Showing Up and Throwing Down - SMTB at the Rickshaw
Last Wednesday, New York City's Show Me the Body brought their World War Tour storming through Vancouver. Promoting their latest album, "Trouble the Water", Show Me the Body brought a lineup of fellow hardcore & punk acts to open the show, including Trippjones, ZULU, Scowl, and Jesus Piece. Despite the show being mid-week on Wednesday night, fans were not deterred from showing up and throwing down.
The prominent theme of the night was the commanding stage presence of all of the acts and the reciprocated engagement from the crowd. Encouraging everyone to let go and just dance, SMTB transformed the space into a powder keg of energy that steadily grew more and more rambunctious as the night progressed. The openers whipped the crowd into a frenzy while advocating their socio-political leanings around diversity, inclusion, and creating a safe space for all; the response from the fans was tangible.
When SMTB finally took the stage to round out the evening, they started off with a somber, dimly lit ambience featuring a spoken word intro; it was easy to tell things were about to kick up a notch. Working through a collection of new songs and older material, SMTB delivered their brand of experimental hardcore noise-punk en masse and with ferocity. By the time they had finished off their set, the crowd had really given it all they had, yet the energy still remained. As Vancouver's punk and hardcore faithful made their way out the doors and back to reality, it was easy to see this would not be a one off, as the spirit of the scene was still alive and well thanks to Show Me the Body.
