I’ve worked a handful of hardcore shows and attended even fewer, but I can definitively say that this crowd is a group of seasoned pros when it comes to moshing.

Knocked Loose is a Kentucky band formed in 2013 consisting of members Bryan Garris (lead vocals), Isaac Hale (lead guitar), Nicko Calderon (rhythm guitar), Kevin Otten (bass), and Kevin “Pacsun” Kaine (drums). I’ve never seen a mosh pit comparable to the one at Knocked Loose’s recent set at The Anthem. Knocked Loose was at The Fillmore Silver Spring earlier this year, and I didn’t expect them to come back to the area so soon, let alone at The Anthem, so I knew this was a show to see. While I expected to see bodies in the air and thrashing limbs, I did not expect what was a relatively respectful crowd.

At The Anthem on Nov. 10, the four-band ticket kicked off with Militarie Gun, a post-hardcore band formed in 2020 by frontman Ian Shelton, formerly of Regional Justice Center. Their debut album Life Under The Gun came out in 2023, and they’ve been touring ever since. The crowd was tentative to crowd surf at first, but once it was evoked by Shelton, the bodies came hurtling toward the stage one after the next.

The second band, Drain, has also been touring like crazy this past year. The California hardcore-punk band led by Sammy Ciaramitaro released their debut album California Cursed in 2020, but had to wait nearly two years to tour it. Since then they’ve released Living Proof and have been rocketing onto stages across the world.

Right off the bat, Ciaramitaro had full control of the audience; the energy was palpable from the beginning to the very end. Drain hit the stage, and Ciaramitaro thanked the touring crew and then declared, “Now…now I feel like I can start this set properly. This is the last show of the tour, this is the last show of the year, and this is our first time in Washington DC.” He shouted “For the next thirty minutes there are no rules.”

It was one of the best starts to a set I’ve ever seen. Ciaramitaro jumped into the crowd early on as crowd surfers flew around him. He possessed this “good-time” energy that made me feel like I could jump into the crowd at any time and feel like I belonged there. I definitely need to see them headline at a smaller venue in 2025.

Watch the official music video for “Good Good Things” by Drain on YouTube:

The Garden was the oddball pick in this lineup. The genre-bending experimental rock band consisting of twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. They created the term “vada vada” to describe their music: “Vada vada is a term that represents total freedom of expression without boundaries or guidelines of any sort” (The Garden). The most startling part of the set was the emergence of a giant jester puppet, which had uncanny life-like movements as it loomed over the stage. There were people on the barricade with their faces painted like the jester, who seemed in awe of the performance the entire time.

The anticipation building up for Knocked Loose was intense — a curtain covered the stage as the theme from TV series, Unsolved Mysteries, played out. The music stopped, and silence ensued, followed by an eerie ringing bell. The crowd began chanting “loose, loose, loose” in a gruff tone. Suddenly, the band’s silhouettes appear behind the curtain with Bryan Garris’s triumphant fist in the air.

The band exploded into their first song “Thirst” with the moshing starting immediately. During the second song “Deep In The Willow,” Garris commanded “Everybody up here now!” A few moments later, I looked behind me to see a person in a wheelchair hurtling towards the stage. The person made it to the ground safely thanks to the help of The Anthem security, who were working their asses off all night. Garris screamed, “say my fucking name,” and then fire blasted from the front of the stage — that heat I swear I can still feel on my face — Garris followed up with “now we’re getting warmed up.”

“Washington DC, I need your voice, I need your chaos, I need your energy. Are you with me?” shouted Garris before beginning “Mistakes Like Fractures.” The Anthem crowd did not disappoint. Garris took a moment to thank the opening bands and the touring crew, and told the crowd to “give it for yourselves.” At the start of “Don’t Reach For Me” Garris said “I want everybody to fucking crowd surf. Let’s see how crazy we can get.” The bodies went FLYING.

The build up to the infamous wall of death during “Everything Is Quiet Now” was insane. The floor parted so quickly with people in the middle doing kicks, flips, and jumps and Garris declared “Do NOT film this” (it was still filmed). Each side of the crowd ran into each other and somehow nobody had a tooth knocked loose (that I know of). It was the biggest mosh pit I’ve ever seen.

Watch the official music video for “Deep in the Willow/Everything Is Quiet Now” by Knocked Loose on YouTube:

Their encore refused to let any energy die down. Garris demanded the crowd “sing it with us” to one of their famous songs “Counting Worms,” which contains the lyrics “I wrote a song about getting better. It’s a feeling I can’t remember,” then comes the notorious “ARF ARF” then the shouting of “COUNTING WORMS” — and that’s pretty much the end of the song.

Knocked Loose closed with their recently Grammy-nominated song “Suffocate” and then the grand finale “Sit & Mourn.” The track is the last song on their 2024 album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. The end featured Garris, Calderon, and Hale headbanging in-sync with their instruments. Garris and Isaac hopped up on their platforms on opposite ends of the stage accompanied by one final burst of flames. It was a truly cathartic end to a set.

I think part of the appeal of Knocked Loose is that they’re simply just dudes. There’s no costumes, no makeup, and no gimmicks. Bryan Garris is a god to the crowd in his collared shirt and navy blue sweatshirt. He says jump, they jump. He says scream, the scream. He says mosh, they mosh. He says “get the fuck up here” they’ll do just that. While the pit may look violent, there’s a charming sense of community that’s built from it. When people fall, they pick each other back up at lightning speed. Someone lost a shoe or a phone? There will be somebody actively trying to find its owner. This crowd really knew how to let it all go and have fun, which I have the utmost respect for.

Knocked Loose are at the top of their game right now. They’re Grammy nominated for “Best Metal Performance” for their song “Suffocate” featuring Poppy. They may be done for this year, but they’ll be touring Europe in early 2025, and are sure to make some memorable festival appearances.

Here are some photos of Knocked Loose performing at The Anthem on Nov. 10, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Carolin Harvey.

Here are some photos of Drain at The Anthem!

Here are some photos of The Garden at The Anthem!

Here are some photos of Militarie Gun at The Anthem!