Within the hardcore world, Oct. 17 is the holiday known as Edge Day, the day when the straight edge culture really comes out to shine. It goes back to 1999, when the band Ten Yard Fight played their final set as headliners at an event called Edge Fest. Every year, you can count on a few big shows and releases from straight edge bands. Where I live, for instance, Richmond straight-edge heroes Break Away reunited for a big local show. The same night, Boston played host to what might be the most momentous Edge Day event in history: The farewell of Slapshot.
Slapshot started way back in 1984, rising from the ashes of the early Boston hardcore bands Negative FX and Last Rights. Over the decades, Slapshot put out tons of records, played tons of shows, and ran through tons of lineups. They became a hardcore institution, one who seemed to tour Europe all the time. The sole permanent member Jack Kelly, better known as Choke, is a true American original. That guy must be in his sixties now, and he looks incredible. Recently, though, Choke decided to hang it up.
In 2024, Slapshot announced a farewell tour. It culminated on Edge Day, when Slapshot played their sold-out farewell show at their hometown venue Big Night Live. The show had a huge lineup with a ton of fellow legend and younger bands: Agnostic Front, BOLD, DYS, Wisdom In Chains, Béton Armé, Restraining Order, Time X Heist, Neighborhood Shit, and Aggressive Dogs.
In their final set, Slapshot played for well over an hour. Their set opened with Choke narrating a video package about the band's earliest days. Then they played 25 songs, including tracks from the Smiths and Negative FX. A younger Boston straight-edge hardcore legend, Pat Flynn from Have Heart and Fiddlehead, took over for one song, singing lead on a version of Last Rights' 1984 song "Chunks" and ending it with a very impressive stagedive. Here's that moment:
And here's a video of Slapshot's entire farewell set: