05/25/2026
The hardcore laminate…at one time, this was a true status symbol at any festival.
How did I ever have them? I was just around. I truly contributed nothing. I didn’t help load in. I didn’t man the merch table. I was just a guy who got the access and free backstage beer. In my defense, I often acquired passes like this after paying the full ticket price. My friends were nice enough to not leave me behind when it was backstage time and they knew I wasn’t going to try to sniff their co***ne. What were they going to do with those extra passes anyway?
These have been hanging in my garage for years. A few notable Baltimore shows. A couple This Is Hardcore fests with Stout and Slumlords respectively. A couple East Coast Tsunamis and even a random ass metalcore show at Sonar that my old friends in August Burns Red headlined.
I’ll never forget watching football on their bus when I couldn’t afford it in my apartment. Then they played and I finally realized how popular they were.