02/18/2024 - JOURNAL, CLOSET GOTH, THE CHONKS, HERNIA @ A WAREHOUSE

Hello. Yes, I am back, and for a long time to come. I'm hoping to post one regular blog (show write-up or interview) AND one review blog per week from here on out. Yes, two blog posts a week. Isn't that stupid? Anyway, you know the drill: send all of your music things to my email [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.

Washed had just played their first out of state show, driving straight off the freeway and into the motel parking lot across the street from an unassuming warehouse in Flagstaff, the sun already put down for the night. Everyone called the little spot MOCAF 2.0, and I could see why. It was a warehouse of empty space, filled only with bodies and cables, the difference being the vibrant remnants of life and art splattered across each of the four, tall-ceiling-ed walls.

photos stolen from bands' Instagrams.

Hernia opened the door for the night's music, the effects on Ray's vocals a static mess of grinding noise over Trevor's pounding beats like chunks of moldy flesh. Daniel's thrashing guitar over Nuke Sedona introduced grind like stones skipping in dirt--nasty and ragged in tandem with Trevor's constant peddling-pop snare. They keep a tight and steady, gripping command over Flagstaff and their hungry punks. Stream Herniated.

In a whirlwind of speed-punk-gibberish, stabbing guitar polka, and plaster toms, The Chonks took the stage next. Their noisy indie riffs bordered on surf with little dips into grunge and outlines of punk. Ivy and Duncan's guitars were squeaky and shot in and out of tune like a punk homage to disorder. Ari gave an energetic edge to every grunge-y riff, his quippy smatterings painting the kit with a collage of genre flirtation under Leah's anchoring bass. Stream Urine Bong Rip b/w Congregate.

I had a hard time finding any information on Closet Goth's touring members, so if I do not mention all of them by name, I'm so fucking sorry... Beginning in a pound of meat and screeching pains of itching guitar like alien vomit. Every song contributed to a constant motion from transition to riff to song to end. Doom-infused schizophrenic drum fills, choppy and crushed, bled into the hick-y crunch of messy riffs and fuzzy monster bass.

Col had a Raygun-esque stage presence, a gravelly rant over songs and just above his pacing, dragging feet. He snuck behind the band to hide from the feedback of the shitty Yamaha speakers I lended to the show--a shiny noise ping-ponging between magnetized speakers. The guitar was reverbed and lost in a room away, just a whisper. Stream All Wrestlers Die.

God-abandoned and throbbing in a newfound darkness, journal closed. Love's screams for refuge are a demanding, full-body experience--as the ethos of journal must be, not just music to be music. Jack's aching Telecaster is needly and pieced together by the momentum of a band reformed. Zander's octopus of percussion leans them further into violence and hardcore, reformed and reformed and washing over me and any in range.

reaching is journal's hit of unexpected immediacy, "I'll kill you first" demanding to be screamed from the highest mountain. Between obsessive rants and blasting moments of reflection in pain and the crushing weight of fracture, journal is un-ignorable and on a collision course for the world. Stream journal.

I'm getting back into the swing of things here, so I'm sorry if this one was a little short. I'll have more little treats for you all very soon. Stay watching. Go to shows. Support. The things. Thank you for reading.

-Foster

Continuing Dead Mothers Collective's live series, check out Big Brown Cow's new video on YouTube.

Check out Callused Magazines' YouTube, they interview great underground artists. Check out Washed's interview.

See Hernia with Garnak, I.V., and DJ Emmett on July 13th at Flagstaff Brewing Company.

Also see them with Deterioration, Gestation, Göro, High on Formaldehyde, and Vomiting on July 17th at Ground Zero Studios.

Also see them with Blast Addict, Gestation, Nyctophagia, Nuclear Remains, and Munk on August 2nd at PV Lounge.

Also see them at Hard Gored Fest on August 3rd at The Legion.

See The Chonks with Physical Education, Fencer, and Bitter Half on July 18th at The Twist on Main.

See Closet Goth with Lozenge, Finnish Postcard, Ariella, and DJ Baby Gabe on July 13th at Non Plus Ultra.

See journal with Common Girl, Twistur, The Erased, Vitil, and My Stuffed Rabbit on July 13th at Ground Zero Studios.

Also see them with Shortstop, Feel More Less, I.V., and Washed on August 16th at The Vibe.