The Lost Horizon [14] hosted one of the first sold-out punk shows in the city for years, as The Story So Far, Turnstile and Drug Church brought their high-energy sets to Syracuse. Put on by Upstate NY’s After Dark Entertainment [15], the show brought out around 200 people on a Tuesday night, and concertgoers proved ready to match the touring bands’ energy throughout.
The first band on the bill was Albany, NY’s Drug Church [16]. The band’s style could be considered hardcore punk filtered through grunge, and that coupled with the sardonic wit of front man Patrick Kindlon provided quite a captivating set. Drug Church played songs mostly from their full-length Hit Your Head, released in 2015.
Turnstile [17], possibly the biggest band in the modern hardcore scene, would play next. With their brand of aggressive hardcore-meets-311 punk rock, kids were losing their minds in the pit. Although they played new track “Real Thing”, most of their set would come from 2015’s Nonstop Feeling. Songs like “Drop” and “Gravity” got the whole crowd moving, and fast and uncharacteristically melodic “Blue by You” functioned as a great closer, ending their set with the same energy that existed throughout.
Finally, headliner The Story So Far [18] took the stage. Fans of the group spent most of the set with their hands over their heads, singing the lyrics to every song the pop-punk band offered up. The band’s setlist was a great mix of songs from What You Don’t See and their self-titled follow-up, released in 2013 and 2015 respectively. The most intense crowd reactions came from songs on the former record, especially “Things I Can’t Change” and “Bad Luck”. After a set in which after every song felt like it’d bring the house down, the band came out for a one-song encore to satisfy screams for more and closed the night out.
Even in a smaller club like The Lost Horizon, the show managed to not feel too claustrophobic given the fact it was sold out. One confusing detail was the barrier between the stage and the pit; it seemed to take a bit of energy out of the crowd, but it makes sense that the venue wanted to ensure safety and prevent stage diving. Overall, it was a great show that hopefully will signal a resurgence in hardcore and punk bands playing in Syracuse once again.
