Lifetime / Shook Ones / Sinking Ships

After watching the crowd-band interaction last night, I decided to invest in the entire Sinking Ships and Shook Ones discography. The hometown hardcore heroes all took full advantage of their rabid fan base to put on amazing shows, and I found myself regretting not knowing every word and member of the bands.

Sinking Ships began their set a few minutes late, but no one complained. Kids were jumping over each other to reach for the mic throughout the entirety of the set, which began with "Auburn" (I think) and ended with "Ghost Story" (I’m mostly sure). In between, the band tore through several songs from Disconnecting, and the energy was stunning. The words “NO STAGE DIVING,” spray-painted on the stage and walls of El Corazon, were entirely disregarded by security, fans, and members of other bands throughout the night. Scott from Shook Ones was called on-stage to perform "The Next Time I Go," and a guest vocalist I’m ashamed to say I didn’t recognize came out to cover Agnostic Front’s "Crucified."

Shook Ones started their set with immediate crowd-pleaser "Carms Race" and moved directly into "Pheasant." After that, I’m terrible with song titles, but the band acknowledged an earlier request for "Ebb and Flow." They also gave into pressure from members of Sinking Ships and Dan Yemin to play "Order Form" off of their latest split, which sounded great, despite Scott’s declaration after the song that it was “a downer.” Not from my standpoint. These guys were a blast and played to the crowd, as audience interaction became even more active and Dan Yemin leapt off the stage during the set closer.

I know that Lifetime is old news on this site by now, but this was the first time I found myself in the same state as the band, so try to remember how excited you all were two years ago. Wisely, the band drew from Jersey’s Best Dancers and Hello Bastards for the majority of their set, playing only a handful of newer songs. Yemin, who earlier brushed off the Shook Ones’ request for a stage dive saying he was “too old,” played and took over the stage with more energy than anyone else last night.

The band began with "Airport Monday Morning" and moved fluidly through their set, giving equal treatment to both HB and JBD. While Ari commanded attention during songs, sounding -- pardon the cliché -- like the band hadn’t taken off a decade or so, Dan took to conversing with the crowd between songs. Topics ranged from supporting local acts (including a shout-out to “two generations of Heskeths”) to calling out the immobile fans at the back who felt either too cool or too old to get in the pit. The majority of those present, however, were enthralled with the reunited legends, diving off the stage or enjoying a circle pit, singing along to every word. The members of Sinking Ships and Shook Ones joined in the festivities with more passion than anyone else.

All three bands were tight musically, and all put in a ton of work to ensure a safe, incredibly fun night for all the kids. The only thing that sucked about this show was me for not knowing more about the opening acts.

Set list, somewhat out of order and missing the first encore song:

• Airport Monday Morning
• Turnpike Gates
• The Boy’s No Good
• Rodeo Clown
• Daneurysm
• Hey Catrine
• Haircuts and T-Shirts
• Young, Loud, and Scotty
• (The Gym Is) Neutral Territory
• Irony Is for Suckers
• Just a Quiet Evening
• Northbound Breakdown
• Knives Bats New Tats
• Ostrichsized
Encore:
• Francie Nolan
• 25 Cent Giraffes