Many things turn 30 and settle down.
Hardcore – no matter how many times you trade beats for bedtime stories, swap breakdowns for back pain, and change djent for diapers – does not.
Because, on Friday, Feb. 20, at Poppy’s Tavern in Hatfield Borough, local hardcore’s Mt. Rushmores Dysphoria and XIII PFP are tuning up again, dragging three decades of Lansdale hardcore history back for an all-ages, 21-to-drink night of nostalgia like a VFW hall and Sharpie X’s.
Dysphoria is roughly the same age as the internet.
Formed in 1993, the Lansdale hardcore quintet predates Google, DVDs, MP3 players and PlayStation. They survived dial-up, MySpace, streaming, and the era when everyone suddenly owned an acoustic guitar.
The last Dysphoria show was Dec. 20, 2025 at The Polish Club in Phoenixville for a PAHC holiday show with Freight Train, Punishment, Fool’s Game, and Fire in the Blood. The last XIII PFP show was Nov. 8, 2025 (after a decade hiatus) at Poppy’s Tavern.
The last time Dysphoria AND XIII PFP played together was more than a decade ago, this month.
On Friday, three generations of BuxMont royalty collide under one roof, with PAHC scene stalwarts CDC and Lehigh Valley heavyweights Controller rounding out a bill that reads like a yearbook from the golden age of PAHC, and a show that feels less like a throwback and more like a recalibration. Because this is not a resurrection – that would imply something had to flatline.
The scene never died. It just grew up.
Check the pulse: rapid.
Check the scene: rabid.
Doors for the show at the tavern at 64 E. Lincoln Ave. in Hatfield Borough are at 7:30 p.m.
$15 gets you in. JNCOs optional.
Food? Absolutely (and, allegedly, absolutely delicious). Beer/wine/cocktails? Obviously. Parking? Yes, in the lot and nearby in downtown Hatfield Borough, off Main Street/Cowpath Road.
The announcement of the show brought out many positive reactions among fans.
"If you made the show $5 for people that wore JNCOs or UFOs to the event, do you think it would work?" wrote one fan.
"Holy crap .. what year is it?? This is dope!" wrote another.
Dysphoria
Formed in Lansdale in 1993, Dysphoria drew heavy inspiration from the era’s Florida death metal scene, self-releasing a demo in 1994 and the “…You Wish You Tried” demo in 1995 before issuing the full-length “Hope Without Reason” in 1997 and the 1999 three-way split “The World Is Ours” with Hoods and Above This World on West Coast Worldwide, which marked the end of the band’s initial run. Members later formed How It Ends on Thorpe Records. The band has appeared at “This is Hardcore” and “East Coast Tsunami” festivals.
XIII PFP
Thirty years ago, XIII PFP helped lay the groundwork for Lansdale’s hardcore scene, embracing DIY ethics and transforming local halls and venues into hubs for independent music while tirelessly promoting shows and bringing touring bands through town.
Beyond the stage, singer Mitch Martinez printed merchandise, ran a record label and operated a mobile record distro during the pre-digital era, and the band’s blend of socially charged lyrics, heavy grooves and a horn-driven edge cemented XIII PFP as one of the most distinctive and influential acts to come out of Lansdale.
CDC
Emerging in September 2003 from Lansdale, Doylestown and Perkasie, CDC began as an in-studio project before quickly building buzz with a demo and taking its brand of hardcore up and down the East Coast. Four tracks intended for a split in 2004 were later combined with additional material and released in 2006 as an EP on Ghosttown Records, reissued in 2008 as “Defy the Odds,” with those songs also appearing on the “Kontinental Kings” split with Scotland’s By My Hands on Zone 6 Records.
In 2009, CDC released the five-song EP “Burn” on Filled With Hate Records and embarked on extensive touring across the United States and Europe, with stops in Israel and South Africa. CDC has resurfaced periodically for select shows and international runs while continuing to write new material.
Controller
Controller hails from the Allentown region and has performed in Macungie, Bethlehem and at other regional venues.
Poppy’s Tavern is located in the historic Hatfield Hotel building at 64 E. Lincoln Avenue.
