Paint It Black/Punch/Iron Chic/Vaccine/Zombie Dogs Show

I think I mentioned this show a few posts back, but if I didn't, here goes.
A few weeks ago, fellow staff dudes Sean and Jack noted on facebook that they were attending a show in Brooklyn headlined by Paint It Black. Seeing as NYC is about as far as I'm typically capable of traveling on a loaded school & work schedule, I made an exaggerated "ooo!" face and made my way to the show's page to check it out. I'm a fan of Paint It Black, and I really like Iron Chic, but the fact that Punch was finally playing another show in the area was what sold me, especially since I fucked up 2 opportunities to see them in just the past year. Ever since the heroic and totally missed Bammy Rabbit (or Tabitha) of the "Kamikaze Tailspin" blog introduced me to Punch through a conversation on last.fm, I've given them a pretty regular spin. They're probably my favorite current hardcore band, and Bammy's description of their live show (as well as the ridiculous distance she traveled to see them on their s/t LP's launch gig) had me convinced there was necessity in hearing them in person.
Unfortunately, I slacked a bit and didn't watch for the tickets to go on sale EVERY GODDAMN SECOND and they sold out almost instantly. I guess it had to do with Paint It Black barely ever playing or something. I dunno. I responded to one girl's offer, but then she started a bidding war and the price bloated up from 12 bucks to 60. In a last ditch effort, I-
You know what? Who cares?

1.) Zombie Dogs
Alright, so the show opened with Zombie Dogs, a local all-girl hardcore band I'd never heard before. They put on a decent show despite how few people in the audience seemed to be familiar with them, but all I kept thinking was "This band sounds like a 45 played on 33". Well, maybe their condition isn't that extreme, but the correlation certainly wasn't irrelevant, especially when I listened to the recorded versions afterward. The four are pretty obviously influenced by classic 80's hardcore - and who could hold it against them? - but I feel like I'd really dig them if they'd approximate the reckless abandon of their influences.
Check 'em out:

http://www.myspace.com/zombiedogsnyc

2.) Vaccine
Didn't show up. Frownie emoticon. They're really good, though, so that implied frownie emoticon is legit as they come. They're made up of members of Think I Care, Ampere, and a couple others and play that ripping brand of straight edge powerviolence only someone with a heart of stone couldn't love. Also: almost every living being. It's easy to forget how extreme music dances on the fringe. They've got a great demo out, as well as an EP I haven't heard, and apparently a 5" in the works. 5" records are hilarious.

http://www.vaccinexxx.blogspot.com/

3.) Iron Chic
Sean just reviewed these guys a few weeks back, which you can check out here.
Iron Chic is one of the jillion post-Latterman bands, and probably my second favorite following the incredible RVIVR. Also, they apparently boot many an ass in a live setting, and within seconds threw half the audience into a screaming, flailing, trance. It's bands like this that really require the listener to get the lyrics down, because there's really nothing more cathartic and energizing than screaming every word with the vocalists and audience melding into one gigantic chorus. Even though it got lost under the screaming sometimes, they were extremely tight, and the instrument-less vocalist (pictured above) had an hilarious stage presence, looking like he was rolling on E or something, with his fingers curling through his hair as he swayed back and fourth. Awesome.

http://www.myspace.com/ironchicsmyspace

4.) Punch
Punch were easily the highlight for me, completely justifying the past year's struggles. The singer, Meghan, humbly introduced the band, feedback rose, and the band's brand of ass-tearing edge-violence exploded without another word. Admittedly, I probably thrashed around a bit too much for the current, Winter-induced patheticness of my physical being to handle, but hey, sometimes sacrifices must be made for punk rawk. I guess it goes without saying that the band completely floored me, but, well, there it is. Being a pretty proficient not-musician, I've always been amazed to witness a band perfectly replicate the inhuman speed, aggression, and tightness they display on record, and Punch did just that. If you're a fan of these guys and haven't seen them in the flesh yet, I highly recommend paying way too much for a secondhand ticket at the last second. Probably the most fun I had since the Capitalist Casualties performance at last year's Maryland Deathfest where this monster truck of a man picked me up and threw me into a bunch of crusty girls. Good times.

http://www.myspace.com/punchcrew

5.) Paint It Black
To be honest, before this show, I probably hadn't listened to Paint It Black in over a year. At the tail end of high school, I went into a super heavy Lifetime/Kid Dynamite/Paint It Black/New Mexican Disaster Squad melodic hardcore phase, reveling primarily in the fact that they all sounded like somewhat different incarnations of the same band (topically, not dissimilar to the post-Latterman family I mentioned earlier). Due to the time spent apart, I can't say they were quite the release Punch and Iron Chic were, but they put on a great show nonetheless, with the highlights of course, being the small handful of songs I could actually recall the lyrics to. Bonus points go to the vocalist for his introductory rant about "bro shit" like feet first stage diving and whirling dervish moshing being exclusionary and "no longer part of this scene." A few points get knocked off because he made me feel bad about losing my shit to Punch and I'm a vindictive jerk.

http://www.myspace.com/paintitblack

All in all, an incredible show I'm glad I shelled out for. Unfortunately, me, Jack, and his friend Mike came home (back to Jack's dorm) to a drunken pit of screaming, glass-breaking, cacophony that wouldn't let up til 4 AM - arguably not the best conditions to fall asleep to.
Apparently Hoboken celebrates St. Patrick's Day 12 days early?