Stage Diver during Gorilla Biscuit’s Rev25 set on June 9, 2012 appropriately wearing a Revelation Records t-shirt.

It’s been hard to transition back to normal life after a weekend as awesome as Rev25 – Revelation Records 25th Anniversary Shows in CA. For the past twenty years, one thing has kept me tied to hardcore – the fact that hardcore really is a family. Around the globe, I’ve made friends in the hardcore world that are still friends to this day and though I don’t see these friends as frequently as I would like, it doesn’t matter one iota. At Rev25, I made new friends from Australia, Canada, several South American countries and, of course, Germany. It’s safe to say that at least 4 continents were represented at Rev25. Not to say that everything is perfect in hardcore – as with all families, the hardcore family is definitely dysfunctional but there’s no question that there is a level of respect and love that isn’t found in any other music genre. And, it was nice to be with a group of people that understand that I don’t drink because I choose not to do so – not because I am super religious, a recovering alchoholic, etc. – straightedge isn’t exactly the norm for the mid-thirties set. I’ve been lucky to go to a few hardcore reunions over the past few years – Burning Fight, the Anti-Matter Anthology Shows featuring a Snapcase reunion and the Texas Is the Reason 10th Anniversary Shows – but this one was extra special. I finally had the opportunity to see bands I never thought I would see at all or again.

Tim McMahon singing “Without A Reason” with No For An Answer on June 10, 2012

Luckily to ease the transition back to the real world, Revelation Records has now officially announced Rev25 – NYC at Irving Plaza – Oct. 11 – 14 with band announcements starting to trickle out… so far Bold, Chain of Strength, Into Another and Texas Is the Reason, many more to come! Enough waxing poetic about SXE HC, below is my overview of Rev25 in pictures at The Glass House, Pomona, CA from June 7 – 10, 2012. These photos are from Day Zero, Two and Three and are posted in alphabetical order. At the bottom of the page, there is a gallery of my Rev25 highlights. My Rev25 photo collection is posted here: http://tinyurl.com/rev25pics.

Bold

My first time seeing this awesome staple of American hardcore – glad it won’t be my last!

Bold’s Rev25 Set on June 9, 2012

Check out more photos here: LOOK: BOLD AT REV25

Gameface

Gameface is a band that I remember seeing circa 1996-1997 with Texas Is The Reason (note: super excited TITR is going to play REV25 NYC). It was so sweet to see the people next to me from Argentina singing along at the top of their lungs to “My Star” and all the other songs on the hit parade.

Gameface’s REV25 Set on June 7, 2012

Check out more photos here: LOOK: GAMEFACE AT REV25

Gorilla Biscuits

My first time seeing Gorilla Biscuits and it was every bit as awesome as I thought it would be to see this uber influential band live. In all seriousness, it was a bit cathartic to finally see Start Today and Cats & Dogs live.

Gorilla Biscuits playing their REV25 set on June 9, 2012

Note: My only disappointment at Rev25 was Civ harping on the girl that asked for the song “Slut” to be played & then he kept talking about it the next night too. It was especially disappointing because there was a notable dearth of women at these shows in the first place. The Gorilla Biscuit’s crowd was extra rough with surplus stage divers, so it must have took extra courage for her to be up front for the whole set and yell loud enough to be heard. Naturally, there were plenty of guys yelling out song requests too but they weren’t accused of being a nag for persistently requesting a specific song.

Check out more photos here: LOOK: GORILLA BISCUITS @ REV 25 6.9.12 / LOOK: GORILLA BISCUITS @ REV 25 6.10.12

Ignite

Hailing from Orange County, CA, Ignite is one of the bands at Rev25 that is still out playing. As an environmentalist, I have always identified with their stance on environmental issues.

Ignite at Day Zero of Rev25 on June 7, 2012

Check out more Ignite photos: LOOK: IGNITE @ REV25 6.7.12

In My Eyes

My first time seeing this awesome Boston hardcore band. I’m glad I got see In My Eyes twice.

In My Eyes at Rev25 Day 3 on June 10, 2012

Check out more In My Eyes photos here: LOOK: IN MY EYES @ REV 25 6.7.12 / LOOK: IN MY EYES @ REV 25 6.10.12

Into Another

I also loved this band. While in high school, I saw them at The Stone Lounge in Tampa and put them on our public access TV Show, “It’s A Splendid Life.” I also got to see them along with Quicksand and Sick Of It All at the first Warped Tour. Memories! This is one band I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to see again and I am so grateful that they decided to do this show as well as Rev25 in NYC. Check out a video of Overlord here.

Richie Birkenhead leading a sing-a-long during the Into Another reunion at Rev25 on June 7, 2012

Check out more pictures of Into Another: LOOK: INTO ANOTHER @ Rev25 6.7.12

Kiss It Goodbye

My first time seeing Kiss It Goodbye… glad I made it into the Glass House just in time for them to kick off Rev25.

Kiss It Goodbye kicking off Rev25 on June 7, 2012

Check our more Kiss It Goodbye pictures: LOOK: KISS IT GOODBYE @ REV25 6.7.12

No For An Answer

Another first – Orange County’s No For An Answer. They were great – clearly enjoyed doing a reunion – and were not sure if they would ever do it again. I was glad for Dan’s commentary on how there weren’t enough women at the shows but that it was cool that many of the women that were there, were up front.

