THE ELECTRIC GROUNDHOG'S DAY BALL RECAP:
I couldn't believe it was a snow day when I heard it on the news. Growing up in Calgary, I only ever had one snow day, and that was when the white stuff went up to my 10-year-old chest. Yesterday's snowfall would not have caused any shutdowns in Southern Alberta, but in Southern Ontario, it was the source of widespread panic.
And hey, I got caught up in it, too. When I heard that several businesses were closed, I wondered if Sneaky Dee's would still be open. When I found out that they were, my next concern was that nobody would show up. But in the end, I had nothing to worry about. I spent the evening working the merch table, so I don't know exactly how many people came through the doors, but, as one band member remarked, "When you're on stage, it looks like there's a lotta people in the crowd..." That's because there were. I said it on the front page, and I'll say it again: Thanks to all who came out. This recap is for the people who didn't, to show them what they missed.
THE WOMB: "We are The Womb, and we have more friends than I thought we had..."
That was bassist/vocalist Mike Simpson's introduction a couple songs into The Womb's set. The Electric Groundhog's Day Ball was their unofficial CD release party, as their 20 Minutes of Thickness EP came fresh from the presses a couple weeks prior. They played a few songs from the new one, including Kicked Down Force Fed and Guns and Pale Horses, as well as some other tracks that were new to me. The Womb ended their set with Old Dirty Love, a song that has been their closer since the first time I saw them back at Adam's Sports Bar in 2006. The band has come a long way musically since then, and now that they've got an official release under their belts, they're bound to make more new friends in the future.
DIABLO RED: The moment he took the stage, you knew that Diablo Red frontman Rob Hare was drunk, as he declared war on old grandpas before starting things off with Heathen Sunrise. When Toronto's finest merchants of Whiskey Swillin' Southern Doom perform, the booze is always flowing, although their alcoholic anthem Rise of the Fallen was noticeably absent from a set consisting mostly of songs from their latest release Lower the Troll--which is due for another pressing, might I add. They also played Stone of Atonement from the upcoming album. "Bill, what the fuck's it called?" asked Rob. For all intents and purposes, I'm referring to it as Volume 4: When Mic Stands Attack until somebody comes up with a better name. (For those of you who weren't at the last Satan Takes a Holiday fundrazor, I might hafta explain that one to you...) Ending the set with a thrashy, boozed up cover of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was awesome, but it woulda been better if someone on stage could have remembered the lyrics...
REDEEMER: Redeemer definitely kicked things up a notch with the use of strobe lights and stage fog. They also kicked it into high gear with their potent blend of sludge and thrash that sounds like Down playing Fuckin' Hostile. Their four-song, 16-minute demo CD was named BWBK's Top Independent Album of 2007, and I can't wait until they've got a full-length album for us.
GEORGIAN SKULL: After an amazing introduction by yours truly, the mighty Georgian Skull took to the stage with one of their faster tunes in Becoming the Machine before laying down the heavy gospel of Demon Crippler. They busted out Hearts Burning in the Realms of Time at The Womb's request, and a new track from their upcoming album Mother Armageddon of the Healing Apocalypse. I believe it was called The Funeral, and it was one of the heaviest, doomiest cuts I've heard from these guys. As usual, they ended the set with Smoking Your Exorcism, the greatest song to mention New Orleans without calling it a dying whore--although they do give it an empire funeral...
SONS OF OTIS: Granted, they didn't take the stage 'till quarter after one, but really, is there any better way to spend the wee hours of the morning than with Sons of muthafuckin' OTIS!? A good number of people stuck around until the end, and a few came in late just to see them. Slow. Doomy. Trippy. Fuzzy. Sludgy. Heavy. These guys put on an hour-long stoner rock clinic, leaving us at 2:20 with a puff of smoke and a wall of fuzz. Twas their first show of 2008 after returning from hiatus in December, and I certainly hope that they'll play Toronto again before the year is over.
