Quite simply: what a fucking night! Jenna Miles of Punk Radio Cast invited me out to the Warped Tour kick off party and I got my boys from work (our ugly mugs pictured to the right thanks to Diana Bell) to tag along for a night of great music, good people, and bottomless drinks. What more could you ask for?
I mainly indulged in the free Rock Star energy drinks, to show my heart who's boss, ya know? But the same can't be said for the rest of my co-workers. There's almost too many shitty good times to discuss, but the night ended with one of us getting kicked out, the rest of us arguing over who Sarah Blackwood of The Creepshow was "eye fucking" from the stage (it was none of us by the way), and another with a gash on his head and bleeding all over the streets of Toronto.
No idea who the first band was, but they reminded me of the old 905 ska/rap/punk group Ruins. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is not a bad thing. As shitty as I felt about not getting up closer and partying a little more, I knew I had to save myself for the double main event: The Creepshow and The Saint Alvia Cartel!
Creepshow was awesome and their new stuff is extremely rad. I think they said the new album drops in September which I can't wait for. McNab told the crowd they could download it, so you all officially have permission. Personally, I say buy the record and support a really hardworking band that is always a lot of fun.
Saint Alvia was... well, Saint Alvia. I've seen these dudes countless times and it never gets boring. They play awesome music and party with the best of them. Plus they hand out a fuckin' tamborine for the audience to play! If you're not down with that, then you're an asshole.
For those of you in attendence or listening online at PRC, you may have noticed yours truly providing some guest vocals on a few songs. Rispin put the mic out there for me to sing without realizing what he was doing, so I apologize right now to all of those unfortunate enough to hear that shit.
Good times all around and can't wait for the next PRC party.
Photos taken by and courtesy of Diana Bell.
PRC: Warped Tour Kickoff Party
Review: Living With Lions
With the ever expanding roster of Black Box Music, the newly co-branded Black Box Recordings and their artist management endeavor, it seems the label has really picked up steam since its launch five years ago. They have picked up one solid artist after another and have allowed them to showcase their talents without the glass ceiling of being signed to a major label. Their latest release comes from Vancouver natives Living With Lions, who follow up 2007's "Dude Manor EP" with their first full length album "Make Your Mark."
The record opens up with a punch to the face. "She's A Hack" picks up where Dude Manor left off and shows us the Lions haven't lost their catchy punk rock touch. I immediately connected with this track on a personal level and it would just be the start of songs that almost made too much sense to me.
"Wrong Place, Right Time" keeps us moving along with a nice bass line verse and a sing-along chorus and "A Bottle Of Charades" isn't much different. I can just imagine a sea of kids screaming "Hey Yeah! Hey Yeah!" at the top of their lungs and bringing the band and fans together like only the live experience can.
The fourth track, "Granny Steps", hits hard with it's lyrics: 'Downtown is barely breathing. Downtown is alive and barely holding on.' As someone who has just moved from the suburbs of Oakville, Ontario to the city of Toronto, this song rang pretty true. Which opened me up nicely for "My Dilemma", a fast-paced track reminiscent of punk rock legends Lifetime. The drums and guitars are full of energy that keeps building and building until the 1 minute and 50 second mark, where the band calms it down just to start building it up again. This is almost two songs in one, but both halfs work tremendously together.
Tracks six through eight are probably my favourites on the album. Starting with "Cold Coffee", the boys keep the music rocking but throw out lyrics that pretty much any guy can relate to. In regards to relationships, especially complicated ones, this song seems to describe every mixed-up-unspoken-feelings one could possibly have. "Hotel: Part Seven" is a great follow up to this and the music really gets you moving. It's like when you finally begin to realize that you're going to be okay and things are working out for the best, this track really focuses your energy to moving on and growing up.
"Coolin' With Costa" is one of those great songs for the road. If you've ever been in a band, especially a touring one, this track is for you. The second verse has the line: 'We don't know where we are, but that's how we got this far.' That describes every band I've ever been in. But this song isn't just about playing gigs, it's about a camaraderie; a connection with friends and how you live your life. It's about what makes you happy and the shit you'll put yourself through because when push comes to shove, it's all fucking worth it.
The song before the finale is "Park It Out Back" which will no doubt be a fan favourite at shows. The chorus is specifically designed to be sung by the audience, in fact, at about 2:25, the vocals are produced to sound like a crowd belting out the lyrics. Another great punk rock track with a solid baseline carrying us through.
