Title Fight live at The Magic Stick. Detroit, Michigan
Friday June 18, 2011

The Magic Stick in Detroit, MI was filled wall to wall with mostly kids under 18. Myself and a friend were two of a small group that were over 21, showing how much a band like Title Fight (who are all young as well) appeals to a young, angry and emotional audience. Since taking the hardcore punk world by storm with their compilation, The Last Thing You Forget, they’ve played all across the US, Canada and around the world before finally releasing their debut full length Shed in May.

The Menzingers, who also put on an excellent set, left the stage and the crowd was hot with anticipation. The minutes felt like hours as Title Fight members Ned Russin (bass/vocals), Jamie Rhoden (guitar/vocals), Shane Moran (guitar) and Ben Russin (drums), brother to Ned, partook in a final, last minute soundcheck. I recall being both antsy and giddy with anticipation to see one of my favorite bands tear The Magic Stick apart. Then, as the first distorted, noisy and dissonant guitar notes of “No One Stays at the Top Forever” hit everyone’s ears they knew it was time: Title Fight were here and ready to kick ass.

Once the pounding, one-two drum beats started in, there was no looking back. The crowd, myself included, screamed along to every word. The band played with an intensity that matched the crowd’s, pound for pound (pun not intended). Kids were going crazy stage diving and hardcore dancing like their lives depended on it. Based on the fact that the crowd was hot the entire night, and especially for Title Fight, I can’t pick a song of the night. The crowd lived and loved every second of their set. The most surreal moments came during the back-to-back “Safe In Your Skin” and “27”. During the former, the crowd got a breather from all the moshing and instead swayed back and forth. The quiet, subdued few minutes made the latter song sound like the most heavy thing you’d ever hear.

Title Fight are a band that let their songs do their talking. They hardly said a word in between songs. Ned Russin briefly thanked all the bands on the tour (Touche Amore, Dead End Path and The Menzingers) and mentioned how all of the bands either have a new record out or are soon releasing one, making for a fun and exciting tour for the fans and the bands.

Title Fight are also a band that don’t do encores. Their sets end and then people go home. That’s it. It’s actually quite a cathartic experience to just walk away from something so intense. An encore for a band like Title Fight would be like re-celebrating a birthday or redoing the moon landing. There are few shows where I’ve come away speechless. Title Fight bucked that trend. I literally could not convey in words, at that moment, what I had just seen. Hopefully this review does the show a little justice. But probably not.

We like to keep it local here at Ghettoblaster, which is why, every so often, we go out and talk to our favorite artists about their hometown and the things they love (or hate) about it.

For this edition of Stomping Grounds, we introduce Matthew Milia of Frontier Ruckus, who is a born and bred Michigander that calls Detroit home but also spends much of his time throughout the rest of Michigan. If you haven’t heard Frontier Ruckus’s unique brand of folk, you should take a moment and check them out. But for now, read on to hear all about the best of Michigan, from Detroit to Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti.

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Hailing from Detroit Rock City, Amy Gore is the lead singer of the all girl, no glitz garage rock band the Gore Gore Girls. First discovered in 1998, the Gore Gore girls have just released their third album but have already played with such iconic acts as Iggy and the Stooges, the New York Dolls and the Cramps. Here, Amy gives us the goods on her hometown for this Stomping Grounds exclusive.

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