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LOS ANGELES, CA- Ironically enough, some of my favorite musical performances at Air + Style didn’t happen on the two major festival stages. Rather, they happened at the sites of the sporting competitions. Newly introduced this year, local bands ripped through 30 minute sets during the Free Skate/Snow boarding competitions. One of the bands performing during a Free Snowboarding competition was The Birth Defects.
Holy crap. This band was great live.
Their music was thrashingly visceral, with enough raw noise and punk to get the adrenaline pumping in the athlete’s veins. While many of the spectators were watching the action on the slopes, I was transfixed on bassist Philip Nielsen’s possessed playing. He was a man consumed by the music and a pleasure to photograph. As Jason Finazzo growled out punchy lyrics, I found that I couldn’t stop my head from banging as I tried to focus my vision through my camera’s viewfinder. I had to put my gear down on occasion during their set to simply enjoy their music and allow my head to freely bang. Drummer Anthony Drinkwater & guitarist Tim Dawson round out this quartet and each provide their own hardcore edge to make The Birth Defects’ sonics veritably badass.
Though the video below focuses on the snowboarding competitors, you can hear The Birth Defects playing live in the background. It was a short performance, but it fucking kicked ass, and I can’t wait to see these guys live again in the future. Maybe at The Hi Hate on April 27th, 2018? We shall see.
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LIVE CLIPS