A young crowd member taking the opportunity to sing-a-long with Dan O’Mahony during the No For An Answer reunion set at REV25 on June 9, 2012

Check out more pictures of No For An Answer: LOOK: NO FOR AN ANSWER @ REV25 6.9.12 / LOOK: NO FOR AN ANSWER @ REV25 6.10.12

Quicksand

In what has to have been the worst kept surprise in hardcore, the secret special Rev25 guest was revealed to be Quicksand. The band played a short and sweet 5 song reunion set: 1. Omission / 2.Unfulfilled / 3.Fazer / 4.Dine Alone / 5.How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths cover).

Sergio of Quicksand during their Rev25 reunion set on June 10, 2012

Here are Walter’s tweets leading up to immediately before he took the stage:

Right before launching into The Smiths cover, Walter gave the crowd his take on Hardcore:

You guys are super special people. I am a super special, extra special, lucky guy to be here with you tonight. I’ve been here since Thursday, and, fuck man, it’s hard to explain to my normal friends – as in not hardcore friends – what it is that we are doing here. When I got into hardcore, I was a confused young guy and I probably did… It explained life to me in such a way that it was simple and made sense. Hardcore is a lot like life. It’s very short. The songs are short. There’s fast parts, and there’s mosh parts, and the occasional gallop. If you’re lucky, when you fall down, you have a friend in the pit that will pick you up – if you’re lucky. It’s like a family. You’ve got to take risks – there’s lots of barriers – big, strong people that want to prohibit you from having your freedom to fly. It’s metaphorical. So plan your stage dives carefully, but don’t be one of those guys who gets caught between songs by yourself asking people to catch you. It’s not a good look. Go for it, just do it. This goes out to Jordan Cooper – who started Revelation Records – and made this possible.

Walter doling out high fives and handsakes to the crowd during Quicksand’s REV25 reunion set on June 10, 2012

Check out more Quicksand photos here: LOOK: QUICKSAND @ REV25 6.10.12

Sense Field

Sense Field is a band that people seem to love or hate but not a lot in between. I am firmly in the love camp. I was listing off the bands I was going to see at Rev25 to my mom and, on hearing Sense Field, she commented, “I remember them – you had the poster on your wall and had them on your tv show.” All true. Sense Field was a big favorite in Tampa during the nineties. I remember the first time I saw them at The Stone Lounge where we filmed them for our public access TV show (you can watch an excerpt here - warning we were a bit crazy at 16).

Jon Bunch of Sense Field leading The Glass House crowd in an enthusiastic sing-a-long at Rev25 on June 7, 2012

Check out more Sensefield pictures here: LOOK: SENSEFIELD @ REV25 6.7.12

Shai Hulud

Originally from FL, Shai Hulud has a special place in my heart and in Florida hardcore. They played an inspired set with super fun crowd antics to match the on-stage banter.

Shai Hulud rocking their REV25 set

Check out more Shai Hulud pictures: LOOK: SHAI HULUD @ REV25 6.10.12

Sick Of It All

NY’s Sick Of It All was one of the first hardcore bands I found and loved. I even got a chance to seem them in 1994 playing shows in Germany which was amazing and allowed me to experience first hand that hardcore is truly a global family. during their set, Lou reminded people that though this was a weekend of reunions, they were still playing and putting out records – but not to worry – they still play the old stuff. Of course, the crowd went absolutely nuts during Clobberin’ Time.

Check out more SOIA photos: LOOK: SICK OF IT ALL @ REV25 6.9.12

Statue

Another first – seeing Statue. I enjoyed that this band was different from the standard hardcore fare but that everyone was equally psyched.

Check out more Statue pictures here: LOOK: STATUE @ REV25 6.10.12

Supertouch

New York’s Supertouch is a band that I was lucky see at the Anti-Matter Anthology show in 2007. It was great to see them again here and I’m betting I will get another chance in October – dare to dream!

Supertouch rock a bonus REV25 show on June 7, 2012

Check out more Supertouch pictures here: LOOK: SUPERTOUCH @ REV25 BONUS SHOW 6.7.12

Underdog

Underdog was always an interesting band because of the unabashed infusion of multiple music influences. We all know that hardcore can get a little routine so a band like this really stands out in the crowd. I first saw them at Burning Fight so it is bonus to have been able to see them twice at Rev25.

Underdog’s REV25 set on June 9, 2012

Check out more Underdog pictures: LOOK: UNDERDOG @ REV25 6.9.12 / LOOK: UNDERDOG @ REV25 6.10.12 .

Youth Of Today

Of course, as a nineties hardcore kid, I loved and idolized Youth of Today. I was super lucky to catch them for the first time last year at Chaos in Tejas.

Ray Cappo of Youth of Today on June 9, 2012

So now every time I see them, I feel like I’m getting special bonus shows.

Ken Olden during Youth of Today’s REV25 set on June 9, 2012

Check out more photos here: LOOK: YOUTH OF TODAY @ REV25 6.9.12

Thanks to Jordan Cooper, Revelation Records and all the bands for an amazing weekend of hardcore music & friends! All my REV25 photos are posted here: http://tinyurl.com/rev25pics, and you can also browse more highlights in the gallery below. Thanks for checking this post out and sharing with your friends! See you in NYC in October!

p.s. Special thanks to my new friends – especially John Mariakis during the Quicksand set- who helped keep me and my cameras uncrushed so that these photos are possible. Only one lasting injury:

You can nearly make out the tread marks in this bruise on the top of my foot.

Finally thanks so much to everyone who has reached out to me about my Rev25 photos. It makes it all worthwhile.