On Saturday night Philadelphia hardcore veterans Paint It Black returned to Anaheim to play legendary venue Chain Reaction for the first time in over a decade after opening their West Coast tour at The Echo in Los Angeles the night before. With an impressive line up including Sweat, Entry, and Dangers playing in support, the venue was packed in anticipation of a night to remember.
Gritty Los Angeles rockers Sweat opened the show, full of raw energy and setting the tone for the calculated chaos yet to come.
Entry took the stage next, and, as always, whipped the room into a frenzy as vocalist Sara Gregory paced the stage with ferocious intensity, the audience responding in kind, the floor starting to move and energy building.
By the time Los Angeles hardcore legends Dangers took the stage, the room was teeming with wild energy and, as always, Dangers blew the lid off with an incredible set that not only excited but inspired, as vocalist Al Brown delivered personal stories and screamed lyrics with the signature raw intensity that has always made Dangers such a force to be reckoned with.
While even vocalist Dan Yemin admitted Dangers are a tough act to follow, Paint It Black played off the frenetic energy Dangers had built, and by the time they tore into a gripping rendition of “Greetings, Fellow Insomniacs” the entire crowd was screaming along, the pit thrown into a frenzy as the band ripped through track after track. It may have been 14 years since Paint It Black had last graced the stage at the infamous Anaheim venue, but you would never know a single day had passed as they performed songs new and old in perfect form, Yemin as passionate and authentic as he’s ever been, perhaps even more so in the face of a world that continues to spiral further away from all that is just or fair with each passing day.
By the end of the night both the bands and the crowd were left exhausted yet inspired by what had transpired that evening. From hearing Dangers’s Al Brown tell his own hardcore realization story to Dan Yemin’s passionate call for awareness and action in a world that desperately needs intervention, we were each reminded that hardcore is more than just music, it is community and action, it is awareness and, in it’s own way, sometimes salvation.
Photos: Ray Camacho – @punk_monk_ray – https://raymondecamacho.myportfolio.com/
Paint It Black
Dangers
Entry
Sweat
