Sarah Ng

Well, the summer shows are underway. The shows are numerous, the nights are long, the mosh pits are sweaty and intense, and the bands are getting more and more diverse. Nights are running the gamut from Bon Jovi covers (don’t deny you love ‘Livin’ On A Prayer,’ ok deny it, but I won’t believe you) to hardcore to emo. The bands on July 6th were like Gwyneth Paltrow’s ex-boyfriends: all over the place. Opening a show can be somewhat trying, but everyone respects a band that get a crowd screaming after the first set. Limited opened the show with an acoustic jam that had everyone in the crowd smiling and cheering. They had some serious harmonies and reminded us that “Tommy used to work at the docks” and that “Gina works the diner all day.” You see I had forgotten what they had been up to, but Limited reminded us of that fabled story that Jon Bon Jovi wrote so many years ago. Untapped hosted the first mosh pit of the evening. They had some catchy rock tunes that increased the volume and momentum of the evening. They performed a cover of ‘Hero’ by the Foo Fighters. The Fallacies were next; they rocked the casbah with some exceptionally strong vocals that featured some great choons (tunes). They did a couple of covers that included Hendrix and Weezer. Next up was Fall of Winter’s Master that featured volume and more volume. Their amps were borrowed from Spinal Tap, as they featured settings that seemed to go up to 11. The End of Infinity was a tight punk act that covered a Phish tune. They put on a good show that had a lot of energy and that people were into. Death of Aphrodite put on one of the most intense stage performances of the night. They had the crowd rabid and wanting more. Could a band throw more of a monkey wrench into an evening like The Pink Crayons? It was an all-girl band that gave the stage a much-needed break from the testosterone that usually populates our shows. They definitely were a band that was different. Stolen Faith escaped some bus issues to get their obsessed fans into the venue to scream their lungs out for their band from the great Gretzky-producing town of Brantford (although they would probably point to the telephone as a Brantford product as well). They took home first place thanks to a great set full of energy. Angel Gunpowder was up next and featured a good minute-long drum solo (Neil Peart would be proud) and a Green Day cover. Our Own Demise gave the evening a change of pace with some interesting covers and some good crowd banter (“This song’s about my ex-girlfriend who slept with some other guy,” “She was great!” an attentive listener yells back.) Handsome Rob and the Uglies were up next with a good set, but no explanation as to who Rob was and who it actually was that determined that those that weren’t Rob were deemed as ugly. These guys got a good response from the crowd. Funktastic were up next with their mad hats and aviator shades. They proved that theirs was not just another clever name, just like “The Shitty Beatles” wasn’t either. . . Play that funky music white boy indeed. Shades of Sound closed out the night and played one of the great sets of the evening. The hardcore attendees were pleased. Anyway, there’s a quick review. We’d like to thank all the bands for participating and all the fans for coming out.