Nothing's Forever, Dude.

Bomb the Music Industry!'s Final Shows 1/17 & 1/19

Bomb the Music Industry! A band from Baldwin, New York, led by Jeff Rosenstock. This band is prossibly the most amazing set of people playing music together. Giving all their music away on their website for anyone to download freely. Inviting fans to bring their own instruments and play with them. Spray painting shirts with sweet stencils for fans after shows. Almost always playing shows that they made sure was about $10 bucks (or less), and all ages. Just a few reasons I was heartbroken when they announced they were going on a hiatus doing a last US tour the summer of 2012, then an international farewell tour in 2013. I saw them the play their last LA show and thought it would be the last time I'd ever see them again. 

November of 2013 they announced their last shows ever in Brooklyn. I started to plan my trip to see them one last time, tickets sold out in a matter of hours. Bomb the Music Industry!'s final two shows were in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at Warsaw, a Polish run venue serving Polish beers and pierogies. Get inside, check my coats for $2, and work my way through a crowd anxiously awaiting as BTMI! sets up. The air is thick with sweat and pierogie burps and they hadn't even started playing yet. After borrowing a floor tom, they are finally ready to start. Jeff gets on the mic and reminds the crowd that every person they're standing next to is a person, and to be conscious of those around you. He follows that with, "Alright, let's just do this. Hi, we're Bomb the Music Industry!."

Playing just about every song they ever wrote, the crowd feeding off of every note, it was completely wild. Songs like "Showerbeers!", "25!", "Slumlord", and "Saddr Weirdr". People constantly crowd surfing, and stage diving, it was a great energy for something that was kind of a bummer.  In between the songs were witty banter, and inside jokes. At one point the band encouraged the fans to go home and tell their dad they were posers for not coming to the last BTMI! show. Then Rosenstock called his dad a poser, silenced the crowd to hear his dad's reply, "No, you are!" it was magical. Closing out the night with "Syke! Life Is Awesome!", and "Future 86", a song I adore. The first song I had ever covered, and recorded. I have never heard it live, as soon as they started it, my eyes filling with tears. I have never cried at a concert before, but it was such a bittersweet feeling I couldn't control. I'm sure there were songs kids had waited years to hear and finally heard them, to realize it was going to be the first and last time. As we came to the end not only were fans crying, BTMI! was also crying. It was probably the most emotional experience I've had at a concert. 

Overall, I couldn't have asked for it end any better. It was so close to perfection that if I didn't have the pictures to prove it I wouldn't believe it happened. So many emotions from overwhelming happiness to an understanding sadness. Thank you Bomb the Music Industry! for ten whole years of fucking awesome. Also, thanks for the rad memories.