Soon In Here
Malekhakhei HaPinkah
City Rats
03 (pro. Eh-fess Shah-losh)
Tonight is a celebration! Tonight is one of the most talked about birthday parties I've personally known of, and I feel quite honoured to be in some small way connected to one of the birthday boys. Ron Gilman has been living the last few years "in my endz", London, and has had success with London based hardcore bands The Blessed And The Cursed and, more recently, the short lived Crimes. Ron has returned home to see the family, as one does on a birthday, and also to see his old 09 (area code for Kfar Saba) crew. At the same time, he has opted to celebrate with putting on a show. I myself have attempted this on a much smaller scale but tonight is how it should be done. Ron has invited friends' bands to play, as well as reuniting with his old hardcore band Soon In Here.
03
Show openers 03 play tough hardcore. They do the kind of hardcore I like; hardcore that incorporates groove and that you could technically get your boogie on to. They tend to give off a similar vibe to 25 ta Life at times. Not that the vocals are anywhere as mental as Rick ta Life's vocals but they are that kind of hardcore and the vocals can at times be considered intelligible. Frontman Jenia previously sang in Israeli hardcore legends Instinct who I very much enjoyed the few times I managed to see them after moving here. This band has a more of a metalcore aura about it, which I did not really like the first few times I have seen them. Tonight, they open with an explosive intro which had this groove fan grinning like a nutter. They bust through their repertoire with aplomb. Both guitarist Lemmy and bassist Kaban (both also of Jerusalem based metal act Sintax) jumping about the stage, Jenia running amongst the crowd.... That's the kind of stuff I like to see. I feel like the band's sound has already developed within their short period of existence since their first few shows and I'm very interested to hear whatever they end up releasing.
3/5
City Rats
Up next are modern legends of Israeli punk, City Rats. Coming from the same school of thought as legendary punk bands such as Conflict, GBH and The Varukers, City Rats play angry street punk with that subtle old skool hardcore flavour. Every time I see City Rats, I like them more and more. Tonight they are on fire. Obviously, they've got their main fan base in today so everyone is going nuts to every song. Songs like Party Til Death and Pogo Beer Abu Kabir are just pure party punk anthems that you can't help but sing along with and run around to. I do not really know the guys in the band personally except for drummer Gutzy, currently also of fast pop punk band Not On Tour and hardcore dudes BEST. He is always a joy to watch play, as were the band as a whole tonight.
3.5/5
I will also like to add, that as much as the band are pure crusty street punk a la late 70s England, they also remind me of Essex hardcore band Deathskulls, who mix street punk and straight up London HC to joyous results.
Malekhakhei HaPinkah
Next up is Kfar Saba based Middle Eastern tinged rock band Malekhakhei HaPinkah. I am still unsure if there is even a real translation for that name. I have never seen this band before until now, nor do I recognise any of the guys in the band. Compared to the rest of the line-up, this band sticks out. They dress quite smart and just look...well...typically Israeli. As they kick off they're set, they definitely are a different tone to the rest of the night. The first song they do has a pure classic rock vibe and further into the set they play songs which incorporate Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms, such as songs like Lilot Abu Darbi (Abu Darbi Nights) and Sovev Olam (Spin World). They also delight us with 2 covers; MC5's Kick Out The Jams and ACDC's Jailbreak. The best thing about this set was that I was seeing people I know from punk shows and even metal shows dancing and singing along to practically Israeli rock. Up until this point, the night was just a hardcore/punk show. Now it was a PARTY!
4/5
Soon In Here
Finishing off the night, we get to pretty much the main focus of the evening. As much as Ron had been spoken of throughout the night, he now takes centre stage. Soon In Here are a Kfar Saba band considered one of Israel's best hardcore bands of the early 2000s. I had really only heard of them briefly so seeing them tonight in their last proper line-up was spectacular. Soon In Here only play a really short set tonight of their Screaming For Justice EP. They play hardcore with a similar vibe to some of Blood For Blood's later punkier stuff (mainly due to Ron's vocals), incorporating melodic hardcore riffing. Songs like Shout With Me and No Escape had long term fans and close friends of the band going mental with stage diving, crowd surfing and good old fashioned pogoing. From where I stood at the side of the stage, the whole view, both of the band and the crowd, was a joy to watch. This really felt like a legend's welcome; a proper reunion for a beloved band. I was even tempted to jump off the speakers myself. It's actually such a shame I am only discovering this band now and that geography hinders them from continuing and flourishing into something amazing.
4/5i
4/5i
There was also a cover band featuring Ron on vocals, members of Malekhakhei HaPinkah and other friends who did a set of 5 songs which was good fun but not really worth reviewing. I apparently totally missed another short reunion performance by a metal band called Bar Manin (Expired)...but all in all a good night was had by all.
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