Concerts I’ve been to since the pandemic started

This LIHC band closed out the night after Anxious, and even though I’d never heard their stuff and they only have one album, I felt it in my bones. This is my shit, I grew up with it, back when I had no idea this music was so Long Island-centric, and I’ll never stop loving it.

These guys made it onto my other lists for how much I’ve binged this new-emo album, so I wanted to see them live. Had no idea they’d lean so far into hardcore in their live set. It was really awesome. Brooklyn Vegan called the whole show “the melodic hardcore set of the year.”

Went to see Anxious with a couple friends and this young hardcore band opened for them, and put on a killer set. The lead singer just kept telling people to get up there and stage dive, the whole show. No security, mad fun. We felt like the oldest people there.

My wife loves this guy after hearing him on Eurovision a few years ago. Super fun. We went for her birthday and danced a ton.

Yes, I saw The Beths twice in 2023. They played pretty much the same set, and weren't better or worse than earlier this year. What was cool to see this time around was the crowd was much bigger and the venue a bit smaller, so it was more intimate and they must be growing in popularity throughout the year. Good, they deserve it.

A fun concert with fun pits from one of my favorite finds of 2023. This album came out this year, and while myself and the crowd loved it, they were going more crazy for the band's 2017 release Rhombithian. Their rock sits at the intersection between angry, fun, depressed, happy, and heavy—they're the perfect band for me.

I think it’s been over a dozen years since I saw Red Fang last. They’ve had a few albums and hits since then, but they ended with Prehistoric Dog which brought the house down and finally got me and everyone else into the pit.

Also my wife was there, who has since become a big fan too, and it was really nice to enjoy it and headbang together.

This duo opened for Red Fang. We only caught a few songs, and they suffered from “opener” syndrome where the sound guy makes them sound like shit. But listening to their recorded music, I dig ‘em (not the band name though, that’s not great).

After a decade-long break, The Hives are back. This was their first show in NYC in over 11 years. They played a tight 45min set, hitting all the hits, and the front man had really great stage presence and crowd skills. Super fun.

I’ll update this single to the full new album when it releases next month.

One of my favorite albums of 2022, and a fun concert. One of those times the sound guy did a fantastic job and my ears didn’t hurt afterwards.

The 20th anniversary tour. They played the album straight through and it was magical. I wore a mask and planned to stay in the back, but I couldn’t help myself and went into the pit during the second song. I started to feel ill the next day and was COVID-positive for the first time a few days later.