Hardcore: En Love, Suffer No Fools, King’s Command (and Strange Magic).
En Love at Edgemen Printing. All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein.
Although the flyer said that En Love, Suffer No Fools, and King's Command would be playing, there was an obscure clue that Strange Magic may also play a secret set (someone wrote it in on a flyer and posted it on an Instagram page for Oxygen Tank Booking). I tried to reach out to the band (several of the members are now in Bad Beat) and only got a cryptic answer. En Love is intense, and the show would be worth it regardless of the outcome, so we headed down. It was Good Friday, and we narrowly missed a traffic jam for a nearby mega-church and also stopped for some really good sushi at Sushi King, but we still made it just after doors opened. It was one of the nicest days of the year so far, and Edgemen Screenprinting had the large garage door opened to let in as much cool air as possible.
Suffer No Fools at Edgemen Printing
King's Command, Suffer No Fools, and En Love were all beat down hardcore and had the crowd moshing and doing the two-step. Each set was better than the previous, and we were able to step outside briefly in between each to cool down. Getting photos is far more difficult than usual at straight edge hardcore shows, with no stage, lights on, and everyone just crowded around the band. At any moment a person from the back may decide to push through the first couple of rows and start bashing from one side of the venue to the other. Stray arms and fists are everywhere, not to mention round kicks and windmills. Standing behind the biggest guy you can find only works until that guy starts moshing. This was another successful night, though. no one in my group had any issues, and I snuck in just enough photos for the story. But none of this is the real story; we were there for what came after all three bands had played. And to be honest, we were also played (but in a good way).
Mike Moynihan (original singer for Strange Magic) announcing the new franchised edition of Strange Magic.
If you aren't familiar with Strange Magic, read about their fake signing to, and beef with, Fat Wreck Chords. Singer Mike Moynihan even tweeted a fake conversation between himself and Fat Mike and really had the fans going. This was back in 2019, so I should not have been surprised at all with what they pulled at this show. Mike came out to announce Strange Magic and then passed the mic to the singer of a completely new "franchised" version of the band with no original members (keep in mind that they only broke up last year, and most of the original band was at the show). We had a good laugh (my buddy Dylan said, "That seems on-brand for them," which sums it up perfectly), and it was a bonus set anyway, so it was all good. They played a set of Strange Magic songs that included "Time Machine," "MTV News," "Unfortunately," and "Rain Forest Cafe." The drummer and guitarist for King's Command were in the band, and it was short but entertaining. The audience, as always, knew all the words and screamed along. Maybe next time we will get the original band, or maybe an entirely new one. I guess we will have to be there to find out.
Strange Magic (franchised version) at Edgemen Printing
