R.I.P. Makh Daniels: 8/16/10

I really had to go to this show, even though it was Monday night and I was tired, and not just to see some great bands, but because it was a memorial fundraiser for Makh Daniels, a local hardcore singer, recently killed in a tragic tour van accident. Now let it be said that I didn’t know this guy at, I wasn’t even a huge fan of his band Early Graves, but so many of my friends, including ones whom I respect highly as exellent judges of character, hold this guy in such high regard that obviously he was a a bad ass. When I got there, At Our Heels was playing. I’d never heard of them, and they sounded like run of the mill metalcore. I don’t know if they were on tour or not, but they asked from stage for people to buy their merch, which seemed kind of weird, considering it was aa show to raise money for a dead guy.

Daikon was next. (The band name is a Chinese Radish!) It was Zack from Walken’s sister’s band, and he told me I probably wouldn’t like it very much, due it’s extreme poppiness, but I did. If my limited memory serves me correctly, it was something like a throwback to the late 90’s pop punk of Tsunami Bomb. After that I finally got to see Pills. Al from Acts of Sedition plays bass in this band, and they even practice in the same building on the same night as Hazzard’s Cure. For years, I had never been able to catch a show, not that had really been playing a lot of shows either. Their deal is a 90’s style of enraged technical hardcore, which I have grown rather tired of in recent years, and which I would usually ignore, but when buddies are involved, things change, and I was drawn in. It also didn’t hurt that all the bands were playing attention span friendly three song sets.

It had been a while since I saw Walken, with Sean living in Texas (now back!) and only the most sporadic shows. The melancholy harmonies and and remorseful southern twang which permeates the Walken riffs seemed extremely appropriate for this occasion. Half of Walken remained onstage and Grayceon began straightaway, performing the shortest set I’ve ever seen them do, but continuing the mood of mysterious gloomy epicness that Walken brought to the table. That ended the night for me, although I believe more bands played. I was very impressed by the amount of people and bands who came together and made this benefit happen in such a short amount of time. Sometimes the rock scene does feel like a community and not a high school.

R.I.P.