This past week, local punk-rock band The Riot Before celebrated the release of their second LP,
This past week, local punk-rock band The Riot Before celebrated the release of their second LP, Rebellion, with a party at local restaurant and venue Strange Matter, featuring performances by The Great Explainer and Worn in Red, as well as the band themselves.
The show kicked off a little later than expected, around 10:30, but had a decent turn-out, and the strength of the lineup coupled with the quality of the sound made up for everything. The trio of bands that played were well chosen, and complemented each other well. All three shared a similar punk aesthetic with varying elements of post-hardcore and mid to late-nineties pop punk, as well as similar Chuck Regan/Tom Gabel inspired vocal stylings, while still maintaining enough of an individual sound to stand apart from each other.
Despite the less-than-packed crowd, the supporting acts killed it, bringing a kind of intensity that got the crowd in the right mood for the headliners. Both bands were tight, they had presence, and thanks to Strange Matter’s solid PA and wiz-kid audio engineer JK, sounded great.
By the time the men of the hour took the stage, the evening had worn on, and the crowd was ready for a solid finish, with which they were not disappointed. The Riot Before came on and played the kind of fun, loose, but comfortable show you would expect from them given the context. They weren’t at their tightest, but they were in high spirits, and lead vocalist Brett Adams stopped every so often to banter with the crowd, most of who were friends and loved ones of the band. They played a great celebratory show, which they clearly enjoyed just as much as the audience.
The LP, Rebellion, was released April 27 on Paper and Plastic. Also among their releases are one other LP, Fists Buried in Pockets, two 7″es, and one other release entitled “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.”
Many thanks to the bands, the fans that support them, and Strange Matter, the venue that again and again is proving itself worthy of its predecessor’s reputation.
