When Envy hit the stage, my friends and I pretty much got what we expected: a more or less generic hardcore band with a lot of screamed vocals and loud, fast guitars. Nothing really special. This was one of those times where you appreciate the fact that opening acts get less playing time.

After Envy came Orange 9MM. I actually used to own Driver Not Included, but after seldom listening to it, I sold it, dismissing O9MM as a cheap Helmet knockoff, a move which I regretted after seeing their performance. Lead singer Chaka Malik jumped around the stage like a kangaroo on speed and rapped/sang, producing a blend of funk and hardcore. Their set also included a cover of the Jane’s Addiction tune "Pigs in Zen."

The third and final openers were Buffalo hardcore pioneers Snapcase, who received a huge reaction from the audience. As I said earlier, the only Snapcase album I own, and plan on ever owning, is Progression Through Unlearning. My major complaint with Snapcase is that every song seems to be the same loud guitars with the same screaming. I do have to admit, though, that they put on a good live show. The entire set was very tight and the band was energetic (something you can’t take for granted, see recent God Lives Underwater appearance at Showplace). Nevertheless, I was still glad when they finished their set, though. The crowd was not. About a quarter of them left after Snapcase walked offstage.

So finally, my friends and I walked out into the crowd from where we had been sitting (hey, it was a long night) after all the people who were going to leave had cleared out. We ended up about ten feet from the stage, near the center. After what seemed like a long wait, Face to Face hit the stage, opening with "I Won’t Lie Down," the first single from their self-titled album, now roughly a year and a half old. I could tell from the faces of the people who screamed along to Trever Keith’s every word, like myself, that these people were glad they stayed.
"I Won’t Lie Down" was followed by the opener of the Big Choice album, "Struggle." The sound was great, and the band never faltered. After "Struggle" came "Disconnected," another flawless performance. I had had my fingers crossed, hoping that this would be on the setlist. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when the song began. "You don’t know what you would give up...you don’t know what you want, it may take you years to find out...you don’t know what you need, something that may never come to you." Yes, that is a Descendents lyric in there (thanks, Dana). Anyway, when the chorus began...let’s just say that by the end of the night, I had partially lost my voice.
The band continued to play songs from all of their full length releases (mostly older stuff), as well as crowd favorites such as "No Authority," which started with Trever claiming that their new drummer Jose didn’t know the song yet. However, the band played the song so well that whether he was kidding or not is anyone’s guess. Other songs played included "Walk the Walk," "I’m Trying," "Blind," "Nothing New" (this came as a surprise to me, this was one I was NOT expecting), "Ordinary," "You Lied," and many more.

There were several highlights of this show for me, the main one being "Velocity," from Big Choice, another song which caught me off-guard. This was also another instance where I knew exactly where Trever was coming from with the lyrics. A crowd singalong was invited during "Pastel" for the interlude... "I don’t want a game where I don’t know how to play, just go away..."
After "It’s Not Over," Face to Face left the stage, with the crowd screaming for more. It wasn’t over. A minute passed, and Trever Keith came back onstage, asking if we’d like another song. The crowd’r fans. Do yourself a favor and go see them. If you can’t, the live record comes close.

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