This past weekend the seminal – and non-existent for the past decade – California hardcore band Portraits Of Past graced the stages of Brooklyn and New York City, exciting closet screamo fans from all boroughs. Along with shows they played earlier in the month in Berkeley and San Francisco, this marked their first time playing together in nearly 13 years. Playing in celebration of the recent release of their complete discography on Ebullition Records, the performances raised questions as to the specter of possibly putting out some new recordings – especially with new songs being performed at the recent shows. In a brief discussion with Impose vocalist Rob Pettersen was quoted as saying:
“We are not sure if other songs will be written or how/if we will release it/them. Nothing is ruled out, however… Our guitarist Rex (Shelverton, of Bellavista and The VUE) does a lot of producing and the new song most likely will be recorded by him when our drummer is back in SF. I will also need to find time to make it out there to record vocals.”
Regardless of their impending future, their present (or recent past as the case may be) is well-documented via these great photos from photographer Meg Clark, who also gave us this first hand account. “There were kids from Baltimore and I’m sure even further there. The band played their entire LP from start to finish as well as most of their other known material, much to the delight of their rabid fans, many of whom had never seen the band live before. And from all the conversations I had with random people, many of whom, like me, had since “moved on” from hardcore and screamo and were simultaneously ecstatic and baffled to find themselves at a dark, smoky, cramped, noisy concert straight out of their most nostalgic teenage memories. Super DIY vegan heroes Ampere (featuring former Orchid guitarist Will Killingsworth) opened, along with Off Minor (composed mostly of ex-Saetia members) and Brooklyn-based Tropic of Nelson.”
Also included below is live footage from the show in Brooklyn.
[Ampere]
[Portraits Of Past]
Portraits Of Past live at Death By Audio
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