Berkeley - where hardcore thrives in the Bay Area - February/March 924 Gilman & The Hard Times Shows Recap

Over the past few weeks, The Hard Times Shows & 924 Gilman have brought some incredible shows to the Bay Area’s Hardcore scene. More specifically, Nick Bane has been doing an absolute kick-ass job, bringing many prominent and up-and-coming hardcore bands each weekend to 924 Gilman in Berkeley, California. It’s been really cool to watch local bands like Wasted Dream, Drain, Hands of God, Spiritual Cramp, and No Right open for these larger tour packages. And it’s been really cool to come out to all of these shows over the past few weeks and recognize so many of the same faces consistently supporting the East Bay scene. It’s important to acknowledge and recognize that it is through supporting smaller shows and local artists that grants the scene the credibility to attract larger acts. Now that hardcore is being more widely recognized as a profitable genre by other Bay Area venues outside of the general East Bay Scene, it is important to recognize, support and pay homage to the opportunities that DIY spaces like 924 Gilman provide to their surrounding scenes and communities.

No Right – March 16th, 2018

Venues like 924 Gilman serve as musical havens and outlets for exposure for local artists while retaining accessibility in regards to ticket costs for local show-goers. It is understandable why artists accept bids at venues that fall outside of these local areas; it obviously makes sense that touring musicians would prefer the larger paycheck at the end of the night. But it is crucial to realize that in the process of monetizing hardcore, it detracts from the general show experience when larger venues attempt to gentrify the violent and chaotic nature of a hardcore show. When larger venues fail to understand the dynamic crowd environment that exists at hardcore shows, it causes a disparity between attendees and venue staff that ultimately detracts from the overall concert experience. It decreases the accessibility of these shows to the individuals that actually continuously support their local scene that allows for these larger shows to happen in the first place.

Torso – March 11th, 2018

Special thanks to 924 Gilman and The Hard Times Shows for the quality acts that have been brought to us over the past few weeks and thanks for the consistent hard work that they put in to make these shows possible. Thank you to everyone who continues to show support for local artists in the Bay Area in any way shape or form, and a very special thanks to everyone that has shown continuous support to Berkeley and the East Bay Hardcore Scene. Additionally, a very sincere thanks to every touring band that has taken the time to share your time and your music with us here in the East Bay, we appreciate you.

Here is a gallery of pictures from these following shows at 924 Gilman in Berkeley, California over the few months. Complete galleries from these shows can be found on my Flickr – Sam Jameson Flickr:

February 11th, 2018 – Freedom/Unified Right/Wasted Dream/Free

February 25th, 2018 – Death Threat/Criminal Instinct/Eyes Of The Lord/Drain

March 3rd, 2018 – Trail of Lies/Harness/Candy/Hands of God

March 9th, 2018 – Harms Way/Ringworm/Vein/Queensway

March 11th, 2018 –American Nightmare/Torso/FireBurn/Spiritual Cramp

March 16th, 2018 – Knocked Loose/Terror/Jesus Piece/Year of the Knife/No Right

Also shoutout to Tony Hawk for rolling through to the American Nightmare show, that was pretty damn cool!