VOD reunited, NYHC legends, LOA, Municipal Waste & more did it for Sic

Sick Of It All frontman Lou Koller recently completed surgery and a first round of chemo for esophageal cancer, is recovering well, and starts a 2nd round of chemo in December, as he told everybody in attendance at Irving Plaza in NYC Saturday night (11/23) via video message at a benefit show in his honor. The thanks-filled speech came after an in-person introduction by his daughter and his brother and bandmate Pete who wasn’t the only member of Sick of It All who made an on-stage appearance throughout the emotional night. The night was for Lou, whose face was also adorned the “In in the Fight with Lou” stage backdrop all night, but it also belonged to headliners Vision of Disorder who were playing for the first time in years to a room full of many other Long Islanders who erupted like no other point in the night. The influential ’90s metalcore band’s music and its members have all aged amazingly, and they sounded great as they blazed through about 45 minutes of classics including many from their 1996 self-titled debut, a handful from their other two ’90s LPs, one newer one (from 2012), and a set-closing cover of Sick Of It All’s “Scratch the Surface” with help at the end from Armand Majidi of SOIA who also spoke earlier in the night. Frontman Tim Williams, who announced he was 16 years sober unlike the last time they headlined Irving Plaza, also got help on vocals at one point from one of his daughters. He gave a shoutout to his other daughter who was in the balcony with other friends and family and NYHC royalty. The last show VOD played, also in NYC, was in 2018 at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, though unlike that time, original guitarist Matt Baumbach was back in the band at Irving. Hopefully they don’t make us wait this long again. Meanwhile there’s already full set video you can watch below (bonus points if you can find Waldo). The night opened with back to back classic NYHC sets (and classic NYHC stage banter) by Crown of Thornz (Danny Diablo, Mike Dijan & Dimi Douvas included, along with Paul Delaney who has been playing bass, fresh off doing the same for Madball whose other members were also in the audience) and Killing Time (who were introduced as so important to SOIA by Armand, and whose frontman Anthony also acknowledged a daughter in the crowd while playing most of the set on the floor at the barrier) followed by the entertaining (and very popular) Municipal Waste. Though they’ve toured with Sick Of It All, the over the top Richmond, Virginia thrash metal band stood out as different on the lineup and they knew it. Tony Foresta is a seasoned and funny frontman though, and he knew how to work the crowd, first announcing how much it means for them to be included and how he knows how tight the NYHC scene is, and then with many, many jokes about the age of the crowd and their unwillingness to circle pit. His tactics worked and it felt like the entire room was won over and moving by the end, and not only because of the blazing fast riffs. Tony also successfully got people to crowd surf to their signature “Wave of Death” where lots of people crowd surf unlike a “Wall of Death” where people run into each other, which he explains they stopped doing due to bands like Sick Of It All owning those classic moves. Other highlights included Tony throwing garbage cans (and garbage) in the crowd, and a smart cover of “Bullshit Society” by the NYHC-approved Long Island crossover legends Crumbsuckers (video below). Days before the show, Life of Agony frontperson Keith Caputo announced that he would be detransitioning after living life as a transgender woman and identifying as Mina for the past 13 years, and this marked his first show since changing his name back and cutting his hair short again. LOA played 45 minutes of hits between the MW and VOD sets, and as always, it was mostly tracks from River Runs Red along with “Weeds” and “Lost at 22.” A few months ago LOA headlined their own show on a Rocks Off boat, and at that show they actually debuted the new song they recently wrote about (how disgraceful the new version is of the movie) The Crow. Though not so much back in the day, LOA and Sick Of It All have toured a bunch together in recent years, and Keith talked about his memory of buying SOIA’s album Blood, Sweat and No Tears on vinyl at Zig Zag Records in Brooklyn as a kid. Speaking of buying, the only merch for the sale at the show were items including a limited show poster that also were helping the cause. It was a long and special night, and we’re in the fight with Lou! Check out photos by Mathieu Bredeau and video from the special night below…