A low attendance started the evening off, though Smeltzer/RedD Monkey had lots of merchandise and art for sale, even bringing cupcakes! The opening band was local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and despite the limited amount of fans to start the night, their set was mostly pretty good! The guys played all of their heavy and very brutal originals as good as we could expect early on, and this time, I could actually hear Nik Deubel with the sound being used at The Oddfellows Hall! The last few times, I couldn't hear him well, so I liked that the sound seemed to be good for the overall experience! That said, I have seen better Bear Hunters sets, but this isn't their fault, as guitarist Josh Stephney broke a guitar string about midway through their set. With no remedies immediately available, Josh had to sit out half of the set, so there was one less Bear Hunter. Luckily, it wasn't always noticeable, but you could really tell a second guitar was needed on some songs. I think the string couldn't handle the metal being played, and luckily, Josh had a good sense of humour about the situation! I also liked seeing the cover of "Down From The Sky" back for their set, which overall, was full of death metal goodness, despite the string breaking!
Next up was the Sault's favourite grind band, none other than Shit Liver! It's been a while since they've rocked an Oddfellows Hall concert (not since last year), and for the occasion, they even brought a real liver to adorn the drumkit! It didn't look shitty, but it was interesting! Their set was another crusty and grimy good time, though mostly based around originals, only covering Dystopia and OBCD last night. Their originals are worth the set though, and they play what they play very well, especially if you like their assaulting brand of death metal! Unbelievably, ANOTHER guitar string broke on a guitarist named Josh (Penno) during their set, but this time, he had replacement strings with him, so the show went on, but the playing time was cut a bit due to the delay. Technical issues aside, Shit Liver had a good set if you enjoy their mix of punk and death metal, which is liable to grow on some people with repeated listens!Third were local indie quintet The Tenagens, and they're a talented band who performed a good set, although their style isn't something I hear a lot of. Similarly to the last time I saw them, they kinda stood out amongst the punk and metal on the bill, but their talent speaks for itself! Josh White has a nice singing voice, and Pat Dal Cin's a good bassist (nice Dream Theater shirt too!), with lots of talent to go around! I also was nicely surprised to hear their cover of The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", but I have to say, I was surprised at the lack of banter between songs. Maybe it was due to time constraints, but I'm used to hearing some talking between songs. Good set of indie rock though, even if it's not my thing! Never hurts to broaden your horizons!
Fourth last night were the last of three metal bands, that being hardcore quartet Changing Waves, who replaced Winkstinger on last night's lineup. Surprisingly, I found that the amount of people inside rocking out for them last night was larger (or least more livelier) than the last two bands, which is a sign that Changing Waves are definitely doing something right! Their set last night featured originals like "Jung Jung", "Tital", and "Lockdown", along with well recieved covers of System of a Down's "Suite Pee" and Austrian Death Machine's "Get To The Choppa", and I have to say, they're really improving and growing as a band! Their songs have a certain energy and bang to them , and singer Banjamin Kallonen's stage presence just gets better and better! Mike Hagerman's guitar work was really nice too, and the fans started some good pits and receptions for Changing Waves! You hear more about other bands locally, but don't sleep on Changing Waves, they're right up there too, and I can't wait to hear their hardcore sounds again!
Co-headlining last night were local cello punk trio RedD Monkey, who put in another dependably solid set of high energy original songs! I'll say one thing about them live compared to their "Thought Control Tower" EP that I finally bought last night: In concert, they're faster and more energetic than on the original studio versions of their songs. I was honestly surprised at that! Songs like "Friar's Ire" and "The Clock's Dement" definitely have more bite and aggression live, I wonder why that is? Comparisons aside, their set worked really well to rock out with, and the mix of aggressive punk rock and cello seems to be a better and better match the more you see RedD Monkey! We also got a surprise early in their set when Smeltzer drummer Kevin Overton rejoined his old RedD Monkey bandmates for a song, which was cool! Very nice set from RedD Monkey, hopefully I'll see them again soon!
And finally, it was the long awaited reunion of alt punk trio Smeltzer, and it's been far too long to see them back on stage! For the record, it definitely felt old school last night, as Paul Stanghetta and Kevin Overton both returned from out of town for the Smeltzer reunion, and yes, Steve Mozarowski broke out a dress for the set! Comparisons to RedD Monkey may be inevitable (especially for newer fans), but they're two different bands, so I try not to, but I will say that Smeltzer's set seemed more spontaneous than the earlier bands last night. It was a treat hearing old Smeltzer originals again, as well as seeing the old lineup back together, and their songs still had the punk/grunge style that made them so well loved in the mid-2000s! It was especially nice to see Kevin back drumming in town, I haven't seen him at a local show since 2008 or 2009. Smeltzer showed good chemistry, and their punk and alternative sounds were easily welcomed back last night! Hopefully this won't be the last time we see the guys together!Awesome nostalgic concert last night! Lots of quality local bands, and there was no shortage of music for any taste, though I have to ask: Why no reunion of The Fury? 2/3rds of the band played last night, and bassist Tony Briglio was in attendance, it would have been a perfect fit. Oh well, what we got was great! I got photos of each band, so click here or visit our official Facebook page to give them a look, along with this concert's "Tag Yourself" photo! And I got videos of each metal band, so check out The Bear Hunters playing their original "Condemned", Shit Liver playing their song "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe", and Changing Waves covering Austrian Death Machine's "Get To The Choppa"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for more news including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, details on a new local band, and more! Thanks everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment