CIV at Blue N Blue Bowl ‘08 - Picture from Destroy Babylon

Editors Note: Say hi to our newest staff writer Lily! Welcome aboard!

There is something about seeing a band on their home turf that makes the experience significantly more entertaining and powerful than seeing them play anywhere else. Some of the best performances I have ever seen are bands playing in their native stomping grounds and Black N Blue Bowl ‘08 was no different. Between Breakdown, Madball, Agnostic Front, and CIV, my mind was on the verge of a NYHC overload.

Read after the jump for more.

Madball played an insanely tight set including some classic songs that provoked a reaction the four walls of Studio B in Brooklyn could barely contain and subsequently renewed my love for the hardcore legends. Breakdown and CIV also made triumphant returns to the hardcore scene despite their sizable (and regrettable) absence. While CIV’s reaction was not as wild as I expected it to be, I was not surprised that people were losing their energy after Madball finished playing.

West Coast heavyweights Terror blew another one out of the water with relentless, raw energy despite the rising temperature in Studio B. I had not seen Terror since the Positive Numbers Fest in 2004 and was blown away by the enthusiasm and vigor injected into their live set.

Yours truly waited in line for about five hours and subsequentially missed Bloodclot and the insanity that comes with their live performance. In retrospect I ask myself “Was it worth the wait?” and the answer is easy; of course it was. I got to see CIV play most of Set Your Goals and I got to see Bulldoze play a surprise set as well.

By the end of the day, I had a sunburn on one half of my face from waiting in line, a severe thirst, and a rekindled loved for New York Hardcore. All in all, I would call it a successful day, worth every single second to see.

Tags: Black N Blue Bowl, show review //