lived in Brighton. This album had more of a Deftones feel at times to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means. It still had a very similar feel as the last album at times, but the sound was already progressing into more of a "post metalcore" sound.
Poison the Well signed to Atlantic Records not long after this and I slowly lost interest. That's not really a discredit to Poison The Well as much as it's me having listened to mostly hip-hop from 2003-2005. I do remember checking into "You Came Before You" and thinking it was another good progression for the band. Since then, I honestly haven't kept up with this band as much. I am sure Poison The Well released some great material during this time, but I can also imagine it's hard to be a band that has to try to live up to lofty expectations after releasing an album like "The Opposite of December." I didn't know at the time what I was experiencing within the hardcore and metalcore scene and I doubt bands like Poison the Well at the time realized just how influential they were going to be one day. While researching this blog piece, I find that Guitar World tabbed "The Opposite of December" one of the greatest hardcore records of all time. Like I said before, it is a perfect record. The two albums are slated for a Summer release through Rise Records. There will be limited Gatefold vinyl, I plan on acquiring some of this. One can only hope that the accompanying reissues will feature a tour of some sort, with a 2000 era lineup of sorts. In an era where hardcore is becoming more and more about posturing and fashion than anything else, it would be refreshing to see a band once again whose live performance speaks volumes over these new bands....
