Saturday night at Sugar City (1239 Niagara St.) had its doors figuratively blown off by the amount of energy radiating from the small venue as Atlanta based noise rock duo ’68 took the stage along with metalcore quartet Out Last, instrumental metal trio Squatch, and hardcore-rock group American Nosebleed.
Let’s first look at the opening acts, all of which were local. Out Last was not that fascinating to my ears, but for a band with two screaming vocalists, one guitarist, and a drummer, they made quite a lot of noise that could’ve fooled anyone if they were just listening and not watching. Squatch was just as wild as their name and Facebook photos. They have a song called “Pastrami Nipples”, and that should tell you how crazy these guys are. Squatch put on a high energy show that didn’t just stop when they ended their set. Their merch table had a TV covered in stickers that had Batman Returns on the Super Nintendo playing. The last local act was American Nosebleed, an act that sounds similar to Every Time I Die in all the right ways. American Nosebleed put on quite the show and helped hype up the crowd for ’68.
Before I talk about the show, let me introduce ’68 to you if you haven’t heard of them. ’68 was formed in 2013 mere months after guitarist/vocalsit Josh Scogin ended his previous band The Chariot. Along with drummer Michael McClellan (ex-Becoming The Archetype), the noise rock duo began to make a name for themselves, touring with August Burns Red, The Fall Of Troy, and Every Time I Die. Their newest album Two Parts Viper dropped last year on Cooking Vinyl (The Bronx, City And Colour, Madness). To quote my Prenatt’s Picks list from last year, “The duo is well known for their energized shows, crazy antics (Scogin will sometimes drag his guitar across the stage or tossing it into the air and catching it), and extreme use of guitar pedals such as looping and distortion.” McClellan left the band late last year and was replaced with Nikko Yamada.
’68 didn’t waste any time giving the crowd what they wanted: pure, raw rock. Scogin shredded on his guitar, tossing it up into the air as it collided with the ceiling multiple times and played it so hard that I thought it was going to break soon. Yamada showed the crowd that his drumming capabilities were either equal or better than McClellan’s, banging aggressively on his cymbals and drumheads. They ripped into a set which featured songs such as “Track 3 G”, “Whether Terrified Or Unafraid”, “This Life Is Old, New, Borrowed And Blue”, and closed with my personal favorite of theirs, “Track 9 O” (the song was originally titled ” Three Is A Crowd”.)
Much like the other three times that I’ve seen them prior to Saturday night’s performance, I knew that the audience and I were in for a treat, but I didn’t expect the sheer amount of glorious chaos that would unfold. People stage dived into the crowd, a mini mosh pit formed in front of the stage, and people screamed their hearts out along to Scogin’s lyrics. This was the first time I’ve seen ’68 headline a tour and it clearly shows that they can pack a punch by themselves without the help of bigger acts. By the third song in, I, and a bunch of other folks, were caked in sweat. I mean this when I say this: if ’68 is coming to your town, buy tickets ASAP. Trust me, they are the living embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll.
Punk Goes Prenatt 