Comeback Kid at Warsaw on Saturday, March 1st, 2025

Comeback Kid is a longstanding pillar of modern hardcore, celebrating 25 years of being a band in 2026. They bring all of the speed and power that classic hardcore and punk bands like Cro-Mags and H2O, while bringing in a more melodic edge that metalcore and post-hardcore bands of the early 2000's were making popular. Despite being relatively empty early on, which I blame solely on the lack of parking on the streets of Brooklyn, by the time the night was half over, the venue was packed wall-to-wall, all ready to celebrate, but that's getting ahead of myself.

Kicking the night off was Orthodox, a self-described "nu metalcore" band from Nashville, Tennessee and the youngest band on the bill. This wasn't my first time seeing these guys, and it definitely won't be my last. Despite the venue being far from capacity this early in the night, vocalist Adam Easterling and the band put their everything into their performance, something that even the best bands will sometimes slack on if the crowd is "too small". They leaned into their newer material, playing a handful of new, unreleased songs as well as their most recent single "Commit to Consequence", but that didn't stop those who knew the band from having a great time in the pit and on the rail.

Up next was This Is Hell, a band that traveled all the way from Long Island to be there, no easy feat if you've ever tried to do that drive. The band opened their set by explaining it was their first show of the year, before ripping into a set that spanned a good chunk of their career. They chose to take a less-serious approach between songs, a welcome change compared to many of the other hardcore shows that I've been to in the past, joking with each other and the crowd. They also announced they had new music in the works, their first since 2016's Bastards Still Remain EP, before going into a new, unreleased song. They left the crowd wanting more, shown by just how big the dogpile they made during the closing song "Permanence", but the show was only halfway over.

The third final band to try to get the crowd in the mood for a party was Boston's Defeater. At this point, the crowd had really filled in the venue and was starting to get rowdy the way a hardcore show should be. The band played around their whole discography, touching every album at least once. Despite being an opening band, and being from most of New York's least favorite city, Defeater brought the house down. Usually I can get through the crowd relatively easy after I take pictures, but this was like trying to fight a brick wall that would occasionally hit back. I was a fan before, but after this show, I will definitley be going out of my way to try to see these guys again and again.

Finally, as the time slowly marched on, the lights dimmed, the music cut, and A-ha's "Take On Me" began. Now, before I go into the actual show, I'm used to things like "Chop Suey" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" getting these people in the singing mood before a band comes out, but I have never heard the crowd sing as loud, or seen security dance to, "Take On Me" like this before. Then, after the fun of "Take On Me" died down, the anniversary of Wake The Dead began, with the band ripping right into "False Idols Fall". While they may have been playing the whole album, they still know exactly what the crowd wanted, and that's why when they reached the 3rd song of the album, the massively popular title track, they teased the intro before instead going into "The Trouble I Love". Of course, with the album done, they still had plenty of time to rip through a few other hits including the title track to their most recent album, 2022's Heavy Steps. Then, with the crowd yelling the chorus to introduce it, the drum fill kicked in and closed the show, and an excellent night, with an extremely rowdy "Wake The Dead".

Comeback Kid played a 16-song set that included:

False Idols Fall

My Other Side

The Trouble I Love

Talk Is Cheap

Partners in Crime

Our Distance

Bright Lights Keep Shining

Falling Apart

Losing Patience

Final Goodbye

Heavy Steps

G.M. Vincent & I

All in a Year

Step Ahead

Broadcasting...

Wake the Dead