When Tuesday's concert at the Buffalo Icon got a little ugly, Indianapolis, Ind.'s Haste the Day just stopped playing.
After two kids in the mosh pit took their karate kicks and windmill punches a little too seriously, resulting in a flood of fists and shoving in front of the stage, Haste the Day lead vocalist Jimmy Ryan told his bandmates to stop playing.
"Aw, look what you did, that was going to be the most intense breakdown you have ever heard and you made me stop it," Ryan said to the crowd. "There's hardcore dancers, and there's bro-moshers, and sometimes you guys don't get along. But if you're going to fight, we're not going to play."
Once cooler heads prevailed, Ryan had another suggestion.
"How about we start from the breakdown, and do it right?" he asked.
It was clear, if not brutal, sailing from then on in for the headliners from Solid State Records, who completed a diverse bill with Norwegian metalheads Extol, straight-edge hardcore act Embrace Today, and two of Buffalo's bands, The Decline and Xto this dayX.
Haste the Day's energetic stage persona had the crowd dancing the entire evening, whether it was their die-hard fans who sang along, or the straight-edge kids there for the mosh pit.
Playing equal parts from their Solid State debut, Burning Bridges" and their new record, "Everything Falls Apart," due out in late June, the metalcore quintet was on their game.
The highlight of the set came towards the end of it, when Ryan extended his hand to the crowd, who gobbled up the mic in order to sing along with the title track from their debut.
Guitarists Brennan Chaulk and Jason Barnes were dead-on tight with the rhythm section of drummer Devin Chaulk and bassist Mike Murphy. The five-piece unleashed a mixed style reminiscent of both early ZAO and As I Lay Dying.
Extol preceded Haste the Day's set, and played to a smaller, but arguably more dedicated crew of fans. Their long hair was useful for their almost choreographed, rhythmic, borderline hypnotizing headbanging.
Vocalist Peter Espevoll had both a piercing scream and a melodic singing voice, but what was most entertaining about him was his incredible resemblance to Chester "Chazz" Darvey, Brendan Fraser's character in "Airheads."
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
