This weekend, hundreds of hardcore music fans flooded to a baseball field in South San Antonio for the third annual Gweebfest. With an expansive lot of free parking and a jaw-dropping lineup featuring beloved bands from across Texas, Gweebfest III lured in many adorers of alternative music. A large mass of dust filled the air above the field, along with the lungs of attendees, as many sported bandanas to protect themselves from inhalation. After paying a $10 entrance fee and receiving a red wristband, one was open to join the likes of Hatsune Miku, Huggy Wuggy and a hotdog wearing a gas mask in kicking up more dust.
As the sun began to set, Sixshotsindallas, a self-described “pink belt deathcore” band, took the stage and kicked off the event. A pit quickly formed as dozens of people started two-stepping and intensely hurled themselves through the air to the band’s heavy sound. The breakdowns and extreme vocals served as an exhilarating kickoff to the night.
Empty Shell Casing out of Denton played next. Their performance solicited some of the most intense headbanging of the night with their abrasive nu-metal tone and brutalizing vocals. The band was followed by Larval Therapy, a local grindcore band, who tore up the stage. Their guttural singing bordered on sounding animalistic and the high speed tempo enticed the crowd all around.
Following was the widely adored Bulletsbetweentongues, also out of Denton, who seized the stage instantly with raw intensity. Their hearstalling emocore screams invigorated their passionate audience with emotion as people began hurling themselves into the crowd from the stage. The lead singer was sharing his microphone with the crowd who excruciatingly chanted along. At one point, the mic became lost in the crowd as bodies crushed together in passionate expression.
Following this legendary performance was another Denton band, Sinema. High energy with heavy screams, the band’s melancholic lyrics were synchronously sung by the crowd. Directly in front of the stage a push pit formed with bodies falling into it from the stage.
Heavy riffs and their signature brutal sound made audience members hysterical when the locally renowned deathcore band, VICTIMBLAMED, took the stage. Intense moshing began as the crowd’s energy quickly escalated to the vicious sound when, unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. Audience members claimed to have seen a fight break out after someone was injured and another drew a knife in defense as tension increased. A shot was fired into the air, allegedly by the owner of the venue, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. However, the shot only incited more panic and resulted in the police being called bringing the emo festival to a quick end.
To say Gweeb was chaotic this year would be an understatement, but hundreds of people came together and appreciated local art. Harmony’s Demise, last on the setlist, was sadly unable to play and many people were left shaken by the night’s striking events. Despite such an unfortunate ending, Gweebfest III proved to be an action-packed, hardcore extravaganza whose story will undoubtedly be remembered by the emo scene for years to come.
