Sarah

ILLSCARLETT western review 6 Cities, 4 Provinces, 100 bands and IllScarlett. Everything launched in cold Winnipeg last Thursday November 09, 2006 at The Read Road Lodge “the last of the blood bucket bars” We started off with some killer local acts including: BOMB THE ARCADE – backed up by political lyrics got the crowd moving CAPTAIN BRINGDOWN - definitely played a good swinging, funky set. COLORS IN MIDNIGHT - This local punk band took the stage and got the crowd dancing with catchy tunes. MENOPAUSE - alternative rock band, they put on a wicked show. ODIVIUM –2nd place band that came .5 away from first place on the score sheets. It was really close. ONCE JUST – my friends from Calgary stopped off for a quick performance during their eastern tour promoting the new album, Destination. RELENTLESS GENERATION – 1st place winners. They did a great job on stage, got the crowd moving and the drumming was entertaining. SWAYBACK – good rock band to end the night off with Next was off to Saskatoon at the Odeon Events Centre which featured Winnipeg’s, Accepting Silence I got a call from IllScarlett’s tour manager informing us they crashed into a ditch 60 km outside of Saskatoon. Everyone was okay and they ended up missing the gig. But it’s Rock n Roll and the show must go on so we pulled out Saskatoon’s best including: STARVING ZEALOTS - They drove all the way out from Lloydminster and started the show off with a good set of rock n roll. FRONTMAN DOWN - your 2nd place winners who had a very good set, they keep getting better. FIRE RESIDES - they’re a great hard rock band who took home first place. Threw in a good cover from one of my fav’s; Chevelle. NOWHERES END - been through some band member changes. They pulled together for a good set. OFF CAMERA - they had a huge crowd come out to see them and didn’t disappoint. They opened up for IllScarlett and got the crowed sweatin’ Next date was on November 11 in Regina, SK at The Exchange featuring Accepting Silence We started off with: KUWAHARA - tried to get the crowd moving early in the night and were successful. KENTUCKY TRAINWREAK - lots of emotion and energy on stage, got the crowd pumpt! REIGN OF ASHES - good Regina Metal band with a big sound for small guys. TAINTS OF LIBERTY - I like these guys a lot; they really throw down some hard rock with a pinch of death metal. CASSAWAY - they opened up for IllScarlett. They had a shaky start, but managed to pull together for a win. Mostly everyone stuck around to see IllScarlett play and it was a fantastic performance once again. As I took stage to announce the winners; the crowd demanded more music. This was their longest set on the tour with over an hour of music. They were really feeling the crowd in Regina. A week break then back to work on November 17 in my neck of the woods; Vancouver, BC at the Croatian Cultural Centre During IllScarlett’s first song, Johnny (bassist) accidentally whacked Alex (singer) square in the forehead with the end of his guitar. I don’t know if it was the beers or adrenaline but Alex is a madman! He still finished playing the song before reaching for a shirt to wipe the blood from running down his chin. We gathered what we could from the first aid box and went up on stage to bandage him up. This was the largest crowd on the tour, almost every single person stuck around to see what the “buzz” was all about. We had these 15 bands open up: MANTRA - started out the night with the new drummer, not to shabby Chersak. 13TH PROPHET - bringing the good metal back, nice job with the head banging on stage… cut that hair boy’s (kidding) TERMINAL CAFE - pulled out the groovin’ tunes for a full 30 min set very original, I enjoyed them. DESTROY THE WITNESS - pretty good set, they have a great female drummer keeping everything on time. ALTERNATE ENDING - the winners, these guys keep getting better and better. You will see some big things for 2007, take note their only 15 years old! FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - these guys got the crowd going nuts and get the girls throwing their underwear on stage. GRIFFINS ANVIL - were really feeling the music with a good stage performance and got the crowd moving. KEITH & KOSINE - awesome rock band with a lot of energy, they took home 2nd. LITHIUM - rockin’ out with covers and having a great time on stage. STRAIGHT UP - straight up good! I like the cover of Zombie. THE LIGHT BULB EFFECTS - alternative band gave it their best up on stage. EMPIRE ALLEY - 4th place winners who played a energetic set, the keyboardist rocked! Listen to their song on CFOX during the indie hour. VODAS - 3rd place. They always come to rawk out with full makeup and costumes. Watch out for these guys, they bought a new van and plan to do some touring. BROADBAND NOISE - these guys are a super tight band…Tom drums like a machine! SUBSIDIZED - ended the night off with a lot of energy considering there were 10 people left by that point. Out of the 8 years I’ve been working with bands, ILLSCARLETT take the cake! They are cool dudes and play a high energetic set filled with unforgettable songs. Thanks to all the local bands, fans, staff, venue owners, soundmen, Accepting Silence, Once Just and of course my home town sauga boy’s, ILLSCARLETT Cheers!