Text & Photos: Bobby Cochran
Code Orange are no longer just a bunch of kids from Pittsburgh. The five-piece hardcore outfit (including touring guitarist Dominic Landolin) have matured into a pulverizing, solid sonic machine, and they brought their own special brand of madness to the tiny San Francisco club, Thee Parkside. The sold-out crowd was frothing and sweating even before Code Orange took the stage, and the anticipation was palpable. Opening with “Forever” off their newest album of the same name, they pushed “Go” and the energy in the room erupted. Blasting through tracks from Forever and 2012’s I Am King, there was no stopping them. Despite a waist-high metal barrier in front of the stage and a low ceiling above, people crawled and climbed and leapt onto and over each other, screaming and thrusting fists in the air. Mayhem broke out in the final song, “My World,” with bodies piling on bodies on the stage and off.
Code Orange
On tour with Code Orange are neo-industrial duo Youth Code, who seem to be almost constantly on tour all over the world. They blasted through 30 or so minutes of powerhouse tracks like “Carried Mask,” “Doghead” and “To Burn Your World,” with vocalist Sara Taylor and keyboardist/vocalist Ryan George handily carving out space for their own particular brand of heaviness, EBM style. Sara apologized for the short set, explaining she had a 102˚ fever. No one would have ever known by looking at her. She also made a heartfelt shout out to close friend Cash Askew, one of the victims of Oakland’s Ghost Ship fire back in December, a sentiment supported by the “Cash Askew Forever” banner that hung from George’s table. Youth Code are power and precision turned up to 11.
Youth Code
LA’s Disgrace, who feature members of Nails, Creatures, Forced Order and Twitching Tongues, brought some brutal metalcore – and clearly pleased the crew of fans they drew to the show tonight. Unrelenting and powerful, killer riffs and brutal vocals, plus a no-nonsense approach that shows they know who they are and don’t give a fuck what you think.
Disgrace
Openers Mara, full of potential, powered through a set of brutal death metal that will surely keep eyes on them for a good long time.
Mara
