Counterparts Tear Up the Blast-O-Matt
by Max Giffin
Photo Credit: Max Giffin
On June 1, Canadian band Counterparts played at the Blast-O-Matt in Denver; a small record store venue with a stage in the garage. They played with both Hundredth and Gideon, bands that share Counterparts’ technical fast aggressive sound. Counterparts and Hundredth have been touring together for two years. Vocalist, Brendan Murphy, says, with humor, that they’ve played together “since [they] were playing for 10 kids, now [they’re] playing for 12 kids,” so they’ve come pretty far together. Fans may have noticed the ‘Hundredth/Counterparts’ shirts being sold at their show featuring both of the bands. Murphy explains that the bands were “kind of spit balling ideas and said, ‘Let’s make a shirt with both of us on it. It’d be pretty cool.’” Murphy says, “We took the picture and decided to put it on a shirt because the back with the lyrics has ‘We will overcome.’ We both use that line, so we put our lyrics before, and theirs after.” The two bands hope to continue touring together in the future.
When asked about the differences between playing America and Canada, Murphy says “kids in America are more grateful to come out and see us since we’re not here all the time,” however, “the shows are more violent here.” Violence in Denver’s hardcore music scene has been prominent, particularly at shows attended by Denver gang DKC. Murphy reflected on the stereotyped violence saying, “It’s awesome to see kids are so into our music it can make them do stuff like that; but at the same time, I feel like it’s damaging. Like, if a kid comes out and it’s his first show and he gets beat up. Obviously, if you just get hit in the face it’s whatever, but if a kid gets beat up, they’ll be less inclined to come back to a show. A lot of these crews stand for the preservation of the hardcore scene, where if crappy people are coming in, they kind of weed them out which is also good. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, but I try to stay out of it and focus on what I’m playing up there.” Overall, Murphy views violence as “not essential to the hardcore scene, but things like moshing are a way to get emotion out. You can’t just walk into a mall, go into Abercrombie & Fitch, and start throwing your arms around. If there’s ever a place for it where kids can get their anger and frustration out, it would be this.”
The show in the Blast-O-Matt was hot and wild. The garage where the band played heated up fast, and sweat was pouring off the fans by the end of the night. Murphy played the whole show screaming from the front of the crowd where people stepped back, and gave him some space to jump around. During many songs, Murphy would hold the mic up and allow the passionate people in the crowd to scream the lyrics in his place. This involvement pumped up everyone in the room and made the show more intimate.
Category: Metal
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