Pen & Page

Bane, an east coast hardcore band, performs at the Railyard in Billings July 29.

Members of Bane, a hardcore band from Massachusetts, checked another state off their list of places to perform at Wednesday’s all-ages concert at the Railyard.

The band, formed in the mid-1990s, played to 30-odd people, but it didn’t matter. Lead singer Aaron Bedard was pleased to be on stage performing and dishing his distinctive take on society, a combination of lyrics fulminating against sexism, racism and inequality and anecdotes between songs.

Bane vocalist Aaron Bedard performs at the Railyard in Billings July 29.

As Bedard looked to the back of the bar, he asked patrons how many of them payed to get into the concert. After a show of hands, he said, “I will never pay $12 to look so bored.”

But for the handful of fans that lined the stage, Bane was a band worth the ticket price. Bedard spoke between songs of his “silly little codes” of honor.

“No matter how old I get, I never let go of things that keep me whole,” he said, listing stage dives, skateboarding and late nights. Vociferating against complacency, Bedard made sure his audience knew in this day, sitting quietly and accepting injustice was “a sad way to live.”

“If punk rock has taught me anything, it’s that it’s okay to stand on your own, to stand up for what you believe in.”

Aaron Dalbec, Bane guitarist and former member of Converge, performs at the Railyard on July 29.