Good fests come along once in a blue moon, and, with respect to our lovely little wintry wonderland, are somewhat of a anomaly here in the Queen City. Oh sure, you have your Veggie Fests and Decency Rallies, but Buffalo is a “what have you done for me lately” kinda place.
We are blessed in that sense.
Buffalo breeds the toughest and the most dedicated. Not quick to rest on their laurels, the movers and shakers of the scene embody the DIY ethic that has made punk and hardcore the most significant form of underground music in the last 30 years. Case in point: Cold Blood MMXV, a 17 band first-run fest featuring some of the best and most rippingest (fuck a vocab) in local punk and hardcore (and a bunch of out of towers too) brought to you by Josh Smith, owner of Black Dots and Melody Seymour from Mayday!.
Rather than give you a full description of each of the bands (listed below) I’m going to make some suggestions based on bands I like.
Rotten (UK) has been building a lot of steam lately, what with their “bat shit crazy” EP release and some much-deserved national recognition. One of the few bands to embrace UK-82 in the city, they’re nasty, wild and a pleasant treat, if you like your treats filthy and covered in spit.
Gas Chamber is another local fave. A combination of unsettling vibes, and discordant hardcore, they are a uniquely fresh live and recorded presence.
Born Wrong is just plain heavy…and awesome
And Alpha Hopper, a new project featuring Toohill from JOHNS is awesome too.
This is an all-day kinda thing, and you’d be a fool to miss any of the bands so get there when it starts at 2pm. Saturdays are perfect for day drinking and the Polish Library is perfect for drinking, period, so you have no excuse.
ALPHA HOPPER (Buffalo, NY)
BLOOD PRESSURE (Pittsburgh, PA)
BORN WRONG (Hamilton, ON)
THE BRAIN (Toronto, ON)
CHUD (Bloomington, IN)
DREAM JOURNAL (Buffalo, NY)
FLIP SHIT (Rochester, NY)
GAS CHAMBER (Buffalo, NY)
GAY MAYOR (Holyoke, MA)
HEALER (Buffalo, NY)
JUNK DRAWER (Buffalo, NY)
LAUGHING GAS (Bloomington, IN)
MORON (Northampton, MA)
ROTTEN UK (Rochester, NY)
TAPEHEAD (Rochester, NY)
WET BRAIN (Cleveland, OH)