Let's tackle some more fall happenings from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT on the site today, so what's new to report since we last left off with their timeline in early October? Their next concert took place on Sunday, October 19th when they opened for British hardcore punk legends The Exploited, as they did previously in September 2024, though this time, they invaded The Rockpile rather than Lee's Palace. Very cool to see them tabbed to open for The Exploited once again, and J.D. & Dan's old local bandmate Blair Burch (Broken, Project 421, et al.) was in attendance for this concert, snapping some great quality photos that you can check out at this link! Attendee Miles George got a pile of quality photos himself that you can check out here, but his are all in black & white. Note that The Fast Life's Andrew Moorehouse is seen in some photos here, implying that he guested on "XS" and/or "Wrecked". The band's requisite vertical recap video went live on their Facebook page three days later, so what can you see in this one?
Primarily filmed by guitarist Daniel Horton once again, this features the band leaving for and arriving at the concert, the rainy tailgate party, the guys giving a fan autographs on a unique body part, bassist Sean MacNab's late arrival after an appointment, cameos by Blair and his son Cory, as well as former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin, and soundcheck and setup for their set. We do see the guys playing the start of "Red" at the 3:45 mark, but alas, only for about 30 seconds. Things end with post-set mingling outside and at their merch table, with some very brief footage of The Exploited's set. Dan said that they "crushed it", and from what little we see, I can't argue, so give this entertaining recap video a watch below!
A busy weekend for the former Jack Spades lie ahead, starting on Saturday, October 25th, when they were slated to play a rare matinee set at Headbang For Paws, a benefit concert for the Comfie Cat Shelter in Orillia, but the shelter revealed on their Facebook page on the 15th that it was cancelled "due to circumstances beyond our control". Very disappointing, especially given the cause behind it, but hopefully we see Spades in Orillia in due course! The band never confirmed the cancellation on Facebook themselves, but they did have a busy month, and now they didn't have to cram two shows into one day. The guys still rocked out that night, as they and their friends in G.F.U. joined Daniel's other band (Barrie punk quartet The Fast Life) at C.W. Coop's in their current homebase, which also served as a belated birthday bash for drummer Tyler Reiner. The recap video was uploaded 10 days later, so what's on offer here?
It features the continuation of G.F.U.'s singer's mayoral campaign, Sean's comically short leash in terms of his standing with the band (good thing he made it for this show!), previews of their new t-shirts and toques on sale, and Daniel setting up for his set with The Fast Life (it seems like Tyler filled in with them here) and later changing a broken guitar string. Two very brief clips of Spades' set can be seen at 3:21 (one shot from outside the venue behind a window, even), but quality and vertical framing aside, these only run for about 12 seconds. Dan called this "a good warm-up gig" for what was to come the next day, and you can see for yourselves at this link! Unfortunately, Facebook content matched the backing music added in post-production here ("Filthy Lie" from the new album "United"), so unlike the Rockpile recap video, I can't embed this one on the SMS. After rocking Barrie, the guys packed their gear for the 6 hour drive to Montreal!
Specifically, the guys rocked The Piranha Bar on Sunday the 26th, where they opened for The Exploited once again in their Quebec debut. Possibly because it was a bigger/more unique concert, the recap video for this one went up a day earlier than the Barrie one, though regardless, this too was hit with a Facebook content match (this time for using "Cenobites" from 2023's "Sewer City Radio" as backing music), so it is also unembeddable on external sites like this. The first 1:45 of the video focuses on the trip to the venue, including a stop at a Long & McQuade for strings. When the guys arrived in Montreal, we get some footage of the buildings near the venue, Tyler giving thanks and hype for the opportunity, and some setup clips inside The Piranha Bar, with another all-too-brief raw clip of Spades GT playing across multiple cameras at 2:45, running for just 20 seconds. Afterwards, we see the guys packing up for the drive back to Ontario.
Tyler thanked everyone again and promises to return to Montreal in 2026, and Daniel said that they "kicked ass". I can't disagree from what little we got of their set, but it looks like a great experience, so check everything out at this link or above! We are now caught up on Spades GT's October concerts and official content from last month, and when we next cover them, it'll start with their Toronto gig on November 7th. Stay tuned for that and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone, raise 'em up, and cause a scene!
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