94-10-09 Dystopia – Unhinged – Deconsume – [ABC Diabolo] – [Hypocritical Society]

Did ‘Gluebag’ play??? Can’t remember… (See guestbook… Was a short-lived band with Phil ‘Hiatus’…)

Brob

I think ‘Dystopia’ didn’t play that show [They did write something in the V.V. guest-book and ‘Mauz’ & others remember…]. It was our (‘Deconsume’) 1^st gig by the way… I believe ‘Unhinged’, ‘Hypocritical Society’ and ‘ABC Diabolo’ were billed but ‘ABC …’ never made it over… So there were only 3 bands.

‘Deconsume’ were 6 class-mates [Koen, Bart, Steffen, Pieter, Michiel, Nico] who decided to make music. After having seen ‘Disrupt’ (93-10-31) at the Vort’n Vis the choice to also play crust was easily made. We did about 6 or 7 shows I think, but they were all great: two at the Vort’n Vis but also with ‘Masskontroll’ in the Antwerp region, with ‘Kosjer D’, ‘Insane Youth’ and a lot more bands in Tongeren. After secundary school the band fell apart. Half also got different musical interests. One of our singers (Steffen Geypens) sang for ‘Visions Of War’ for a moment (he’s on their first split 7”). Koen Luyckx became the second singer for ‘Vuur’ for a few years after Yannick Daems had to stop singing. I still jam with Stef ‘Empower’ & Nico Peeters (‘King Terror’) sometimes (in the vein of ‘Drop Dead’, still hard and fast). I’m also in ‘Nervous Mothers’…

Bart Jansen, ‘Deconsume’ guitarist

I clearly remember being really disappointed when ‘ABC Diabolo’ was supposed to play but didn’t turn up as one of their guys had to get his welfare-stamp that day or something…hehe. [They did play the year before: 93-12-20.]

Stijn Druyts

It was the first appearance of ‘Deconsume’ (Bart Jansen – guitar, Koen Luyckx – vocals, Michiel Mostmans – bass, Steffen Geypens – vocals, Pieter Brosens – drums & Nico Braspenning – guitar) here but they came back 95-04-29…

‘Unhinged’, from Liège, was the band of my mates Manu (vocals; later Nat) & Alain (guitar) – both running Nabate recs & distribution, with some lads of ‘Hiatus’: Wills (later Tomoy of ‘Scraps’) on bass and Azill (later Ben) on drums. They’d played at the Vort’n Vis a few times before (94-01-30 & unannounced on 94-08-06). Their 2^nd demo was recorded (at Ape studio) April ’95 and these songs were later released (combined with 4 songs recorded in ‘96 at 195 studio) on the band’s debut LP Win Our Freedom In Fire (released by Nabate in ’96).

‘Unhinged’, photos by Piero Majocchi

‘Hypocritical Society’ had been here before with ‘Disrupt’ (93-10-31)… Bart ‘Deconsume’ had the idea they were due here again but no-one seems to be able to confirm this…

‘Dystopia’ (from California) was termed ‘sludge’ (a mix of heavy metal and crust-punk – “doom-laden, metal-tinged, down-tuned punk”). Their sound embodied all of the horrors, pain, agony and desperation of modern day society; brutal, hateful and misanthropic – a “love earth – hate people” philosophy. The band consisted of Anthony ‘Dino’ Sommese (drums/vocals; nowadays in ‘Noothgrush’ & ‘Ghoul’), Matt ‘Mauz’ Parrillo (guitar/vocals), Todd Kiessling (bass/vocals) & Dan Kaufman (vocals; also ‘Mindrot’). Their very first European tour was booked by Michael Knopp of the German label Common Cause (he also did their tour in ‘97). They had a split-12” with ‘Embittered’ & a split-7” with ‘Grief’ out on Misanthropic recs (1993). The Human = Garbage LP (1994) was without Dan. (Later it was released as a 12 track CD on on Life Is Abuse (Mauz’ label), Misanthropic recs and Common Cause, featuring additional songs from their splits with ‘Embittered’ and ‘Grief’, and one unreleased track).

Brob

‘Dystopia’ did indeed play. ‘ABC Diabolo’ did not, they were supposed to but one of the guys couldn’t miss work that day for some reason… I think half of the band was there with us. We had van-trouble along the way there and arrived late, showing up right when ‘Unhinged’ was starting. So I don’t remember if ‘Deconsume’ played? I don’t think ‘Hypocritical Society’ played as we’d met them before and I don’t remember them being there. But yeah, we had a great time playing there with ‘Unhinged’ which was the beginning of a long and great friendship with them and the ‘Hiatus’ folks. After the gig we had wonderful evening partying with them and the locals… The equipment was still set up after the doors were locked and we started jamming covers with Azill and Wills. And I remember drinking a lot of amazing Lambics as well!

