Every Time I Die - Radical
Oh live music, how I’ve missed you so.
I have a prevailing disdain for most people, and I typically do not mind removing myself from society and the general public (“…you should try loving man while fucking hating mankind…” - Desperate Pleasures), but if there is one thing I missed during the pandemic, it was live shows. For me, there is nothing like seeing any of my favorite bands perform live. To me, a bands’ songs are only as good as they are performed live. Nothing compares to the energy of a venue filled with live music. It’s true, I am not a fan of being close to people (physically or emotionally), but when I’m surrounded by those that share an affinity for my type of music, it makes crowd’s much more tolerable.
I had the (desperate) pleasure of attending the Violent Gentleman 10th anniversary show at the Garden Amphitheater in Garden Grove, CA, headlined by the almighty Every Time I Die. This wasn’t my first show since the pandemic started; I attended the Ohana Fest in September, and Dead Sara in October. But seeing Every Time I Die was the first time in two years where I felt like…yes, this is what I missed; a loud and rowdy as fuck rock concert. The Garden Amp was the ideal venue for this show - open air, amphitheater seating, and a pit area in front.
(I’m not gonna act like I was in the pit, I was admiring from a safe distance in a seat. If you’ve never been to an Every Time I Die show, it gets pretty rambunctious and disorderly in the pit and on stage. I have no patience for that kind of tomfoolery anymore, I am quite content enjoying the show from my seat. Preferably in the back.)
The concert itself was amazing. ETID is one of my favorite bands to see perform live. The energy at an ETID show is inexplainable; it’s a beautiful combination of punk rock, unity, and chaos. They played a balanced amount of new songs (“Dark Distance,” “AWOL", “Planet Shit,” “Sly,” “Post-Boredom”) and old favorites (“We’rewolf,” “Underwater Bimbos from Outer Space,” “The New Black,” “The Marvelous Slut,” “Ebolarama”). As has been the case the last few years, they closed with “Map Change,” except that this time it got cut off at the end due to curfew. Since they normally close with it, they extend it, but because of curfew they cut it short. So every version of “Map Change” live that I’ve seen has either been too long or too short. I am the only one that finds these things amusing.
My 2022 is filled with new and rescheduled concerts from some of my favorites:
And those are just the confirmed shows! I haven’t even mentioned other tentatively rescheduled shows, or unannounced shows. I’m stoked I get to partake in live music again. If you see me at any show, feel free to say hi. I may even hug you (offer to hug subject to change).
My life is getting back to normal. One show at a time.
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Radical (2021) is the 9th studio album from Buffalo’s proudest sons, Every Time I Die. ETID released an album in 2005 called “Gutter Phenomenon” that I got because Daryl Palumbo, singer of Glassjaw (one of my favorite bands, then and now), did guest vocals on a song (“The New Black”). I can’t say for sure because my memory is a bit iffy nowadays, but I believe that how was how I got into ETID. Even though I was really into Glassjaw, I couldn’t really get into any of the other similar sounding post-hardcore/metalcore bands at the time. That particular sound is very limiting, and it’s difficult to differentiate yourself from the other bands in that scene. Glassjaw is one of them. And Every Time I Die is another.
ETID stayed on my radar over the years. Can’t say I was following their every move, but I kept up with each album they released. “Low Teens" (2016) was the album that really brought me back in. Songs like “The Coin Has a Say” and new fan favorite/closer “Map Change” highlight this super underrated album. Fast forward a few years to when they start writing the album that ended up being Radical. They recorded the entire album before the pandemic shutdown happened, and with the exception of a few songs, didn’t release the album until October 2021 so that they could properly tour and support it. Must be tough to sit on an album for almost two whole years before it can be released. If I were in the band, I’d want to release it as soon as possible. I couldn’t take it, I would just sit there and nitpick stupid stuff and want to re-record parts here and there. But that’s why they’re the professionals.
I liked the new songs that I heard, but I wanted to hear the entire album. My impatience was getting to me. But oh what a happy day when Radical was released. I just mentioned that this album was recorded pre-COVID, and this is important because if you didn’t know any better, you would think that lead vocalist Keith Buckley wrote the lyrics now. Buckley outright begs for a plague in “Dark Distance.” “Planet Shit” covers the upper class elite/ruling class, religion, and a touch of Critical Race Theory. Buckley is nothing if not clairvoyant. Death/rebirth (“Post-Boredom”), and different interpretations of hope (“Desperate Pleasures,” “Thing with Feathers,” “White Void”) are other topics he covers with his masterful wordplay:
“I will live forever unless I dream up something better” - We Go Together
“Can’t kill a man who has never felt alive” - Sly
“I walked in with one foot out the door, you knew that I was not gonna stay” - Post Boredom
“You got an atheist praying for Judgment Day” - Desperate Pleasures
“Take my word, I don’t want it” - AWOL
“Fear is a fetish and I’m a masochist” - The Whip
For me, ETID started out as a party band with funny song titles. Nowadays, they’re a band that makes me rethink how I see the current state of affairs and how that affects our future. Don’t let the serious nature of the lyrics trick you into thinking this a serious album; Radical shreds from beginning to end. ETID still cranks out music that you want to play full blast in your car, that will never change. Lyrically, Radical is heavy. But so is their sound. And that’s what makes me a fan.
Thanks guys for a great album. Give my love to Buffalo, Buffalo.
“At war with a villain, you can’t call a truce
You put down your weapon but now he’s got two
A liar’s a liar, take him at his word
Forever rebelling against the absurd
…the world made us sick…how can it heal us?”
Every Time I Die / “Desperate Pleasures”
