It’s Christmastime once again here in Buffalo. And that can only mean one thing: it’s Shitmas time.
‘Tid The Season, the annual music festival created by local heroes Every Time I Die, happened over the weekend at Buffalo RiverWorks. Filled with fun, music, and a lot of booze, the two-day festival was nothing but a treat to locals and to the hundreds who traveled out of the state, or even the country (word up foreign ETIDiots.)
And you didn’t read that last sentence wrong, there were two days this year. That means an additional day for skating, moshing, and dodging some douche in a Naruto akatsuki robe. You know who you are.
Day one had performances by Mercy Union, All Get Out, Harm’s Way, Terror, The Damned Things, and Against Me! opening up for Every Time I Die. Jersey rockers Mercy Union started day one with a good amount of rock ‘n’ roll to get the crowd moving, playing songs like “Prussia,” “Reverse,” and “The Quarry.” Once Harm’s Way took to the stage, everything started to go crazy. Hardcore was what the audience craved, and these Chicago heavy hitters, alongside L.A.’s Terror, got the crowd into a moshing frenzy.
The night got even wilder when the supergroup The Damned Things hit the Buffalo stage for the first time in eight years. With ETID frontman Keith Buckley on vocals and backed by members of Anthrax and Fall Out Boy, the group were able to throw it down as if they were the true headliners. They ripped into a nine song set featuring classic tracks (“Friday Night (Going Down In Flames),” “Ironiclast,” “We’ve Got A Situation Here”) and hits from their latest record High Crimes (“Cells,” “Omen,” “Something Good.”)
Against Me! went on before ETID and tore the stage to shreds. Frontwoman Laura Jane Grace put the crowd under her spell with the power of her mighty Rickenbacker, playing all the old jams (“I Was A Teenage Anarchist,” “Sink, Florida, Sink,” “Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong”) and modern hits (“FuckMyLife666,” “Black Me Out,” “Haunting, Haunted, Haunts.”) Their set was the set to not miss on Friday, and I pity you if you sadly did.
Day two began with 90 minutes of pure wrestling madness brought to you by ETID’s Andy Williams (aka The Butcher.) After that, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Candy, Möngöl Hörde, Cave In, The Get Up Kids, Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan, and Glassjaw preformed.
Rising sasscore act SeeYouSpaceCowboy took to the stage first and immediately got the crowd going. Frontwoman Connie Sgarbossa has a voice that forces the crowd to move whether they want to or not. Performing bone crunching songs like “Armed With Their Teeth,” “911 Call: ‘Help I’ve Overdosed On Philosophy!’,” and “Late December,” a song about Connie’s friend’s passing, SYSC cemented themselves as one of the hardest acts of the day, and it was only four in the afternoon.
Möngöl Hörde, the silly hardcore punk trio fronted by folk artist Frank Turner, were a sight to see. The UK act performed songs off their only album Möngöl Hörde (“Tapeworm Uprising, “How the Communists Ruined Christmas, “The Yurt Locker”). Watching them was bizarre but nevertheless entertaining. It’s a shame that they’re apparently disbanding according to what Turner said before ending their set.
The night kept on rolling strong with performances by beloved metalcore act Cave In, Kansas City emo gods The Get Up Kids, and motherfucking Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan. Seriously, Ghostface’s set was intense. You should’ve seen the pit that opened up.
Now let’s get to the band you’ve been waiting for: ETID. Their sets on Friday and Saturday night had something for everyone. On Friday, ETID opened with “Floater,” sending the whole floor into giant shoving and mosh pits. Hope you were able to get out in time. The band played classic hits (“Ebolarama,” “Cities And Years,” “Holy Book Of Dilemma,” which had the boys start off by accidentally playing the intro to “She’s My Rushmore,”) modern favorites (“Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space,” “Idiot,” “The Coin Has A Say”) and some new songs called “White Void” and “Back Distance.” And if you thought night one was great, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Night two’s set started off with enthusiastic Buffalo Bills fan Mark Miller got on stage to introduce the band while saying the Bills would beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday (which they did.) Williams then walked onto the stage, blaring the infamous notes from the opening of their 2009 album New Junk Aesthetic “Roman Holiday.” ETID then went full throttle, launching into several beloved songs like “The Marvelous Slut,” “Gloom And How It Gets That Way,” “Petal,” “Emergency Broadcast Syndrome,” and “Moor.” Another new song “Never Forget” was debuted.
The energy ETID gave off could power a small city in the midwest. They didn’t have to go all out, but they did that to show how great Buffalo is. Every band and artist put on one hell of a performance (but Glassjaw felt off.) No one faltered and it was honestly one of the best shows I went to in 2019. It was a wonderful weekend packed with so much to do and see, and all I can think about is when the hell do next year’s tickets go on sale?
If you ever have the chance to go to ‘Tid The Season, seize the opportunity. Whether it’s one long day or two days, these Christmas shows will put you in a jolly mood while you’re throwing down with your fellow ETIDiots. Merry Christmas, you filthy animals. Can’t wait to see you all next year.
Punk Goes Prenatt 