Unashamed reunion...

i must confess, i am more than just a little bit conflicted about this show. there is a side of me that really wants to go, seeing as unashamed was the first hardcore band i ever saw and i still listen to their records every week (what can i say, i am a creature of nostalgia.) conversely, there is the side of me that wants nothing to do with it because i truly hate christianity and don't want to see it intertwine with hardcore any more than it already has. at first i imagined i would put my anger aside for the sake of getting a chance to relive seeing the first band i ever saw, but as the day gets closer it becomes more and more clear to me that there is no way i could go back and relive the moment (though that should have been obvious from the get go) nor go back to a time when hating christianity wasn't such a large part of my emotional make-up that i could ignore it even for a single set. additionally, i know that the more conservative christian toads i see moshing it up, the more bitter i will be and i may end up with a heavy burden of frustration that wasn't there before (given that i seldom am forced to abide christian hardcore.)

i know someone else on here must have some sort of strong feeling about this...

(also, this post shouldn't be misread as an attack on bobby or jeff from unashamed. my personal experiences with them have been nothing but enjoyable and i am always happy to see bobby around.)

haha or not.

I would feel the same way if there was a Focal Point reunion. I love the record.. ignore the lyrics. It would be really cool to see but there's no way i'm dealing with the fucktards there and the possible gospel talk between songs.

It's not that I am intolerant to other people's beliefs but I find it just insulting to my intelligence and common sense.. Okay.. maybe I am a LITTLE intolerant.. but come on!

some of my absolute best friends are christians. and i am NOT. i have 666 tattooed across my stomach, a giant pentagram and the word unholy on my chest. not because i worship the devil, but because i despise christianity. when their bands come through, i stand on stage, wearing an anti-jesus shirt and watch the brainwashing. the music is good enough, the message is wrong...for the most part. i'm able to separate the lyrics from the music. i actually listen to a lot of christian bands to go along with my satanic black/death metal bands.

at first i looked at this reunion with ambivalence, and then the more i thought about the situation, i got fucking FURIOUS that this band was playing in my fucking county. like, legit MAD.

ok, first of all, "spirit filled hardcore" fucking DIED once. yeah, theres bands like Sleeping Giant who carry the christian torch, and are good at what they do, whatever. like that other jerk said, i try to overlook the lyrics and not say "fuck" too much when im hanging out with them, and they kinda laugh at the town drunk and i kinda ignore the fact that they are christians.

but Unashamed? c'mon.

ok lets look at the facts of this show. first, while i guess it's a crazy trend of 2009 to get old bands to play ( and there have been some fucking head scratchers in there), there is NO reason for Unashamed to get back together in 2010. i read in an interview posted on Jeff's blog that the reason they are getting back is because Bobby went to s show and saw how "into it" kids still were or something, and decided to try and get Unashamed back together. i know for a FACT that Bobby has been trying to get a band together for a decade, because ive seen him on and off and we have even talked about doing a band. but he has NOT BEEN INTO HARDCORE this whole time. he is a hairstylist and does a clothing line that nobody pays attention to, and i would venture to guess he has been to less than 10 shows in the past 10 years. Jeff, the singer, less than that. the other scabs hired to play this show? two ex- members of THROWDOWN who somehow found themselves on the god squad.

Matt Mently has always been "into" spirit filled hardcore, as evidenced by his old zine which featured many pictures of these bands. he married a girl named Barbie and left Throwdown a couple of years ago.
Dom Macaluso apparently left Throwdown due to a spiritual calling, then discovered ye olde Blood Of Christ and had himself a grand old time. he hit me up about six months ago, texted me asking if i had any bass gear. if id known that THIS is what he was using it for, i would have told him to stick his dick in a light socket.
and the drummer of Unashamed for this musical abortion? someone who's not even into hardcore, my sources tell me.

so no, i would say that this band is NOT welcome. there is NO reason for them to be here, and im truly tempted to go to this show just to start shit. to hand out fliers warning kids about the dangers of christianity. but the truth is, id much rather spend my time at home, in bed, watching Dirty Sexy Money season two on dvd, and thinking to myself about how stupid it is that this band is playing.

stupid.