My apologies for the delay, but a very demanding family life has forced me to put off everything else for the past few days. I won’t bore you with the details of my plight though, so on with the review of the Hit My Baby One More Time Tour, with GODFALLS & Speak of the Devil headlining, courtesy of Revelation Entertainment.
The show was initially to be held at E.P Taylor’s in Durham College. However, due to drama involving a band that dropped the bill, and a certain internet troll, the show was moved at the last minute to the Green Bottle. Basically, threats of violence were being thrown back and forth, including a threat courtesy of Durham’s own imaginary gang DOOMCREW (xHATECREWx are tuffer), and E.P Taylor’s caught wind of this, basically telling REV “fuck you and your drama” thus cancelled the show. The best part is that the band dropped, Doomcrew never came, and even the one being threatened didn’t show up, making the venue change completely pointless. Congratulations, E.P Taylor’s now hates us. It’s bullshit like this that discourages venues from hosting shows. Please, keep the pit beef to a minimum in the future. Wait, there’s more! Of Soldiers and Saints had the drop the show the day of because guitarist Matt Campbell spontaneously acquired the stomach flu, causing even more hassle. Don’t worry guys, we don’t blame you. Also, send your regards to Cat, Tyler, Andrew and Matt. Despite the ridiculous amount of issues regarding this show, they still managed to run it as smoothly as possible. Keep running the scene, Cat! (Inside joke, don’t rage at me.)
The Green Bottle is a rather modest venue with the stage area being, dare I say, maybe a bit smaller than the Top Shelf’s. On top of that, it’s a step above the ground, causing people to constantly trip and fall off the step upon being pushed, or moving back to avoid an angry Canning fist. It’s much more advantageous to the more passive audience, with plenty of stools to sit on and counters to lean on, along with a very large bar area. It’s not the best, but it’s better than nothing.
Opening the show was Absence of Fear, fresh out a 4 month hiatus over… something. I distinctly remember seeing them last year at Johnny B’s because one of the guitar players was wearing a Holly Springs Disaster shirt which caught my eye, on top of slow dancing with some other guy with a tuque over his face. Needless to say, they took me by surprise with a completely new sound.
Absence of Fear consists of Jordan Turnbull on lead guitar/vocals, Ethan Storer on rhythm guitar/screaming, Jake Devine playing bass, and finally Ryan Ganga on drums.
From what I remember, and I’m probably wrong because it was so long ago, these guys were playing some sort of Alternative Rock type thing with a hint of metal back in the day. I’ve still got the “We Lost Our Captain in an Elevator Mosh Pit” EP somewhere around my house. Nevertheless, they completely revamped their song, not to mention their onstage performance, and created something that was definitely elevator-mosh-pit-worthy. They brought out an impressive crowd considering it was their first show in 4 months. Apparently people were very eager to see the new sound they had to offer, and I can’t say I blame them. It was also good to hear that they kept some of the southern rock elements for their earlier work, as well as the clean vocals, which were impressive and on-key for the most part unlike certain metal bands that attempt to incorporate clean vocals into their music… These guys are looking for a full-time vocalist –Screaming or singing, I’m unsure—and if you, or anyone you know is interested, be certain to speak to them when you have the time!
Next in line were Kings in Vain, hailing from Newcastle. I caught them a while back at a previous REV show with Breaking the Fourth Wall, and I must say that they have certainly improved since way back then, but still have ways to go.
Kings in Vain consists of Justin Scott performing vocals, Matt Miller & Steve Boudreau playing guitars, Alex Skinner on bass, and Alex Faris-Sulpher on drums.
As Tyler stated before, REV won’t do a show with Dale on sound tech anymore, and I have to say that it was one of the greatest statements I had heard in a while. Last time I had seen Kings in Vain, the sound was very sloppy and you could hardly hear the vocals coming from Justin, which was disastrous on top of a sore throat resulting from a cold. This time however, the sound was top notch and there was nothing to complain about. Despite that, members of this band all seemed rather bored on stage, with the exception of Justin who was basically carrying the entire band in terms of presence. Instrumentally, they seem to lack the technicality of other bands in their genre, instead trying to attain a “s00pa heavy br00tal” sound. Oh well, at least Justin sounds much better than when he was performing vocals for This Is Death Valley back in the day. I think he could do much better given the right sound to back him up.
