Detroit Hardcore: Tied Down Festival Day 1
Ante Up (Tied Down Festival Day 1) - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Ticket to Detroit’s premiere 2-day hardcore festival, Tied Down Detroit.
Every year Detroit's premiere hardcore festival, Tied Down Detroit, is the weekend right after Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival in Las Vegas. Every year I think I will be just too wiped out, but somehow I find the energy. This year, I was resigned to knowing that I would go and shelled out the $159.99 price for the two-day pass a few months in advance. It's a great way to support Edgemen Screenprinting, and when you buy the ticket from them directly, you get an actual printed ticket (which are rare these days). It didn’t hurt that they had Bad Beat, D-BLOC, and Judge on the bill this year. As a late addition, they also added Turnstile as a headliner.
Anhedonia (Tied Down Festival Day 1)
Exit Strategy (Tied Down Festival Day 1)
The Russell Industrial Center is a huge venue, with multiple floors and a massive area that can be used for merch and bars. Many of the bands were straight edge, but they did have a bar and a special wristband for those that wanted to buy alcohol. Every band had their own merch booth, and the sponsors and several record stores were set up as well. There was an outdoor area with food trucks (including vegan options), and parking was only $20 (I wouldn't call that cheap, but events in Detroit have been up to $100 over the last year, and one time we paid $200 for a tailgating spot at a Lions game).
Volcano (Tied Down Festival Day 1)
This is one of the most violent indoor crowds that you will ever encounter, with just a massive mosh pit where at least 25-30 kids were doing the two-step at once. There were arms windmilling, kids doing cartwheels off of the stage, stage dives that landed more than 10 feet into the crowd, and of course "crowd killers" routinely harassing the people on the edges of the pit (including the photographers). I only got punched in the head one time for 9 sets (Lyuda/Anhedonia, Steamroll, Exit Strategy, Ante Up, Prize Horse, Hold My Own, Scarab, Volcano, and D-BLOC), so I'll call that a win. I shoot (photos) from the crowd, and it comes with the territory. I was there early to make sure that I saw Lyuda and hit all of the merch booths before the lines got out of control. Sunday was the main reason that I bought the ticket, to see Bad Beat and Judge, so after D-BLOC I headed out to get some rest for day two.
D-BLOC (Tied Down Festival Day 1)
