This was genius–after spending the late 80s listening to a trashed cassette copy of "Age of Quarrel," I feel REALLY fortunate to have caught John Joseph in one of his rare Cro-Mags incarnations–with original drummer Mackie Jayson and a couple other NYHC vets–a guy from Leeway and somebody else, I forget who. They were fantastic though, and they KNOW what they did that was good–they played practically that whole first album (as opposed to the goofy metal stuff that came after), plus a cover of "Right Brigade" by Bad Brains, which fucking kicked ass, as well as a half-assed cover…

Sat 8 Nov – Return of Slapshot
Unfortunately I missed the opening bands, and got there just after Slapshot got started. They fucking tore it up though! Anchors Up is this small space in the basement of Welfare Records in Haverhill, Mass.–couldn't have been a lot more than 100 people there. It was so crowded (except for the wide-open pit in front of the stage) and hot and humid that water was dripping off the I-beams across the ceiling. Anybody who wanted a shot at the mike just had to get up near the stage–Choke handed it off repeatedly. It…

Sat 11 Oct – Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, The Gaslight Anthem
The crowd was really into this show, but I basically thought it was so-so. I don't know if it was where I was standing, but during RA, the sound was kind of muffled/distorted. Ton of college kids there too. Thrice was probably the most interesting band, with a set that included a cover of "Helter Skelter."