Wait

Back in 2014, my favorite band released another album, which sadly was also supposed to be their last one. After having released Don’t Wait Up, the band embarked on a lengthy tour, which was supposed to be their goodbye tour before calling it quits. That was a very happy time for me because I got to travel with my wife, hang out with a ton of friends and see Bane plenty of times. At the same time it was a sad time because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that in the future and how much I was going to miss screaming along to those songs. 

Fast forward to 2023: Bane announced they were fully back as a band. They’d played one or two shows as a benefit/tribute for their friend and former band member Stu, who sadly passed away a few years ago. I was always doubtful about the band’s breakup being permanent, because the members loved the band and everything that came with it so much, but at the time the decision seemed to be pretty final. Sometime last year the band posted on Instagram that they were going to play a few shows in the US and one festival in the UK. To be honest, I was fairly indifferent to the news because I knew I wasn’t going to see Bane, so I felt no real connection to them being back on stage. Then, sometime earlier this year shows in mainland Europe were announced, three of which were within a 2.5 hour radius of where we live. The possibility of seeing Bane again and plenty of friends checking in to see who was going to which show got me more and more excited. When the tickets went on sale, all of the initial shows sold out in seconds and my wife and I luckily managed to secure tickets for one of the shows. Great. Then more shows were announced, one only 30 minutes from the town we live. Perfect. 

In the end, we managed to see Bane four times on that tour, two shows being back to back nights. Having a job, a kid, and being of a certain age, this bordered on a miracle. Travelling to shows, hanging out with friends you don’t see all that often, and seeing your favorite hardcore band (and going into work with very little sleep) was such a great throwback to a very different life. Maybe it was also the onset of my midlife crisis. Who knows. The first show we got to see Bane was the first real hardcore show (Bane had only played a festival somewhere in Eastern Germany the day prior) and what a show it was. When that first note hit, the whole room erupted. Granted, maybe a little slower than 10 or 15 years ago because the age average was definitely 35+, but still. Singalong, stagedives, moshing without any bullshit - just like a hardcore show should be imho. The setlist was pretty close to prefect, too. The other three times we saw them were fun as well, but that first show was by far my favorite.

Prior to the tour, I’d heard rumours that Don’t Wait Up, the final Bane LP before their break up, was about to be re-released because this year marks the 10 year anniversary of that album, which is crazy to think about in itself. A friend close with the band told me that there was going to be a tour press, too, which made me even more stoked about the shows we were about to attend. The tour press doesn’t have different artwork, which is kind of a bummer, but at least the color scheme works really well with the sleeve. The shows made me realize how much I love this band and to embrace all of the represses. You’ll probably see  more Bane records here eventually.     

2024 Tour Press on Yellow and Purple Halves on End Hits /150