What did you think of the show? Discuss it on the THTGIR forum
I couldn't believe it was a snow day when I heard it on the news. Growing up in Calgary, I only ever had one snow day, and that was when the white stuff went up to my 10-year-old chest. Yesterday's snowfall would not have caused any shutdowns in Southern Alberta, but in Southern Ontario, it was the source of widespread panic.
And hey, I got caught up in it, too. When I heard that several businesses were closed, I wondered if Sneaky Dee's would still be open. When I found out that they were, my next concern was that nobody would show up. But in the end, I had nothing to worry about. I spent the evening working the merch table, so I don't know exactly how many people came through the doors, but, as one band member remarked, "When you're on stage, it looks like there's a lotta people in the crowd..." That's because there were. I said it on the front page, and I'll say it again: Thanks to all who came out. This recap is for the people who didn't, to show them what they missed.
THE WOMB: "We are The Womb, and we have more friends than I thought we had..."
That was bassist/vocalist Mike Simpson's introduction a couple songs into The Womb's set. The Electric Groundhog's Day Ball was their unofficial CD release party, as their 20 Minutes of Thickness EP came fresh from the presses a couple weeks prior. They played a few songs from the new one, including Kicked Down Force Fed and Guns and Pale Horses, as well as some other tracks that were new to me. The Womb ended their set with Old Dirty Love, a song that has been their closer since the first time I saw them back at Adam's Sports Bar in 2006. The band has come a long way musically since then, and now that they've got an official release under their belts, they're bound to make more new friends in the future.
DIABLO RED: The moment he took the stage, you knew that Diablo Red frontman Rob Hare was drunk, as he declared war on old grandpas before starting things off with Heathen Sunrise. When Toronto's finest merchants of Whiskey Swillin' Southern Doom perform, the booze is always flowing, although their alcoholic anthem Rise of the Fallen was noticeably absent from a set consisting mostly of songs from their latest release Lower the Troll--which is due for another pressing, might I add. They also played Stone of Atonement from the upcoming album. "Bill, what the fuck's it called?" asked Rob. For all intents and purposes, I'm referring to it as Volume 4: When Mic Stands Attack until somebody comes up with a better name. (For those of you who weren't at the last Satan Takes a Holiday fundrazor, I might hafta explain that one to you...) Ending the set with a thrashy, boozed up cover of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was awesome, but it woulda been better if someone on stage could have remembered the lyrics...
REDEEMER: Redeemer definitely kicked things up a notch with the use of strobe lights and stage fog. They also kicked it into high gear with their potent blend of sludge and thrash that sounds like Down playing Fuckin' Hostile. Their four-song, 16-minute demo CD was named BWBK's Top Independent Album of 2007, and I can't wait until they've got a full-length album for us.
GEORGIAN SKULL: After an amazing introduction by yours truly, the mighty Georgian Skull took to the stage with one of their faster tunes in Becoming the Machine before laying down the heavy gospel of Demon Crippler. They busted out Hearts Burning in the Realms of Time at The Womb's request, and a new track from their upcoming album Mother Armageddon of the Healing Apocalypse. I believe it was called The Funeral, and it was one of the heaviest, doomiest cuts I've heard from these guys. As usual, they ended the set with Smoking Your Exorcism, the greatest song to mention New Orleans without calling it a dying whore--although they do give it an empire funeral...
SONS OF OTIS: Granted, they didn't take the stage 'till quarter after one, but really, is there any better way to spend the wee hours of the morning than with Sons of muthafuckin' OTIS!? A good number of people stuck around until the end, and a few came in late just to see them. Slow. Doomy. Trippy. Fuzzy. Sludgy. Heavy. These guys put on an hour-long stoner rock clinic, leaving us at 2:20 with a puff of smoke and a wall of fuzz. Twas their first show of 2008 after returning from hiatus in December, and I certainly hope that they'll play Toronto again before the year is over.
What did you think of the show? Discuss it on the THTGIR forum