Madball Surprises NYC
2020 started off with announcements for concerts worldwide, that is until March when COVID-19 shut down the world all at once. Everyone was at a standstill with no future in sight for concerts to come back. As we all held onto hope during quarantine, bands and artists found new ways to reach the world by releasing new music, merch, and online shows. It gave us all back a little bit of normality and a foreseeable future for the hope of finally getting back to live music.
Not long after the global shutdown, the music industry had to learn to cope with changes of rescheduling tours. Due to no longer being able to attend shows or plan them, bands collectively banned together to release merch, many for the Black Lives Matter movement to support the cause by donating proceeds to organizations. They also had gotten together with venues and one another to release new music and virtually raised money for venues and bands affected by the new regulations. As time went on, bands were finally able to bring us what we needed most, their music.
As 2021 had begun, we became more hopeful than ever until the day came that shows were indeed back. On April 25th, I got word of a show happening in Brooklyn, NY at Arrogant Swine and without hesitation grabbed my camera bag to run to the show. At first, I was more cautious than ever before. Hardcore shows hadn’t happened in what felt to be 13 years and I was amazed by the turnout of the audience to get right into it once again. The band Madball did two-day back-to-back shows to celebrate the revival of being able to come together.
Opening bands included Death Before Dishonor, The Last Stand, and The Ice Cold Killers giving it their all for an outdoor show. Slowly, the crowd became more relaxed and eventually couldn’t resist opening up a pit like the good old days. Photographers managed to collectively respect each other's space to get our shots to capture the moments with ease.
The bands? They all killed it, the high energy was infectious and everyone present could feel the music in ways we never had before. Truthfully, words can’t describe how it felt to finally be back because most of us haven’t gone more than a few months without attending a single show. What I can say, the hardcore community came back together and proved that hardcore will never die.
To Arrogant Swine, thank you for providing us a safe space at your outdoor venue. To the Madball, Death Before Dishonor, The Last Stand, and the Ice Cold Killers, thank you for giving the hardcore community exactly what we needed, a night out to enjoy ourselves after the horrific year we had all experienced. We are all so grateful to you all for being able to pull off such a successful show on such a beautiful day.
Before the shutdown, I vividly remember photographing and attending my last show at the Kingsland in Brooklyn, NY to cover Great American Ghost. The same feeling I felt that night, is the same as when I attended the show at Arrogant Swine. It also was very fitting considering that both venues are affiliated with one another, making the experience that much more impressionable and memorable.
To anyone who is hesitant to attend a show, it’s understandable. I too was hesitant but at the same time, I couldn’t resist the feeling that everything was going to be okay and that I was safe. Concerts mean the world for so many of us that live for the rush of live music. Quarantine online shows were a nice treat but experiencing music firsthand live is a feeling like no other. I have never been more thankful to be able to get back into attending and photographing shows. We should never take them for granted and always remember what 2020 has done to us all. Because of it, we are stronger than ever and the future finally looks brighter.
Madball: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
Death Before Dishonor: Facebook | Instagram
The Last Stand: Facebook | Instagram
The Ice Cold Killers: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Get to know our Co-Founder/Co-Owner, Photographer; Writer Belindajean LaBoy Instagram | Email | Website
