Watch high-quality footage of NYHC legends Cro-Mags playing for a crowd of you.
Old-school New York hardcore is, we can all agree, not a genre one normally thinks to enjoy at their computer. The beauty of classic hardcore and crossover is the kinetic physical experience, the roiling crowd and sweaty elbows and vague sense that you might get your ass handed to you. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and when NYHC legends Cro-Mags had their New York show with Body Count canceled earlier this month due to coronavirus, the band decided to record and livestream a set for their fans at home -- video of which you can watch below.
As mentioned above, the Cro-Mags' quarantine livestream does lack some of the more dangerous elements of a typical hardcore show. There's never a worry that frontman Harley Flanagan is going to reach through your screen, grab you by the collar, and scream the lyrics to World Peace directly into your face. But Harley's chorded neck and gurning still get across the band's unique brand of chaos and rage, and diehard fans will have their concrete hearts warmed to see the Mags soldiering onward despite the quarantine.
READ THIS: The show must go on - Here are all the artists livestreaming gigs in the wake of coronavirus
“I am very unhappy that the show with Body Count this weekend was postponed by Governor Cuomo," said Flanagan to his fans upon announcing the stream. "I was really looking forward to it, but I am more sad for the many people who are going to be out of work for who knows how long, and for those who have become ill from this terrible disease. We all must take extra precautions these days, but we will learn how to deal with this like we have learned how to deal with deadly diseases in the past. Be safe, be strong and be smart. The show will be rescheduled, and life will go on. Eventually we will all be 'killed by death' just ask Lemmy. If it's not one thing it will be another, but life will go on. And so will this show.”
"I am glad we were able to give you all a free concert in this time of quarantine," he continued. "I would not have been able to do it without my team and I would like to thank them. These are the times we have to find new ways to help each other. We as people can't let the fear turn us against each other. Stay strong, be smart and stay safe!"
Watch the Cro-Mags put COVID-19 in a fuckin' headlock below:
