Motherfuckers Concert Review!!

To kick off the month of May in style, here's our review of last night's Motherfuckers-headlined all ages concert at The Oddfellows Hall! There was a medium attendance at best, peaking for the headliners, but it was a lively crowd that saw a number of moshpits and dancing, particularly during Shit Liver's set! Opening last night's show was local goregrind duo Rotopsy (replacing Kaepora Gaebora) in their first Oddfellows Hall concert in a year or so, and they laid down some entertaining originals for early fans! With originals like "Swamp Donkey", "Grinded Live In Your Faces", and "The Funky Track", Dylan Taylor and Tyler Gibson lived up to their prior musical reputations, and it's nice to see Dylan vary his vocals a bit more, but my big takeaway from their set was a lack of energy. Maybe it's their recent stage hiatus, or just playing early, but the guys weren't as animated or bouncy as usual. Still, Rotopsy were what the doctor ordered for grind lovers!

Next up last night were reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger in their first public concert appearance in almost three years, and their debut with new singer Keith Gagnon and bassist Andrew MacDonald, so how'd the new Winkstinger sound? There's work to do, but it's great to see them back! Best known otherwise as Free Beer's drummer, Keith has a screaming voice that is in the same spectrum as Alan Wells had, but with more of a punk edge, and he fits well here, but definitely relied too much on lyric sheets and bending down to read them mid-song. Andrew's a welcome sight back on bass, as Scary Uncles fans will attest to, but he mostly spent the set looking to the side and not moving around a lot. Playing a mixture of familiar originals from their first run and covers (a'la their 2012 shows) like Pantera & Anthrax(!), the guys generally delivered a fun set, and Jesse & Jonas still have excellent chemistry, so hopefully Winkstinger keep at it!

The middle set went to local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver in their first local concert appearance of the year, and they laid down a brutal set in their homecoming stop during their current Canadian tour! If you've seen Shit Liver before, then you won't be terribly surprised at what lied within their set, which saw them play many older and newer originals like "It's Not My Problem", their own self-titled song, and "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops", and with Josh, Mike, and Matt's triple threat of guttural vocals and intensity (plus guest vocals by Johnny Belanger), how can you go wrong? Attracting the busiest moshing of the night, Shit Liver largely let their music do the talking, complete with some samples for introductions (like an Emergency Alert System warning), and the guys kept their energy high along with their intense material, so hopefully we see more from Shit Liver soon, and don't miss their folk side project Dirtfight's local stops this weekend either!

Co-headlining last night was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their second Oddfellows Hall concert of the spring,  and they were up to their usual tricks with a fun set of original favourites, plus some late-set covers! Playing eight originals (like "They Live", "Motorwolf", and "Negative Headspace") plus Turbonegro and Ripcordz renditions, everyone played to their usual forms, with Jesse Cook showing no ill effects from his dual sets that night, J.D. Pearce exploring the stage effectively with solid vocals, and Justin Lam's bass work was as strong as ever! Things did seem a little rushed during Jack Spades' set (possibly thanks to delays from earlier in the day), but it's always fun seeing Jack Spades in action, and fans definitely seemed to enjoy their continued jacking of the planet!

Finally, your headliners last night were Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers in their local debut, and they delivered an explosive set to close the night, with a strong crowd taking in the intensity! Playing songs like "Relentless", "I Wanna Be A Cop", and "Old No. 7" during their set, the guys lived up to their reputation, with the heavily tattooed Dan Izzo highly animated and in-your-face during their set, and Matty Pissoff's guitar riffs & melodies kept the intensity rolling throughout! The vocals could be a little hard to hear at times, but the band seemed happy to rock out in the Soo for the first time, and with lots of road and studio experience under their belts, you know that The Motherfuckers lived up to the hype! Hopefully they come back through our area in the future!

Overall, this was an entertaining concert for metal and punk fans alike, and kudos to J.D. Pearce for putting on another great show, and successfully migrating it from The Algonquin Pub during their ongoing renovations! You can check out our photos at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Rotopsy playing "Lesbian Luxuries of a Lobotomy Factory", videos of Winkstinger and Shit Liver playing original material (let us know if you can help title them!), Jack Spades playing "Fear Corps", and The Motherfuckers playing "We Need More Beer" and "Once A Pig, Always A Pig"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates soon, and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!