Chaos in Tejas Live (Finale): Power Trip, World War 4, Rival Mob

Dear drunk guy standing at the back of Red 7 yelling “pussies” at Rival Mob. Why were you even there?

Especially since Sunday’s hardcore gathering was what one hopes for in day show. I mean, seriously. Nobody has time for your “let’s yell at the band” nonsense. And, yes, everyone around you, who I presume were your friends as otherwise someone would have decked you, were mortified. Fortunately, no one was listening to your sad drunk ass.

Instead, most of the crowd was revving to North Texas’ Power Trip, revivalists of Bay Area speed thrash meets DC hardcore breakdowns, the sort that defined the Eighties Dallas scene. Only the doom-dripping “Drown” caught the experimentalism of new LP assault Manifest Decimation, but with frontman Riley Gale stalking the stage with the fire and fury of a young Chuck Billy, you could excuse the occasionally derivative Kerry King-esque guitar squeal.

Maybe Boston’s World War 4 – not to be confused with the 99 other World War Four/IVs, etc. – weren’t to your tastes. Yet with transferred name recognition from members like Mark Porter, formerly of straight-edgers Floorpunch, plus a buzzsaw demo of one-minute explosions, their sprint set was the fun and the fury.

And then their brothers from Massachusetts mayhem machine Rival Mob arrived and you started acting up. Maybe you were just mad because they had equipment problems, but since that probably came from a gorilla-stomping stage diver reveling in their flat-out, scream-a-long, street-fighting hardcore, it’s at worst a party foul.

So what were you yelling about? You’ve got all three bands giving the sweltering, sold-out crowd all they’ve got. They were even handing out tips on who to catch later. Hell, Mob frontman Brendan Radigan urged people to buy merch for bands that couldn’t make it to the show!

And where were you? Smashed out of your head, leaning on the bar, yelling homophobic abuse. See, this is exactly why I consider going straight-edge about once a month.

So, in closing, I hope today you have a hangover and sunburn.