Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sykotyk Rampage Concert Review!!!

Hey guys, it's the first of two straight concert reviews to share with you all, and first, obviously, is last night's Sykotyk Rampage/Dysfunkshunal Kemistry concert!

First off, thanks to Sykotyk Rampage guitarist Dirk Becker for signing me and my mom in to the show (Yes, my mom went, she's a friend of Dirk's!) I've been to The Outback numerous times as a Sault College student, this was my first time back there after graduating, and my first concert there since the Gob punk show last winter. Always liked The Outback, just not how poorly they handle the lines for the bar at bigger shows. No problem like that here though, as the turnout wasn't that good, maybe 50 or 60 people at it's peak. Hey, at least that allowed me to get good seating! The "toga party" aspect of the concert was lacking, but the people who did wear one (including Shane Kokis from Sykotyk Rampage) had fun with the idea!

The first band was Dysfunkshunal Kemistry, and their set consisted entirely of Rage Against The Machine covers! I would have thought they'd play one or two non-Rage songs, but speaking as a fan of them, I loved Dysfunkshunal Kemistry's set! Great energy, they played their songs very close to the original Rage versions, and if the crowd would have been more numerous, I can bet the crowd would have been moving! Still, I'd have liked to have seen them try some covers of different bands, but I can't complain. Dysfunkshunal Kemistry were great and oddly, the crowd was at it's highest level when they were on! I'd love to see them play more shows, and start an internet page of some kind too!

After them was Sykotyk Rampage, a local band like no other! After all, how many bands are you going to find that prominently feature a Curious George doll in front of their drum kit? As I've told you guys, their brand of music involves completely improvised songs about anything that comes to mind! They're not for everyone, I'm a fan, but if you know what you're in for, you'll have loads of fun! The songs ranged from heavier affairs to more bluesy songs, and to close their set, drinking songs! They even threw some cover samples in for good measure, like "Let's Go To The Hop" (told you they were unique!) The crowd, though sadly dwindling as the night went on, got livelier for the drinking songs, with a handful of people getting on the floor and dancing, which was fun to see!

My biggest complaint was the overpowering of the instruments, which drowned out the singing. Singers Paul and Dirk Becker have some very funny and interesting lyrics, but its tough when you can't make them out half the time. Also, with a song library of over 200 songs, some of my personal favourites were left out. But the band was solid, very unique, and with a great raw energy! Just don't go expecting a technical masterpiece, go for the "blue Chinese metal crash punk" and lose yourself in their raw unfiltered style! Also, props to bassist Brian Cattapan, who played double duty as a member of both bands!

Overall, it was a fun show, and I wish more people could have made it out! Hopefully for Sykotyk Rampage's next concert, the crowd will be even bigger. No word from the band on their new album "22" (Dirk told me they were gonna wait to unveil it for a future show), so that's something to look out for! Now I'm unsure if I'll get a copy of it to review this month, but if I don't, there will still be a CD review in the next two weeks, but we'll worry about that later. I took a bunch of photos from the concert, check out all of them at this location, or by visiting our official Facebook page! Sadly, no video, that function of my camera refused to work.

That's all for now, I will see you guys tomorrow with my review of tonight's Garden of Bedlam concert! Remember, it's at The Canadian tonight at 11:00 PM! Admission is $5, I'll have free CDs, and I hope to see you there!

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