IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!
SICK OF IT ALL 30TH ANNIVERSARY
I was over at Jones Beach covering the Warped Tour with my team (Mitch and Anita), contemplating if I needed to leave before the headliners Less Than Jake come on at 8pm in order to catch the Sick Of It All 30th Anniversary Show back in the city. I had been told that Sick Of It All’s set time was 9:20pm, and my GPS had estimated the trip to Webster Hall to be around an hour. I considered the possibility that I may never see LTJ perform again – so I photographed as much as I can during their first song then rushed to my car hoping I get back to NYC in time. Thankfully the rain and traffic stayed clear and I was in front of Webster Hall at 9:20pm on the dot. I didn’t have time to look for a parking spot though, so Mitch stayed in the car for me and I ran in to the venue.
SATURDAY 07/09/16 – NEW YORK, NEW YORK
By the time I got my credentials, I could hear the thunderous beats of SOIA shaking the entire building. The place was packed wall to wall and I managed to make it near the front of the crowd. The energy was intense, palpable but most of all infectious. A part of me just wanted to throw myself in the pit and just enjoy the show as I often did almost 20 years ago. I instantly was reminded of what their publicist had told me in an email. “No barricade show, read no photo pit”. Fuck. Yes. I squeezed towards the front and started shooting video. There was no way this was going to work, as the crowd swayed wildly making it impossible to steady the camera. I switched over to snapping photos, but even that was no easy task. I was dodging flying bodies and being pushed back and forth while getting some shots in between. All of this was a good thing since it wouldn’t be a true hardcore show otherwise.