Turnstile’s SNL Debut Ends a 45 Year Drought of Hardcore on the Show

Turnstile took the stage for their Saturday Night Live debut this weekend, marking a rare live performance by a hardcore band for the late night sketch comedy show that has a contentious history with loud, snarling punk music. As part of their appearance, the band first performed “BIRDS,” with drummer Daniel Fang kicking things off with a hellacious solo. They later returned to rip through a medley of “I CARE”/”DULL,” staged in front of a wall of phones and accompanied by a serious light show. The episode also featured a surprise appearance from Taylor Swift, who presented host Dakota Johnson with a cake for her birthday, meaning that, yes, Swift and Turnstile were in fact in the same room. Get Turnstile Tickets Here In promotion of the episode, Turnstile joked about not trashing the studio during their performance like their hardcore forebears (as far as we know, they kept their promise). In that same promo, cast member Ben Marshall noted that it had been 45 years since a hardcore band had played SNL, referencing the band and the performance that made the show adverse to hardcore. Saturday Night Live’s fear of hardcore punk came from a titular band. FEAR performed on the show in 1...