Do you have a rage within your soul? The desire to shove, punch, and kick until you can’t anymore? Have you ever wanted to get the hate out of you while listening to screamo metal music? You can find all this and more within the Rochester hardcore scene.

I first started to go to local hardcore shows this past Summer with some of my friends who had gone in the past. The first show I attended was in the basement of a bookstore. The room was filled with countless young people and the music was blaring. 

Towards the front of the standing-room-only crowd was an empty circle or mosh pit where people would dance, shove, kick, punch, and bump into each other also known as “moshing”. This is a key part of the hardcore experience, If you don’t come out of the venue with ringing ears and a sore body you just aren’t doing it right.

Whether the show is in someone’s basement a local business or even a real concert venue the energy is always electric. You’ll find some of the nicest, most friendly people at these shows even though they might be the same ones who will beat you up in the mosh pit. 

If you find yourself wanting to listen to new music, this is the perfect scene for you. There are plenty of high-energy bands with loud energetic songs. New and older bands often hold a spot on the band list of local hardcore shows, some even created by local young people in high school or college. 

One popular local band started by high schoolers is called “Deep Disdain”. The lead vocalist, sixteen-year-old Jack Altman goes to Eastridge Highschool in Irondequoit. Deep Disdain got its start this year and is already performing at local venues to crowds of upwards of 100 people. 

One of the best parts of the Hardcore scene in Rochester is the people and the community around it. Everyone who attends these shows is always open to talk and joke and laugh with you. 

Jack Altman agrees, while talking about his favorite part of a hardcore show he said, “Probably the community and people you meet, it’s a very accepting community. I’ve made a lot of friends and you are all there for the same if not similar reasons. Also, Moshing is fun… It’s definitely scary the first time, or looks like it and then you do it and it’s not bad at all”. 

Many different types of creative people go to these shows. When I was leaving the Hardcore Unity Festival at the California Brew Haus in Rochester I was handed a flier for a YouTube channel called “Always Late Never Lost” that documents many of the local hardcore shows in the area by using VHS tapes. 

When I went to check it out I was amazed by the dedication of the owner of the channel in capturing the energy of shows. In the blurry footage, you can kind of feel transported back to the time when hardcore got its start. I’ve linked a part of their video showing Jack Altman with Deep Distdain on stage. 

Overall if you’re looking for places with creative people, new music and a high-energy experience our local Rochester Hardcore scene is a great place to start.