On March 11th, local hard rockers Stillbroke will play their first show since the band's recent lineup shifts when they hit The Rockstar Bar! They're not headlining though, as they will take the support slot at this show, which will be headlined instead by Vancouver alt/indie rock band Columbia! I'm not terribly familiar with Columbia, but they appear to be rising in notoriety and have made a habit of touring frequently! Their songs are decent for what they are, not that heavy but not badly played either! Click here to check them out, if you like some radio-friendly alt-rock, you may like them! But of course, don't forget Stillbroke, who'll mark a few firsts that night! This will be their first show at The Rockstar Bar & their first show featuring Sam DeDominicis on drums and Chris Villeneuve on guitar! Doors open at 9:00 PM on March 11th for this concert, there will be a $5 cover, and yes, it's 19+. Get full details on this show at this location! Sounds like a good show, I'm not big on Columbia's sound, not my cup of tea, but I'm sure they'll draw a good crowd, as should Stillbroke! It'll be interesting to hear their new lineup! If I hear more updates on this show, I will keep you all posted!Now, Sense of Truth review time! Normally, I give a concert a night to sink in before I review it the next day, but seeing as I'm off to Detroit tomorrow and computer time may be hard to locate, I'll post my review now before I hit the hay!
Well, opening was The Groove Committee, the new local rock band that first announced this show a week or two ago! This was their first full concert, but you wouldn't know it by how they played, they had loads of chemistry and sounded pretty good as far as non-metal bands go! They played an assortment of alt-rock covers, ranging from Pearl Jam and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Steppenwolf and Modest Mouse to a healthy dose of Ween songs! Very diverse, these guys are! Now the biggest thing that stood out to me from their set was bassist Alex White, who is extremely talented (look at his slap bass solos for proof), he had a good look, and great energy on-stage toi boot! And it wasn't until Curt from Sense of Truth pointed it out to me that I realized that Alex was in Soldiers of Misfortune! I KNEW he looked familiar! Fuck, I miss them! The rest of the band were great for their style too, though it is odd seeing Matt Sibilo playing this stuff instead of the punk I'm used to. Also should give props to singer Nick Roy, who has a solid alt-rock voice and a good range! That being said, I wish they'd cover heavier songs, but solid first show for these guys, the dancing they got during the Modest Mouse cover was deserved!A bit of confusion regarding their sets and whether the bands were alternating sets or just playing two each, but it was all good. Also, for those of you who are hockey fans, us barhopping concertgoers were on edge during one of the set breaks while Team Canada survived in the last few minutes against Slovakia. If Slovakia would have tied it up, I think we'd have had heart attacks!
Then, Sense of Truth took the stage, and just then, I had to go.......I'm kidding! They were awesome, it's hard to believe it's been 7 months since I last saw them play more than two songs live! They unleashed a solid mix of classic originals like "Push and Pull", "Anything At All", and "Vicious Cycle" (and many others), along with some select covers from bands like Tool, A Perfect Circle, and The Foo Fighters! You know something, it takes being away from something to rediscover your appreciation for it, and even though I was pissed about missing their last three full shows, this made up for it! The band had warned me in advance that they'd barely jammed before playing this concert (the joys of being cooped up in studio), but you'd never know that from hearing them! Two sets of awesome hard rock, sure there were occasional mess-ups, but it's not like they hyped this show for months saying it would be the biggest thing ever, I'm more than forgiving! Great hard rock with heavy metal tinges, there's a lot to like here!
Frontman Cory Murchison delivered the vocal goods on this, his 30th birthday (Happy Birthday Cory!) He even got a cake complete with sparklers and a shot of some alcoholic beverage right in the center! But back to his singing, he really is an awesome frontman, since he gave the rhythm guitar duties to Ron Baxter, he's been able to sing stronger and show off his natural frontman ability! On guitar, Steve Myers was awesome, though I would really like to see him do more solos, he's great at them, but they're not in all the songs. Ron Baxter's a good rhythm guitarist too, but I'd like to see him try any solo in general. No worries though, both were great! Curtis Beauchamp was solid on bass, especially on the Tool covers, bass truly was a standout instrument from both bands! And Ryan Haryett was very good on drums, I think he was too hard on himself for messing up parts of "Pieces of a Mirror", the fans didn't seem to notice, and neither did I, the song was great!
Sense of Truth closed with a brand new song, "Crawling", which was never before played live, and it got the fans going (despite the turning on of the house lights.) Sure, with more time to jam and prepare, they would sound tighter and better, and they'd be the first to tell you that, but I had loads and loads of fun tonight! I just hope it's not another 7 months before I see them again! Their originals are of a very high quality, and I can't wait to hear studio versions of them when their first E.P. comes out! If you missed it, you missed out! As you can tell, I took lots of photos, so check them out by clicking here or visiting the SMS' Facebook page! And yes I got video, but I wanna apologize to Ryan from Sense of Truth for getting "Pieces of a Mirror" when his drumming was off. I wanted to get "Crawling", but I missed the beginning! Besides, I (and likely the rest of the SOT fans) won't mind, and it's a great song! Check it out below!Ok, so that's all for now, this is definitely my last post before I head to Detroit in the morning. I guarantee that there will be at least two posts during my Detroit trip: One by Tuesday, because I try to always have something new every three days, and the Syktoyk Rampage album review on Monday, which I have on autopost so it will be up at midnight on March 1st, no questions asked! Remember to go see Garden of Bedlam and Papa Fogals Chair tonight at Foggy's (coincidentally, also a 30th birthday party for a band member, Adam Chillman's from PFC!), or Pop Evil and other talented hard rock bands at Kewadin Casino! I wish I could be with you guys! Have fun, I'll make sure to have something from Detroit by Tuesday! Thanks everyone!
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