Third in line was Sleep When You’re Fred, I mean Dead from Oshawa, who continued to impress me every time I saw them. The image of a bloody stiletto comes to mind upon hearing the name, but that’s probably because I’ve been reading too many Lemony Snicket novels (Har har). I’m glad, yet sad at the same time that they replaced In the Act of Violence on this show. It’s a given that I enjoy these guys quite a bit, but I was also very interested in seeing how ITAOV would have performed their latest song “FEMA Camps Are for Pussies” live, a song which has drawn much criticism due to their usage of auto-tune. Oh well, I suppose I’ll catch them along with Waking the Cadaver soon.
Sleep When You’re Dead consists of Alex on Vocals, Matt on Guitar, Jake on Bass and Mark on Drums.
These guys have been getting quite a bit of attention from us, including a recommendation, along with a review from their previous show in Ajax, where they opened for As You Like Me. Speaking Ajax, the crowd this night was booming with livelihood compared to the former, where people merely sat at the bar despite being called upon several times by Alex. You can tell that a good crowd response can be infectious, because these guys certainly played a much better set than they did in Ajax. Seriously people, merely standing in front of the band would have been enough. It’s disgusting that they couldn’t have put the smallest effort in making a band feel welcome. I won’t rant though, for the sake of keeping this review under 6 pages. These guys are definitely one of my favourite bands in the local scene, and I strongly recommend catching them with Oceano on the 12th in Toronto. They won’t disappoint, unless you’re like the Ajax crowd.
Then you deserve to be disappointed.
Shortly after was Falling Forward from Whitby, arguably one of the youngest bands in our local scene, dubbed the New Youth Crew by many. This show was, regretfully, Ryan Landon’s final show with Falling Forward. Afterwards, they will be welcoming Darian (James Gagnon 2.0) Palumbo on bass, whereas Justin Frederick will be taking over guitar duties.
Falling Forward consists of Jacob “Edge” Hellas performing vocals, Marcus Glennie & Ryan Landon playing guitars, and Terrance Pettitt playing drums.
A much better set than the one they played the week after, opening for King Cobra. It was generally tighter, and the crowd was much livelier. Come to think of it, it seems the only band that actually improves when they play is Of Soldiers and Saints. Falling Forward’s set was sadly a short one this night, and I would very much have liked to drag it on for a bit longer. Some, meaning Jamie, would say Jacob’s the next Scott Vogel. Agree or disagree? Jacob loves feedback so send him some, preferably as anonymous Formspring hate. I had the pleasure of supplying my own crappy death metal shrieks during one of their songs, which allegedly impressed the crowd, which is bullshit because only Helen Keller could truly appreciate the genius of my vocals.
Anyways, an impressive set as always and of course a response from their friends in the crowd, who will always be close to their hearts. Marcus did look a bit bored on stage, and he really needs to work on doing something other than running on the spot while playing, or I’ll have to bring a treadmill next show. Unfortunately, Jacob didn’t get to do his cover of Miracles by ICP that he had been looking forward to, but it would have been a joke gone too far anyways. One joke that did go too far was Jacob stating at the end of their set “We are Falling Forward, and we hate every single one of you”. Anyone who knows him would obviously be able to pick that up as a joke, but apparently it sparked up some contempt from Speak of the Devil, calling them immature and ignorant. Thankfully, it didn’t result in another Misery Signals-esque incident.
Directly supporting the headliners were Know Where You Stand, who we usually mention as being from Ajax, but I found out that they’re actually scattered all around Durham, in Oshawa, Ajax, and even Courtice if I remember correctly.
Know Where You Stand consists of Aaron Black on Vocals, Reid MacLean and Stephen Grande on Guitar, Chris Davies on Drums and Brandon Smith on Bass.
You won’t believe this next statement… For the first time in months, I managed to catch a Know Where You Stand set… WIHOUT ANY FIGHTS! Thank the good Lord! No angry metal kids, no pretentious Brock pseudo-intellectuals, just some sweet push mosh, two-step and even their staple “King of the Hill” mosh (which I have won two shows in a row. Fuck yea). These guys are talented at what they do, and know how to make use of the irritatingly tiny stage area at the Green Bottle. A great set as usual, minus the fact that most of the crowd had left after Falling Forward… On the bright side, more people would have resulted in potential drama, so perhaps small crowds are best for everyone! You can see them for yourself on the 27th, along with The Ghost Inside, Betrayal, Reign Supreme, and As You Like Me! Send them a message; they’re selling tickets for a very decent price which escapes my mind.
