Bam Margera/Fuckface Unstoppable Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's time for my review of last night's Bam Margera/Fuckface Unstoppable concert at The Canadian Nightclub! Great turnout for this show, which as you may remember, had what was basically an all ages timeframe for the bands' sets. but that didn't affect the environment at all! Oddly, the restricted stage movements thanks to Bam's drumkits (plus their banner) actually helped for photo-taking, as they minimized the effect of the stage signs on the back wall, so hopefully these turned out better! Let's begin our review with the first band!

Opening last night's show was local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters, who won Viva La Battle last month to earn the right to play at the event! They didn't come with the usual set though, debuting two brand new songs to open the night (a sequel to "Render This Void" named "The Void", and a song based on the movie "The Omen") which sounded very brutal and fit their more technical vibe on recent originals! Also helping was the surprise return of rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney for the set, marking the first time he's played with The Bear Hunters in almost 5 months! That was a nice surprise, and his guitar work really helped fill out newer songs like "I Fear No God" that we haven't heard with a quintet lineup yet. In fact, the whole set was almost completely comprised of newer songs, and the guys were up to their usual tricks and talent levels, with Nik Deubel and Mitch Sirie really impressing in their own rights! Look for big things from The Bear Hunters in 2014, if their tight and focused set last night was any indication!

Second on the bill was local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet, who tore through 13 songs in their abbreviated set, though despite guitarist Christian Foisy's amusing words to the contrary, the songs all had different names! All but 3 songs from Destroilet's album joined covers of everyone from The Screeching Weasels to Fear, which a growing amount of fans on the floor really took to, and while I enjoyed the music and intensity, their stage presences were restricted and not as energetic as usual, especially on Mike Hull's part. I enjoyed the sense of humour and aggression throughout, and musically, they blistered through their set, with John Conway's lead guitar work seeming especially sharp, but vocals could have been louder on the whole. Destroilet have been on fire (an eternal fire, if you will) since their concert return this spring, and here's hoping they keep it up!

The middle band last night was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, who debuted new second guitarist Jesse Cook (Winkstiner, Soldiers of Misfortune, etc.) during their set, so how'd he fit in? Very well, he seemed like a natural (if stiffer in on stage activity than I'm used to), and I'm curious to see how he mixes into things going into next year!  Their 9 song set mixed originals like "Breakneck Speed" and the debuting "To The Left" with covers of everyone from SNFU to Judas Priest, though their planned unveiling of a new song named "Frederick" was called off. Decked out in his best Santa outfit, J.D. Pearce's vocals were aggressice and soared over the music, and Justin Lam was fantastic on bass as well throughout! Aside from a brief guitar mishap on "To The Left", Jack Spades put in another enjoyable set that fans of J.D.'s other bands definitely should have enjoyed, and they're definitely developing their own identity in the process!

Co-headlining last night's concert was Detroit hard rock quintet Wilson, and if there was a word to describe their set, it'd be "wild"! Any descriptions of them being a fun or party band were certainly not inaccurate, as they took The Canadian by storm with their high energy and non-stop set! A lot of the props should go to singer Chad Nicefield, whose energy, presence, aggression, and crowd engagement were off the hinges, and we responded in kind! I just wish he was easier to hear, I couldn't make out his vocals very well for most of their set. I also liked the extra frills like drumming beer bottles and breaking out the giant marching band drum to cap off their set, and the rest of the band was up to the standard as well, with Jason Spencer & Kyle Landry driving a wall of awesome guitar work throughout! One of the most fun live bands I've seen locally in quite a while, Wilson made a lot of new fans last night, and fingers crossed they roll back through the Soo at some point!

And of course, the main event was West Chester, Pennsylvania's own Fuckface Unstoppable, featuring the one and only Bam Margera on lead vocals! A lot of people I knew weren't sure how the band would look or what they'd play, but it was a long chaotic party from wall to wall, including two drummers, lots of crowd interaction from co-singer Brandon Novak, and just a lot of action packed & rowdy entertainment! Bam's vocals fit the aggressive material, be it pseudo-rapping or full hardcore punk vocals, and the full band kept things rolling, including some very solid guitar work from Matty Janaitis and a fun double drum assault from Jess Margera & Alex Flamsteed that never came across as overkill! Their set was heavy on covers (including Turbonegro, Bloodhound Gang, and GG Allin) along with originals like "Moonshine" and '''Till The Wheels Fall Alf"), and the crowd ate it up, including the dancers during "The Ballad of Chasey Lain"!

If you remember the Kittie set at the Ypres Metal Fest last year, imagine being in that congested crowd, only to have everyone push and elbow each other. That's how it felt, and my back paid for it, but it was a great environment to be in! I had a pile of fun at this concert, and it's just a shame it wasn't the very last metal show of 2013, as it'd be quite a bang to go out on! Huge kudos to J.D. Pearce for booking this, all of the bands for playing, and to George Ravlich at Crank Sound Distribution for his great sound work all night! I did get photos & videos of each band, so click here to check them out, or visit our Facebook page to see them and a "Tag Yourself!" shot of the crowd! And for my videos, here's The Bear Hunters playing their brand new song "The Void", Destroilet playing three short covers (of Gang Green's "Let's Drink Some Beer", The Screeching Weasels' "I Don't Give A Fuck", and Fistmagnet's "Evil God Hater"), Jack Spades covering The Ripcordz' "X", Wilson playing their song "College Gangbang", and Fuckface Unstoppable covering Turbonegro's "All My Friends Are Dead"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, along with fallout from the Bam Margera concert as I get it! Thanks everyone!