01/05/2024 - LIVE LONGER BURN EVERYTHING, POLIO, PNEUMONIA, TOKILLAFLY, PACEMAKER, FUMAR @ GROUND ZERO STUDIOS

I need to stop waiting four-five fucking months before writing these blogs. I'm so sorry. This and maybe one other are the last in my eon-long backlog. I promise they're all getting put out this summer. Whatever, don't kill me. This was honestly one of my favorite local shows in a long time. Such a fantastic and fantastically weird lineup with friends old and new. As always, if you'd like to send me music shit, hit up my email [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.

photos courtesy of Isaac Geesling.

I struggle to remember the circumstances of this show. Propped between the ice of Flagstaff and the dissipating heat of a Phoenix winter, pre-mini tour and this blog's IN PASSING series, I think I have somewhat of an idea. Most of it, though, is probably lost in the haze of music and months. I do remember, though, being offered a joint by Travis of Live Longer Burn Everything, and discussing our hopeful anticipation of the return of post-hardcore with Isaac of Pacemaker. These were obviously highlights.

The last time I saw Fumar, someone twice my size broke my nose with a swinging elbow. It was nice to see them play without blood gushing from my nostrils and creating a biohazard in the bathroom this time. Phillip's guitar was thick and raw like sewage, bleeding into Niko's vocals like a unified growl of sludgish nonconformity. They split from thrashing pulses into breakdowns lead by Bam's lonely crashes and G's meaty bass grinding like a slow grind call for a disturbed funeral procession.

The ethos around crowdkilling is so interesting to me. I think people outside of this disgusting little bubble immediately turn to, "Oh, beat that fucker up," but these are inherent casualties--they come with the territory. Do you get mad when you get fucked up in the pit? Leave a like, comment, and subscribe. Let me know. Bang my line. Hit up my email. Add me on MySpace.

Choruses creamy with tapping guitar and vocals itchy at the edges of punk, Pacemaker was next. Riley and Isaac's shiny guitars sprinkled swinging chugs and bolt cutter metal over Tanner's heavy and tight bass riffs--spitting and screaming on hardcore's razor edge over Sverre's constantly building thumps of drums. Not a single moment was dull or unfilled, constantly overrun with gutter breakdowns and blast beat mania between washes of noise.

One of my favorite things about Pacemaker and what makes them, in my useless opinion, one of the most exciting up and coming post-hardcore outfits in the Southwest, is their ability to never fall onto distortion as a crutch. It's always used sparingly. Composition always trumps the slippery slope of meat-heady riffs (which are, of course, fantastic, but it's impressive when a band doesn't need them to be heavy. Which Pacemaker still absolutely is). 

Oh darling, baby, sweet tokillafly. Ushered in by Dazey's ancient screaming unlike any other, Kaden's spider (wink) breakdowns, Rio's slow hardcore rolls into oblivion and heavy heaven, and Bryce's marriage to noise and commitment to disturbance, this current era of tokillafly is the heaviest, most concise, and emotionally present yet. 

Heavier than themselves and what most can handle, they are unforgiving and a force to be reckoned with in every turn of their evolution. They've transformed from Monette's grimey stepsister band into a monster borne of their own hatred. Songs like Ennui embrace elements of nugaze and driving noise, while Transient forces shame into anyone anticipating a relief from disgust. With them, there is none. If you get the chance to see them, absolutely do. Chances are you'll see me there, too. Stream Rosemary/Recovering.

Filled with sweet, beautiful, familiar faces, Pneumonia rode into their own pumping driveway of thick, palpable emo noise. Berta's vocals are always a highlight--a statuette of unadulterated yearning in a single voice, timbre completely her own. Jon's pine needle snare and hat smatter ride out every junction of melancholy and anger, a gripping bear hug around Adam's elephant bass and Ari's driving, borderline-grunge leads.

Babies in the scene but still riding quickly to the very top, they pioneer holding back when they need to, and driving in the nail when it's most appropriate. They know exactly what to do in transitioning from harsh riffs to neck-breaking drives--all bleeding into one another in a creaking, dissonant, releasing amalgam of emo goo. Stream if only we could read between the lines we have drawn.

Polio was the special treat, the godsend mince power duo, the crushing and relentless bosses in their stupidly heavy riffs, that I didn't know I needed. Riley stacked up a nerve-racking coffin of four cabs behind him, his single guitar already massive and evil, igniting power into every blasting and demonic rhythm. Tanner's precise hands and sewage synth sprinkled texture and life into every grinding mince beat. His snare ate away at time right above a full kit of meat and fat so thick you could feel them giving you heart burn.

Polio doesn't just make grindcore or mince or whatever the fuck it's even called anymore, they use the genre as a launchpad to explore every corner, dipping into doom, shoegaze, mathcore, and everything in between. In a genre that is overcome by adolescence, Polio maintains emotional integrity and masterful playing at every corner. Stream Safety in Numbers.

Live Longer Burn Everything barely fit on stage with their five members and wall of meaty amps, the force of their noisy, rumbling introduction almost pushing them off of it completely. They immediately drenched us in a crushing wash of mathy powerviolence, Ben's fat, beating snare and chaotic time changes framing every step they made. Ryan and Travis' guitars tangled together with Randy's massive bass like a throbbing, twitching, metal worm electrocuted by the buzzing bees of their own feedback and constant energy. Billy stood, crumbled, and danced--sweaty screaming into the void.

I really appreciate the attention to melody in every one of Live Longer's songs, never staying in one place over the screaming call of their bastard guitars. Randy's vocals perch themselves just above their noise and Travis' winding, mathy riffs spill into grabbing hooks and painful breakdowns. Stream A Flash of LIVE and Then...

This was such a sick show. Show some love to Pacemaker and Polio, our big little sister bands from San Diego. I think after this one, I went home and slept immediately. That's most likely. Thanks for reading.

-Foster

Continuing Dead Mothers Collective's live session series, check out Mildred's new session.

See Pacemaker and Polio with Washed and Incari on June 25th at Che Cafe in San Diego, CA.

Also see Pacemaker and Live Longer Burn everything with Vomer, Oraciones, and Reclusr on July 20th at Burning Bridge Brewing in San Dimas, CA.

See tokillafly and Polio with Pulse, journal, and Kenipshun Pit on June 18th at Ground Zero Studios.

Also see them with Washed, Feed, and Taciturn on June 21st at MOCAF.

See Polio on tour with Pulse June 14th-June 19th.

Also see them at Punck Fest on August 16th at The Cum House in Pomona, CA.

See Live Longer Burn Everything at Che Fest on June 29th at Che Cafe in San Diego, CA.

Also see them with Composition Booklet and Existencia Immortal on June 30th at The Smell in Los Angeles, CA.

Also see them with Frail Body and a continent named coma on July 5th at The Nile Underground.

Also see them with Othiel, Quiet Fear, and Joi Lume on July 21st at Non Plus Ultra in Los Angeles, CA.