Belén’s Top Ten Sets of 2024

10 - FUCKIN' LOVERS - TV Eye; NYC, USA

Gonna give myself the 10th spot to my favorite set that I played this year. LOVERS are gearing up right now to record a new record so we’ve been extremely selective about which shows we wanna play this year and practicing way more recently. Weird, not practicing had always been our thing. Although we didn’t play any new songs, this set during No Deal Fest this year felt like the best we had played in a long while. It certainly helped that kids were losing their mind and singing along??? That never happens for us, quite a treat haha. We closed with two ALLERGY songs which the kids also seemed to love. Our cheeky little Christmas spirit opening, wearing Santa hats and playing a noise intro to Frosty The Snowman, was so silly and I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face leading up to and during the whole set. Anyway this was only 1 of 3 shows we played this year but expect much more from us in 2025!

9 - DESTRUCT - The Warehouse; Richmond, VA, USA

Man, there’s some bands that you’ve listened to from time to time and seen for years, but they never quite hit the mark for you. Everyone is crazy about them and you just aren’t seeing it. DESTRUCT was one of those bands for me. After seeing them at this show though, that all changed. This set was so crushing, my opinion totally flipped and I’m now absolutely a fan. They were support for one of my favorite contemporary bands, PHYSIQUE, but I gotta say they blew them right out of the water. Which is hard to do for a band at the S-tier caliber like PHYSIQUE. A band that at just about every show I’ve seen them at (including their first show ever) they took home the gold for show stealer. Maybe it was DESTRUCT’s home court advantage, maybe they’ve just dialed in their sound so well, my nit-picky ass couldn’t help but give credit where credit is due and appreciate these modern raw punk marvels for what they truly are.

8 - KINETIC ORBITAL STRIKE - Bartram’s Gardens; Philadelphia, PA, USA

What a fucking band, incredible tone, songwriting, art and ENERGY. Flawless execution of the Raw Punk style they’re going for. Generator shows happen much less frequently than they used to when I first moved to Philly, so when I heard they were having an all-killer-local Gaza benefit at one of my favorite parks in the city, I knew it would be a barn burner. They played perfectly. It’s hard to nail it every time like KOS, and they were on their A game. As was the crowd who were on their absolutely worst behavior. Was bummed when it seemed like they were calling it quits but now the cats outta the bag that they are returning with a new line up and I couldn’t be more excited to hear new material from this Hardcore Punk powerhouse.

7 - FAZE - on a fuckin boat; Ottawa, ON, CA

Who doesn’t love FAZE? The punks love them, the capital H hardcore kids love em, the skins love them, the art kids love them, Connor’s dad loves them. One of the most unique and fun bands right now, and every time I see them they rock the fuckin house, and in this case, rocked the boat. In this setting, of course, it was anything but the exception and boy were they exceptionally rockin. Specifically Rockin’ In The Free World by NEIL YOUNG. Those maniacs, those genius maniacs, opened AND closed with a cover of it, and from what Connor said, tried to make it work playing it in the middle too but it just didn't work. Obviously, everyone lost their mind and the whole boat was singing along, second time even loader than the next. Incredible.

6 - MURO - I don’t remember the venue haha; Bogotá, CO

MURO is the greatest band in the world right now, even if it’s members hate hearing that, I believe it to be true. The absolute perfection execution of Hardcore Punk excellence is unmatched by any band doing it right now. At least since GAUZE officially broke up in 2022, MURO takes the cake for me. I’ve seen em play a few times in different cities, but nothing beats seeing them play in an overcrowded bar, with nearly everyone in the crowd singing along and flipping out in their hometown. Second time I’ve been lucky enough to see them there and both times, cream of the crop. Hearing their new tracks of their latest album live with the unmatched energy, passion, and love the band has for Punk and each other that truly shines through when they play is a site to behold. Chef’s kiss.

5 - PUFFER - Cinco De Mayo; New Brunswick, NJ, USA

Cinco De Mayo in New Brunswick, New Jersey is probably my favorite place to go to a show in the USA right now. It’s got a really young scene and those kids come out in droves to forget about everything in the world except moshing for the 15-20 minutes of just about every set I’ve ever seen there. It’s got a magic to it that no other venue that I know of right now has. PUFFER, Canada’s premier Rock and Roll band, of course brought it. The sing alongs, fighting with the swarm of 16-year-olds moshing in the friendliest way possible was truly a blast. It’s hard to think of a better band that are that proficient at their instruments and make catchy music that isn’t too corny or tongue-in-cheek, although I love the healthy amount of that they have in there.

4 - ROCKY AND THE SWEDEN - Cousin Danny’s; Philadelphia, PA, USA

Japan’s ROCKY AND THE SWEDEN are another one of those bands I had heard but wasn’t wild about. Seeing them live though, holy shit. If you were lucky enough to catch them on their East Coast Tour of the USA, you know what I’m talking about. Insane is all I can say. A seamless blend of Japanese Hardcore and Psychedelic Rock. I don’t think I had given them a fair listen before because I must have missed all the insane Psych influence they had. As a huge Psych head, I was absolutely sold. Their guitar player, Pak, what a legend. Absolute ripper and moved through the whole venue, including the downstairs bar, to shred in a way only he could pull off without looking like an absolute rockstar jerk-off. Gotta say seeing and sharing the stage with a band full of legendary Japanese Hardcore veterans was a true honor and I’m so grateful FUCKIN' LOVERS had that opportunity.

3 - HOMEFRONT - First Unitarian Church; Philadelphia, PA, USA

This band, this fucking band. I don’t think there's another contemporary punk band right now that I know just about every word to all their songs. Watching them live feels like I’m watching a classic 80’s punk band in their prime. Both times I’ve seen them it left me with that same feeling. First time I saw them was in the pretty small upstairs space at Foto Club in Philly. While watching them I was thinking this will probably be the last time I’d probably get to see HOMEFRONT play such a small venue. Selling out a 500-cap venue less than a year later, shit I was right. But the energy was no where near lost like so many other bands I’ve seen in small spaces (what I always prefer) vs larger ones. A room packed with most of the crowd singing along to every word is always i high a try to chase and HOMEFRONT always delivers!

2 - LEBENDEN TOTEN - Babyland; Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Watching LT, every time, feels like I’m high on inhalants the whole time. To be fair, half of the time, I am, but either way, this band feels like drugs do. Watching them at 3 am during Skullfest though, what the fuck. Probably my favorite time I had seen them, which at this point may be close to 10? If you have never seen this band, do yourself a favor and catch them if you have the chance to. Listen, don’t sleep. Everything about this band hits all the pleasures receptors in my brain and this set was truly something else.

1 - TAQBIR - First Unitarian Church; Philadelphia, PA, USA

My absolute favorite set this whole year. This was after hoping over to Richmond to catch PHYSIQUE AND scabbing for TOTAL NADA on a Colombian tour where there was no shortage of incredible sets: MURO, DEAD HERO, EXTA, RESPLANDOR, NECRON 9, INNUENDO, MOCK EXECUTION, PREMIER REGIMEN, DESTRUCT plus HARAM on the same bill and so many more. But this set, this set took the cake. I think it was a combo of thinking I would never see this band live, the bands immaculate energy, truly great songwriting and the speech mid-set about the Genocide in Gaza. Either way, the wave of emotions i felt from this set cemented its place in my mind as the best sets, not only of 2024, but one of the best sets I have ever seen.