Front Row Center: Hot Water Music

7/12/08 - Hot Water Music/Thursday/Paint It Black @ Terminal 5, New York, NY

Photos and text by Jason Bergman

At about 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, I found myself in a room backstage with Geoff Rickly of Thursday and Dan Yemin of Paint it Black/Lifetime/Kid Dynamite while they did a shot of Jameson together. It was kind of a surreal moment and certainly the kind of experience that my 9th grade self would have killed for back in the day. The actual show, featuring reunited Floridians Hot Water Music, Jersey's favorite sons Thursday and Paint It Black seemed like the kind of dream-team show that you always heard about when you were younger, but were never able to get to due to lack of transportation or lame friends. However, the 2,000-plus people at Terminal 5 in New York City knew they were in for something special and made the most of it, despite the gigantic size of the venue, beefy security guards and huge barricade.

"I'm coming back down," Yemin proclaimed as he jumped off the 6-foot-high stage into the crowd during Paint It Black's opening set and then let loose on the front row with his patented Yemin yell. Despite a room that was slowly filling up during their set, PIB played as if they were in a friend's basement: Loud, fast, and full of energy. Dr. Dan spent most of his time up with the crowd while members of the crowd surfed their way up front to try to get closer. Although the venue is absolutely not suited for a typical Paint It Black show, the group know how to make any room feel intimate with their brand of passionate, pissed off and political hardcore punk.

Despite not having played a show in NYC for over two years, Thursday certainly felt like they were right at home. With the opener "For The Workforce, Drowning," Geoff Rickly dove into the crowd and screamed at the audience as they gave it right back at him. The group played a solid mix from their newest album, but also threw in a brand new song off their upcoming split with Envy, that had them channeling Mogwai for an extended, instrumental jam. Before the show, Rickly was wondering how the crowd would react, since it's been a while since they've played in the area, but once the band finished, there was no doubt that everyone was just happy to have Thursday back and playing.

As the stage lights came on and Hot Water Music played the opening chords of "Remedy," the cavernous venue resonated with the sound of people collectively losing their minds while yelling out, "I need a remedy of diesel and dust/Something I can taste with a fix I can trust." Over the course of an 18-song set, the group crossed the gamut of their catalog, from "Trusty Chords" to "Turnstile" and "Moonpies for Misfits" while clearly enjoying the simple act of playing together again. I was lucky enough to catch the reunion show in New Jersey back in January and the initial sheer enjoyment of seeing the group play together has not worn off one bit. They may have taken a few years off, but HWM prove that even if they just play their back catalog, that's enough for everyone from the casual to the diehard fan.