Agnostic Front helped continue a strong year for American hardcore in Stuttgart, when they arrived with Wisdom In Chains and Raw Brigade.
As far as American hardcore shows in Stuttgart are concerned, this has been a good start to the year. The crowd included many fans who had also attended the previous American hardcore show at Im Wizemann, where fellow NYHC band Madball opened for Lionheart just three weeks prior.
The sold-out Friday the 13th show started with Raw Brigade, a straight-edge hardcore band from Bogotá, Colombia, as the opening band of the evening. Their reputation for high-energy and intense performances was immediately validated as they took the stage and set the tone for the evening.
They are a four-person band that typically includes vocalist Carlos Chavarriaga, bassist Kristian Gonzalez, guitarist Nicolai Camargo, and drummer Juan Maldonado. However, for this show, Nico took over singing duties while Carlos traveled to the United States to finalize his citizenship. Nico, who also plays in Bogotá-based bands CEGUERA and Bounce Back, delivered an energetic performance that matched the crowd’s intensity. It was clear from the crowd’s enthusiasm that he did not disappoint! The band kept the crowd moving and engaged.
They played many songs that many of the crowd knew and sang along with. After getting the crowd worked up and moving side-to-side, they ended their set with their song, “Terrorist,” leaving the crowd roused and ready for the next band.
After a short breather, the crowd was pumped up again and ready to go for Wisdom in Chains, an American hardcore band based in Pennsylvania. They started as a unique collaboration between Dare Devil, a hardcore band from the Netherlands, and Krutch, an American hardcore band from Philadelphia.The rowdy, vigorous atmosphere began the moment singer Frankie Puopolo set foot on the stage. During the first song, “Mindset,” he was already on the barricade, screaming the song lyrics with the crowd. The fans were enthusiastically screaming the lyrics back to him and slinging beer the whole time. Frankie, known for his high-intensity crowd interactions, kept jumping back to the barricade and even joked that he brings his own mic cord because he always breaks them at shows.
For “Fighting in the Streets,” they got the crowd even more hyped up with singing, moshing, and of course, two-stepping. They shared their love for fellow hardcore singer, Lou Koller, from Sick of It All, before playing a cover of “Step Down.” The energy never lagged for the whole show; it only seemed to keep ramping up, with the crowd showing no signs of being tired yet. They wrapped up their set with “Chasing the Dragon.”
Up next was the headliner, Agnostic Front, a quintessential NYHC band that started in the 1980s and continues to make significant contributions to the scene today. The band has undergone numerous lineup changes, with a total of 32 current and previous members combined. Most of these changes took place from the band’s early years through the late 1980s. The current lineup has remained largely stable since 2000, with the addition of Craig Silverman on guitar in 2014 and Danny Lamagna, formerly of Sworn Enemy, on drums.When it was time for them to play, they started with an intro of Frank Sinatra’s song “Theme from New York, New York.” When they came out on the stage, they took command of the room in a way that only hardcore music can when they opened with “Way of War.” Guitar player and founding band member Vinnie Stigma was also his friendly and playful self with the audience while on stage, putting on the very best show, as always. Later, they played “Old New York” and called for a giant circle pit. Further into the set, Nico Camargo came back out to sing “United Blood” from their first album in 1983 of the same name.
They followed that up with the song, “Sunday Matinee,” from their latest album, Echoes in Eternity. Longtime singer Roger Miret showed his appreciation for the crowd and said they are family before starting “For My Family,” where it seemed that every person in the club sang along. Then Vinnie took over the microphone from Roger for the song “Power.”
Closer to the end of the set, Frankie Puopolo came back on stage and into the barricade area to sing “Gotta Go” with the band and crowd. The crowd loved having both singers for this one and were at their loudest for this song. For the last song of the set, they played “Addiction.” Just when everyone thought they were done for the night, Roger was reminiscing about legendary shows at CBGB’s and said without that influence, hardcore might not exist today. He then said they had one more and asked the audience to sing “loud and proud” with him before he gave a shout out: “to Joey, to Johnny, to Dee Dee, and to Tommy. To the Ramones!” before they started playing a cover of “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
The evening ended with the band and audience singing “Happy Birthday” to bass player Mike Gallo. Once the band left the stage, Vinnie enthusiastically joined the remaining people in the crowd. He then danced with every lady he saw along his way to the merch booth in the entryway. Once out in the entryway, fans had the chance to talk with most of the band members who played that night; some fans even grabbed an after-show beer with some of the band members.
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