Here comes headliner #1, GODFALLS from Montreal! Frankly, I had never heard of them until this show was announced, and apparently they’re not too popular around here because the venue was more or less empty by this time.
GODFALLS consists of Desb performing vocals, Pete on shredz, Gabe on banjo, Mart on booom, and Nick on kongas. I’m not joking, this is exactly what it says on their Myspace. Je trouve que la plupart des Quebecois sont un peu foux, non?
To be completely honest, I spent most of this time over at Sleep When You’re Dead’s car outside, listening to Leftover Crack and Agnostic Front. It wasn’t until the last two songs that I went outside, only to be completely obliterated by a ridiculously over-the-top light show that should have come with a warning sign for those prone to seizures. For the most part, it sounded like Speak of the Devil with no synth, and many more breakdowns. In other words, it wasn’t really anything new. One thing I will give them though is the clean vocals. Man, that girl can sing, and took my mind off anything I didn’t like about the band. One thing I discussed outside with Sleep When You’re Dead was the presence of “epic build-ups” in songs, instead of slews of breakdowns. We discussed the advantages of these and that we wished more bands had them (Counterparts has one of my favourite build-ups, just saying). To my surprise, GODFALLS did just that! Although I wish Gabe (Gabrielle, I guess) had some singing during this build-up, because it was the perfect opportunity to let her vocals shine through. I was disappointed though, and marked them off as merely a band with potential. Seriously, use Gabrielle more, she’ll fix everything.
Finally, to wrap the show up nicely, Speak of the Devil took the stage. I had always been critical of the ridiculous amounts of synth used in their music, but I was also very interested in seeing them perform it live.
Speak of the Devil, from Toronto, consists of Alex Hoffman performing vocals, David Moonie on guitar/vocals, Aaron Marshall on guitar, Andrew Murphy on bass, and Derek Gibbons on synth.
If you like progessive bands such as Periphery, but want a heavier sound and a twinge of Hardcore, Speak of the Devil are the band you’ll want to look up, assuming you’re comfortable with the synth which unfortunately takes away from the instrumentals on their tracks. Live, on the other hand, it blends in perfectly with the music, rather than pulling all of your attention towards it. Along with an impressive light show than wasn’t seizure-inducing, and even a fog machine, Speak of the Devil put on a very impressive live show. One thing that I found amusing was Alex’s usage of a megaphone during certain points of each song instead of the microphone in order to give his spoken vocals an effect of distance. A creative move on their part, but it was still a bit humorous to see a vocalist put down his microphone and pick up a megaphone.
Earlier in the night, one of the guys promised me that they would play Jasper, and I was very glad he wasn’t trolling! Jasper has been my favourite off their EP for a long time, and I was curious to see if they could recreate it live. I can thankfully say that they did, and I even got them to play Deviated September as an encore. I think Oshawa might have scared them a little bit, because members of Falling Forward began a small pretend-fight (YO, COME AT ME BRO!), causing Speak of the Devil to stop mid-song and tell them to break it up. Lighten up fellas, it’s not like Doomcrew was there or anything! Aside from that little incident, their set went very smoothly, and I was bit sad to see that I was the only one who was familiar with the band, aside from Matt Alex but he never participates anyways. They are a band that I would recommend checking out.
Despite two bands dropping off the bill at the last minute, a hasty venue change, and a widespread panic that “Doomcrew” would ruin the show, the night went quite smoothly and the turnout was better than anticipated. I got gambled out of $1.50 by the guitarist from Speak of the Devil in a random dice game, with rules that he never specified. He does have some amazing luck though; because he managed to roll triple 6’s which apparently means that he wins the whole pool. Oh well, touring bands need the money more than I do, I suppose. Remember to send your thanks to REV staff, and check out what they have planned for September, including Beneath the Massacre in Oshawa!
You can check out all the bands @
http://www.myspace.com/absenceoffear2008
http://www.myspace.com/kingsinvain
http://www.myspace.com/swyd420
http://www.myspace.com/wearefallingforward
http://www.myspace.com/knowwhereyoustand
http://www.myspace.com/godfalls
http://www.myspace.com/speakofthedevilmusic
Although they dropped the show, they still deserve recognition :
Andrew
The Running Board Press 