Photo courtesy of Ruby Thompson. Agawan-based two-piece queer punk band Film & Gender, above, encouraged coordinated kneeling.
By Caroline Huber ’26
Staff Writer
Hardcore punk enthusiasts and musicians alike crammed into the Marsh Arts House, a dorm at Amherst College, for a free “Western Mass Attack” show at roughly 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.
Western Massachusetts has a lively community of hardcore genre enthusiasts, with venues including the Marsh House, the Jones Library, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, the Rat Trap and the Hoff in Holyoke. The frequent shows held there draw a returning, dedicated and violent audience.
Kyle Cohen, who organized the show and plays in Target Scammers, stated that he “really love[s] the people involved in the scene” and “there’s some really cool art being made, and people are here to enjoy it.”
The show opened with a performance by the three-piece band Th3 Butt3rfli3s and B33z, a group inspired by the animated series Adventure Time. They played an uptempo set that included a cover of “Remember You” from the series, alongside several original songs. The set also featured mournful screaming, followed by a disjointed sing-along of “Like a Prayer” by Madonna.
Next, a four-piece hardcore band from Brimfield, Mass. called Posthumous Obsession enthused the crowd, kicking off a violent set. The audience's frenetic energy resulted in several injuries, including a bloody nose. The chaotic but energetic performance featured a circle pit and particularly aggressive dancing from revved-up moshers.
“Posthumous Obsession is a force to be reckoned with,” Cohen said.
Following the lively performance, the four-piece Western Massachusetts band Robbery played, beginning their musical set with a speech that recognized those suffering in Palestine, regardless of political belief, to an ardent response from the crowd. They also acknowledged that they were temporarily missing a member for unrelated reasons.
Four-piece local hardcore band Birthright performed a heavy set, with screaming vocals and aggressive drumming creating a rough texture that revved up the increasingly wild crowd. Benjamin Nadeau, who screams for Birthright, noted that they enjoyed playing Amherst because of “the amount of people who pull up to shows, [and] the types of people that pull up to shows.”
Brief confusion arose between sets when an alarmed door was propped open, alongside concern over bloody injuries sustained during the previous act.
Next, the Agawam-based two-piece queer punk band, Film & Gender, played a joyful and passionate set. The musicians encouraged participants to kneel and jump in coordination with each other, leading the room to take on boisterous and connected energy as they played their original songs. “Hardcore has always been about unity,” Nadeau said.
Pach Pacheco ’25 “really enjoyed the sets” from Birthright and Film & Gender. “They both have really good stage presence and really know how to bring energy to the crowds,” Pacheco said. They specified that Film & Gender’s sets “are more like performances” and that they would like to “see more trans and queer bands [and] acts being pushed in the scene.”
Due to time constraints, the four-piece Amherst rock band Target Scammers played immediately after. Their upbeat and rushed performance was augmented by a writhing mass of dancing listeners tightly packed around the band.
“The highlight of this show for me was seeing the community come together for a good night,” Cohen said. “Everybody looked like they were having such a good time, and there was so much support from band to band.”