Dan wasn’t there as he left the band 6 or 8 months after we formed. Everyone in ‘Dystopia’ are still in contact with each other and we’re still good friends (though the band will remain finished; it’s much easier for all of us). Dino is still in Oakland and now singing in ‘Noothgrush’. Todd lives in Minneapolis now – he was playing in ‘Sour Vein’ for awhile but not active with any music at the moment. Dan lives in Long Beach, working at postman and plays in the band ‘Destroy Judas‘. I’m currently playing in the band ‘Kicker‘ and running a print-shop.

Matt ‘Mauz’ Parrillo, ‘Dystopia’ guitarist (monolithpress.net)

I was the driver for ‘Dystopia’ on that leg of the tour. Basically it was Andreas (the singer for ‘ABC Diabolo’) who couldn’t play because he had to report back to the unemployment-office the next morning). I’m fairly certain ‘Hypocritical Society’ didn’t play either… I went to sleep almost straight away after the show was over, only to be woken up (around 3:00 a.m., if my memory serves me right) by ‘Dystopia’ playing Sleep at full volume… How befitting, I thought. I think one of the Belgians talked them into it. I don’t think they played that song at any of the regular shows on that tour. There might or might not have been an incident involving a Belgian and the impossibility of peeing out of a roof-window that night, though the details of that part of the night escape me… Fun times.

Jürgen ‘Evil’ Bäuerle

During the winter of 1994-1995 I visited the Vort’n Vis many times while I was living in Leuven. I could write the same thing for every gig; that it was very exciting and fuckin’ funny, very good bands, the best available at that time (at least for me, living in Northern Italy). In those years Belgium had a historical HC-scene (I adored ‘Nations On Fire’) and crust-scene (‘Hiatus’, my favourite band), the best bands from all over Europe and USA were touring there and there were lots of active people, distros and organisers; plus endless rivers of excellent beer and mountains of Dutch weed. Also lots of music, talks, engagement, fun. The main difference with punk-gigs in Italy was that in Italy it was absolutely clear that you were in a political anarchist squatted social centre at a punk gig; most important was the political message, not the music as simple entertainment and fun. Belgian gigs were much less politically oriented but still DIY, not commercial, and with a very positive atmosphere; less problems (or no problems) with drunken aggressive people, no violent pogo. In Italy at that time, we still had problems with that… So, to describe just this one night: it was the second time I went to Ieper – as always alone and by train; the classic ritual of a punk gig (for me, at least): a look at the distros buying some stuff, talking with people, eating and dinking beer, then the gig. ‘Dystopia’ was a wall of screaming sound, a mix of political US hardcore (a mid 90s scene that I loved, with ‘Rorschach’, ‘Born Against’, ‘Nausea’, ‘Antischism’, ‘Subvert’, ‘Initial State’, … and European crust such as ‘Doom’, ‘Hiatus’). Then there was ‘Unhinged’ – the first time I saw them: fantastic, half of ‘Hiatus’ with Alain and Manu of Nabate recs. I was in contact with Alain since 1989 by mail, we shared the same feelings and ideas about punk, DIY, anarchy and life, we shared the goals (the death of the state and of money) and the way to achieve them (DIY, political engagement, creating alternatives to the shit, unified life resistance, no fuckin’ money!!!). All those years I distributed Nabate records in Italy. The ‘Unhinged’ gig was great: the feeling of all of this expressed in music and screaming, I still remember it… But the following part of the night was even better: an hoard of barbarian crusties (the Liège-block, with whom I shared a unforgettable alcohol-marathon in Liège that winter, was present) remained around the bar drinking all night, singing, shouting and making noise, hitting wood sticks against every possible surface in the room, total fuckin’ chaos. Late at night (morning?), I went upstairs to the sleeping-place where I met a gang of young punx from somewhere in Flanders; we talked, drank, smoked ganja, sat on the sleeping-bags, with the endless noise of the demonic hoards dowstairs, untill dawn. Holy shit, in grind we crust!

Piero Majocchi, AZ distro (Pavia, Italy)

excerpts from the V.V. guestbook:

additions wellcome!…