“Tid The Season” 2021
December 9-10, 2021
Riverworks, Buffalo, NY
Our Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
After a year hiatus due to Covid-19 Buffalo’s favorite sons Every Time I Die returned with their annual “Tid The Season” holiday bash. The sprawling Riverworks complex in Buffalo, NY once again played host to the two-day event which featured ice skating, curling, wrestling and bands such Circa Survive, Knocked Loose, Ice-T and of course Every Time I Die.
Media Mikes had the opportunity to check out day two of the event which started off with a full bill of wrestling courtesy of Empire State Wrestling. Highlights from the multi match card included hometown favorite Puf opening the event with a fun filled match which had him blasting opponents with an array of confetti cannons one of which he even saved for an unsuspecting referee. AEW stars Evil Uno and The Blade w/ The Bunny squared off in the main event which started out quite heated after Uno took multiple verbal jabs at Buffalo and its inhabitants. Being local The Blade and Bunny didn’t take very kindly to Uno’s tirade and the match quickly ensued. After a tense couple moments of back-and-forth action between the two participants Blade’s tag team partner Butcher (Andy Williams) emerged donning what appeared to be attire inspired heavily by Donald Gibb’s character in “Bloodsport”. Though the Butcher didn’t fair to well initially the match concluded with the duo’s signature finishing move “Full Death” being delivered to a weary Evil Uno before the count of 1,2,3, was made. Prior to leaving the ring the team thanked the ever-growing crowd for the continued support which helped usher the team to the locker room accompanied by a wave a cheers and chants.
After a brief intermission to clear the floor of the ring the music portion of the night would be kicked off by the extreme Hardcore group END. The band consisting of members from the bands Misery Signals, Counterparts, Reign Supreme, Shai Hulud, and Fit For An Autopsy wasted no time delivering to the near capacity crowd as they ripped through songs from their “Splinters From an Ever-Changing Face” release setting a high standard for the bands still to come. Three-piece Ontario rockers The Dirty Nil took the stage next and proved that big things can come in small packages as the three-piece group decimated the audience with their unique blend of fuzz infused overdrive. Certainly, a highlight of the performance was a rawkus rendition of the Metallica classic “Hit the Lights” which was performed near flawlessly and left the crowd wanting more. Vancouver natives Spiritbox would follow and though I personally found the set to be rather lackluster and vocalist Courtney LaPlante quite pitchy at times the band invoked a solid reaction from the crowd that you had to applaud.
Heading into the meat of the nights lineup we saw Los Angeles based The Bronx return to the stage for their second performance of the weekend (the band performed on night one of the event with their Mariachi El Bronx lineup). The band helmed by energetic front man Matt Caughthran kept the nights energy going despite battling feedback issues as they performed crowd favorites such as “Shitty Future”, “Six Days a Week” and “History’s Stranglers” before closing out the set with “Around the Horn” from the bands 2006 album “II”. Tid The Season regulars Knocked Loose would follow instantly re-igniting the crowd after a brief reprieve. Guitarist Isaac Hale dominated the stage left position with his precise chuggery while front man Bryan Garris commanded the attention of capacity crowd while the band performed such tracks as “God Knows”, “All My Friends” and “Counting Worms”. The set also featured a couple guest appearances including Brendan Murphy on “Billy No Mates”, Courtney LaPlante on “A Serpent’s Touch” and Keith Buckley on “Forget Your Name” all of which garnered loud roars from the bustling crowd. The Original Gangster Ice-T occupied the direct support slot this evening and despite a much different sound than the other bands on the bill Ice and his crew fit in perfectly as they threw down his signature West Coast rhythms backed by long-time DJ Evil E’s beats. Despite more widely known tracks like “New Jack Hustler” and “Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous” missing from the set Buffalo did get to hear “O.G. Original Gangster” along with a few other classics prior to Ice leaving the stage with his wife Coco and daughter Chanel in tow.
As a white banner projecting of a large burning fireplace dropped from the ceiling and Christmas music began to play through the PA the anticipation level jumped threefold as what has become the marker signaling for the evenings hosts Every Time I Die to take the stage. As a dangerous windstorm swirled outside and synthetic snow began dropping from the ceiling the band burst on to the stage with the song “Roman Holiday”. The band appeared as though they were shot of a cannon as the opening number set a solid foundation for tracks like “A Colossal Wreck”, “Post-Boredom” and “The New Black”. The set features a couple new tracks as both “Desperate Pleasures” and “People Verses” from the newly released “Radical” album made their way into the set for the first time fitting perfectly amongst more seasoned ETID tracks like “We’rewolf”, “Decayin’ With the Boys” and “Map Change”. Despite internal tensions within the band being reported recently the members of Every Time I Die showed they are consummate professionals at the top of their game as the band once again delivering to the sold-out Buffalo crowd.
Every Time I Die Set List:
1.) Roman Holiday
2.) Romeo a Go-Go
3.) Off Broadway
4.) A Colossal Wreck
5.) Desperate Pleasures
6.) Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space
7.) The Marvelous Slut
8.) Post-Boredom
9.) The New Black
10.) Sly
11.) Pigs Is Pigs
12.) The Sweet Life
13.) Champing at the Bit
14.) Cities and Years
15.) No Son of Mine
16.) Thirst
17.) I Been Gone a Long Time
18.) We’rewolf
19.) AWOL
20.) Bored Stiff
21.) The Coin Has a Say
22.) White Void
23.) Decayin’ With the Boys
24.) Floater
25.) Map Change
26.) People Verses
27.) Indian Giver