Finally, the album comes to a close with "Dude Manor" which is named after Living With Lions house in Vancouver. This is where the boys moved in and came together as a band and you can tell the house represents something special to the guys. Ultimately, it represents something special for anyone who digs this album, because without Dude Manor, who knows if the Lions would have gotten together at all. And what a shame that would be.
Living With Lions brings some credibility and energy back into punk rock with "Make Your Mark." From start to finish, the album has my head banging and body jumping. I can tell already that I've found my summer CD for 2008 and I couldn't be happier with it. Check out their MySpace at myspace.com/livingwithlions and if you like what you hear, go grab a copy of the CD in stores or on iTunes.
Or better yet, grab a copy off the band if they come to your area. They are about to embark on a tour with A Wilhelm Scream and I am already salivating at the opportunity to see two of punk rocks most promising young bands rip up the stage together.
NXNE
I never understood some peoples dislike towards the North By Northeast festival. The only real complaint that's worthwhile is the fact that it's really busy, but shit, it's not like your lining up outside some club waiting to pay $15 to listen to Top 40 crap and hoping some chick grinds up against you enough to feel her pooder on your thigh... But I digress. Personally, I just don't think you can get a better deal then $30 for three nights of killer bands. And furthermore, I didn't wait in line once this year, because seriously, if there is a line, you just move on to the next venue.
My NXNE weekend started on Thursday night with the main purpose being to check out White Cowbell Oklahoma at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern. They didn't start until 2am, so I set out with my friend to check out whomever we saw fit. We both agreed on hitting up the Velvet Underground first to check out Tokyo, Japan's Moja. We both took the stance that these guys came all the way from Japan, so we might as well go see 'em. They are very White Stripes, but with just bass and drums. Very interesting to watch and most excellent to listen to. We then went and watched Hell Yeah, Fuck Yeah and a bunch of random bands from there, one of which threw a banana at me when we were at the Bovine Sex Club. That was pretty cool. But soon enough we were off to the Horseshoe for White Cowbell.
If you've never seen White Cowbell Oklahoma, do yourself a favour and check them out. They are probably one of the coolest stage shows out there right now; almost reminiscent of an Alice Cooper experience. At times, the music plays a secondary role to the strippers, security guards, chainsaws, and whatever other madness is going on around you. It wasn't all great, as some douchebag decided to punch my roommate in the head. My roommate Matt had met up with us to check out White Cowbell and this dude, who was a friend of a friend of a friend, was just an angry drunk. I broke up three prior fights with this dude and other people at the show. Once he hit my roommate though, I was ready to kill him. I ended up leaving because I'm generally not a violent man, but got convinced to come back in for the rest of the show. Overall though, first night was good.
NXNE was suppose to end there for me. I did get free wristbands through work, so I wasn't all that worried about it. But my plans for Friday night fell through and I knew there was only one thing I could do to make up for it... Go out and watch Moneen! I headed to the El Mocambo after making a quick stop at the Pub with some co-workers and heading home to change after work. I got there just as the rain really started pouring down and in time to catch Moneen. My roommate, co-worker and I were apparently the ones responsible for the mosh pit, but as always, the Moneen fans proved to be incredibly friendly and all about the party. The El Mo was actually leaking water due to the thunderstorm outside and there was a few times where the PA was cutting out on Kenny. However, I don't think there was one word missed lyrically, as the crowd was singing along for every single thing.
The Black Lungs were up next, which is Wade MacNeil's (Alexisonfire) solo/side project. To be honest, maybe it was because I was so drained from Moneen by this point, but I was a little dissapointed with The Black Lungs. I really dig "Send Flowers" but for some reason the album just didn't translate well for me. They weren't bad by any means, but it just didn't grab me like I had hoped.
Closing the show was Bedouin Soundclash, who I always find entertaining. Nothing terribly exciting to report, but they were good as usual. I always recommend checking Bedouin out if you get a chance.
Now before I finish, I have to talk about one last band whom I saw on Saturday. Judging from other blogs I've read, it seems like Monotonix really stole the show this year. These Israeli rockers, from what I understand, have pretty much been banned back in their home country. It's not hard to understand why, as these guys put on the craziest show around. They set-up on the floor in front of the stage and literally tore the fucking roof down.
As you can see from the pics, they spent more time being crowd surfed while playing then they did on the ground. And since they've been banned from almost every Israeli club back home, I have a feeling we'll be seeing them around here more and more. At least until they get banned here too.