> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.jewsrock.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Twice in a Lifetime - URL: https://www.jewsrock.org/twice-in-a-lifetime/ - Published: 2005-09-08T12:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-20T22:08:40.000Z - Author: JewsRock - Tags: Blog *by Spencer Ackerman* If I may propose a solution to the problem of moving [9,000 fanatics out of Gaza](http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/disengagement.jhtml?contrassID=23&ref=jewsrock.org): Buy them tickets to the upcoming Hellfest, a three-day, 187-band punk and hardcore extravaganza scheduled for the end of the month in the Jew-friendly environs of New Jersey. Granted, there are some logistical problems here. For one, the fest will commence at the end of next week, a few days after the disengagement. For another, the ex-settlers might have a problem with the [tattoo exhibition](http://www.hellfest.com/tattooing/?ref=jewsrock.org). Finally, they're not going to take well to certain bands--namely, um, [Ramallah](http://www.hellfest.com/performers/view.php?id=18&ref=jewsrock.org). But whatever. When it comes to the extremists who threaten violence against the IDF for the retention of a sick fantasy, I'll quote the great Jewish sage John Lee Hooker: it serves you right to suffer. Whether or not metalcore can soothe the savage settler soul, Hellfest is offering a true milestone in the rock history of the Jewish people: the heretofore-inconceivable reunion of Lifetime on August 20\. Being so badly traveled, I still have no idea whether the New Brunswick-based Lifetime is a regional delicacy. If so, it's a crime. What Jawbreaker did for pop-punk--the exploration of manic depression by grafting morose vocals to frenetic music--Lifetime did for pop-punk's more heavily tattooed cousin, hardcore. Actually, that's a bit of a stretch: Lifetime was emotionally complicated but not as depressed, and they devoted their exuberant blend of hardcore largely to the question of what makes love so frustrating. Should any of this be unclear, all questions will be answered by the purchase of their classic 1995 album [Hello Bastards](http://jadetree.com/releases/product/JT1021?ref=jewsrock.org), which ranks as one of the greatest punk records of the 1990s. When frontman Ari Katz bellowed, he left nary a dry undergarment among Lifetime's many devotees, and I'd like to think that was at least partly the result of his refusal to change his name to something less Semitic but more conventionally punk rock. Talmudic debates rage today about the relative merits of Lifetime's (excellent) follow-up, [Jersey's Best Dancers](http://jadetree.com/releases/product/JT1034?ref=jewsrock.org). Their two-day breakup shows in early 1998 at New Brunswick's since-bulldozed Melody Bar are widely remembered as the saddest but most glorious days in New Jersey punk history. (They were packed to the rafters and, to my great regret, I didn't get in.) Their impact was tremendous, at least on the Northeast Corridor. Expectations for [Kid Dynamite](http://www.jadetree.com/bands/artist/kid%5Fdynamite?ref=jewsrock.org), the next project for Lifetime guitarist Dan Yemin (a doctor!), were enormously high, and while I didn't get into them, I was clearly an outlier. If you've heard of that god-awful group Saves The Day, it's only because those weasels spent their early years blatantly stealing every trick on Hello Bastards and performing them with a fraction of the intensity. So great was the enthusiasm for Lifetime that STD built a loyal (if deluded) following. Yet a reunion has been a hope beyond hope. The band's unfortunate implosion was accepted, albeit bitterly, as final. (Though a very funny practical joke was played [here](http://www.jadetree.com/news/article/19/184?ref=jewsrock.org).) After all, the kids still had two classic LPs, not to mention that "Boy's No Good" seven-inch. (By the way, avoid their first disc, Background, like a ham-and-cheese sandwich.) However, [according to their label](http://www.jadetree.com/news/article/19/593?ref=jewsrock.org), the emocore juggernaut Jade Tree, and Hellfest's promoters, everything changed when CBGB fell into mortal danger, spurring a reactivated Lifetime into taking the stage for a benefit. Even more menschy, Lifetime is [also](http://www.jadetree.com/news/article/19/598?ref=jewsrock.org) foregoing the proceeds of their show to benefit a New Brunswick immigrant-labor foundation, a greyhound rescue association, a gay-rights organization and an environmental group. You can see how big an event Lifetime's reunion is. Wherever you are, grab your friends, organize travel plans, pay Hellfest the (sheesh) $100 they're asking, and prepare for an experience almost as satisfying as watching Israel finally withdraw from Gaza. (You may be wondering: Am I myself going to attend? It's doubtful -- look at that ticket price. Though if a Hellfest promoter wanted to give me and my New Brunswick-born-and-raised-and-scenestery-girlfriend free admission out of gratitude for this hefty plug, I wouldn't turn it down.)