Dimension/Cranial Elongation/Dystrophy/CMENT
Hall Pass
319 N 11th St.
Philadelphia
Feb. 26, 2026
Back at Hall Pass on 11th street for a quick one, and I do mean a quick one. It’s not that we don’t love music around here, quite the opposite. The more concise, organized, and coordinated the shows are, the more we can do them. The benefits of a show that runs quickly are numerous. Here’s three examples.
A quickly run show gives less time to piss off neighbors with noise. The later it gets, noise annoyance can be increased exponentially with each half hour or so that passes. Pissed off neighbors x number of complaints = police response. Police response can be measured by the experience of the most vulnerable in the place you live in, so you’ll have to apply my formula to your neighborhood with your own data. Second, quickly run shows mean less time spent on idle chatter which benefits the increasingly socially awkward population of attendees. Third, attendees spend less money on alcohol which gives touring bands more of a chance of selling merch. Bar staff make less money, yes, but they get to go home earlier.
Quickly run shows depend on a shared sense of urgency and cooperation. Sharing gear (backlining) is a crucial facet of this urgency and cooperation. I booked this show, my band was playing and we're the most local, so it made sense that we took that responsibility. I set up my drums and stands, every band used their own snare, kick pedal, and cymbals. My friend Jake let everyone use his cabinets, all the guitarists brought heads. Hall Pass provided the PA. Thank you, Hall Pass!
How To Be A Backline Technician
First was Dystrophy, a group of young bouls who currently, I believe, have members residing both here in the city and just over the bridge in New Jersey. They only needed about 15 minutes to demonstrate their understanding of what makes powerviolence rock. Good riffs, dynamic control defined by sudden stops and starts, tempo shifts, and absolutely incensed and exhaustive vocals. Dystrophy was also just loose enough to give the perfect feeling of almost falling apart but never quite doing it, a style pioneered by bands like Charles Bronson, Suppression, and Vaccine. Sometimes, powerviolence and grind are simply too well rehearsed and precise. The looseness adds an irresistible charm.
no cure demo | Dystrophy - Bandcamp
Charles Bronson “Youth Attack!” LP
Vaccine - Human Hatred 7” (Full)
Next was Cranial Elongation, who is split between the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia. This trio pretty much delivered the same vibes as Dystrophy, but stripped away even more from the equation. Consisting of just drums, guitar, and vocals, I happen to know that simplicity is one of the core values of this band because I played in a band with their guitarist, Jason Lear, a decade ago when we were in college. An immense and passionate player, Jason’s style is founded on overthinking your work as little as possible. He often completely eschews pedal distortion and prefers guitars with as few knobs as possible, and that mentality was just as present in this set as anything I’ve ever seen him do. Cranial Elongation is pretty simple punk with powerviolence tendencies, usually relying on a 1:1 fast to slow ratio in each of their songs. Their demo, Switch Heel, is raw as fuck.
Cranial Elongation - Switch Heel
Next was Western Mass’ own Dimension. In November, their singer Shane helped us with a show in Amherst, and when he asked me a little bit after we’d gotten home for help with a Philly show and sent me Dimension’s amazing demo, I was only too happy to help. Dimension has been compared to Deep Wound, which I totally see, but also had flecks of bands like Das Oath (which also features Mark McCoy of Charles Bronson) and Career Suicide. If you listen to the first Das Oath album, no, I cannot explain those song titles.
When Dimension pulled up, I had not put together that Will Killingsworth (who also played in the aforementioned Vaccine and in the band Failures with Mark McCoy) played guitar in this band. That was a lovely treat. I don’t have the time to list out everything else Will has given us; just search his name. My favorite thing about Dimension is their lyrics, for sure. I have been very public about how much I enjoy the song, “Who’s Next?” with the lyrics, “EU’s a joke/NATO’s a cuck/Think you can rebuff us?/Good fuckin’ luck!” NATO’s a cuck? Use of the word “rebuff?” C’mon. The band plays hard-hitting 90’s/00’s style punk with plenty of mosh parts, which I did, despite the questionable stability of my right knee. Definitely gotta bring those guys back here.
My band played last and I was very tired after. Here’s a short clip.
