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Last Thursday night at DC9, hours before tragedy occurred outside of the club, New York Hardcore legends Agnostic Front performed that sub-genre’s definitive document, their debut album “Victim In Pain”, in full. The show was part of a tour celebrating the album’s 25th anniversary re-issue and by default NYHC’s unique stamp on American Hardcore punk music.
It is an unfortunate coincidence that the tragic event which occurred on 9th street on Thursday night happened after this fantastic concert. There have always been a lot of misconceptions and assumptions about the Hardcore punk scene and I am concerned that the violence on 9th will somehow be connected to this concert.* I can attest that the concert and the crowd attending it were focused on unity and the celebration of Agnostic Front’s music; there was much more singing arm-in-arm camaraderie than fists flying. It was in fact a riotous celebration of how much the Hardcore scene has evolved; far from its brutal roots in the 1980’s to become one of the most positive, all-inclusive, underground music scenes around.