All the Exclaim! business to date....
Nobunny
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Arab on Radar
Ty Segall
The Kids
Monotonix
Monday, December 13, 2010
Two reviews
Ready to break this bitch in. Hopefully one day you'll see more content than reposts.
Here's two unexpurgated reviews I did this weekend for Exclaim:
THE KIDS / BRUTAL KNIGHTS / WHITE WIRES
Friday December 10th @ the Garrison.
Reunion tours can be touchy, especially in the ideological shark-waters of punk rock. But the day the Sex Pistols signed up for "Filthy Lucre" nearly fifteen years ago (with the wild-eyed Lydon happily fleecing his fans) all bets were off.
Frankly, if it feels good, do it, and Antwerp, Belgium's the Kids seem to be making that manifest. Relatively unknown outside of their homeland, and back at it for about half a decade, the Kids are the premier spirit of '77 punk band from the wee land of waffles. Their amazing self-titled debut stands on its own quite easily alongside the other classics of the era, and their subsequent '70s records are full of hot anthems and shoulda-been hits.
For their first Toronto show ever, the Kids pulled out all the stops, playing a jam-packed set of their catchiest tracks, from the lost power pop anthem "Do You Wanna Know." to "Fascist Cops," one of the finest protest songs ever written. The Kids may be well into their 50s (and did look endearingly goofy in their formerly mothballed punk gear) but they zipped through their remarkable catalogue with aplomb. School was in session and the Kids had taken over.
Opening were hardcore stalwarts Brutal Kinights and Ottawa’s White Wires, The BKs played their last Toronto show ever, not straying from their trademark speedy, journeyman gunk-punk formula. Fists were pumped, bottles were smashed, and crowds were surfed in tribute. They will be missed. White Wires put on one of their tightest sets to date, seemingly rejuvenated after some time off to focus on their new sophomore record on Dirtnap. Frontman Ian Manhire’s always contagious enthusiasm managed to get the crowd riled up, and their short but sweet set was a nice aperitif for the fun to come.
MONOTONIX / NEON WINDBREAKER
Saturday December 11th @ Sneaky Dee's
Here's two unexpurgated reviews I did this weekend for Exclaim:
THE KIDS / BRUTAL KNIGHTS / WHITE WIRES
Friday December 10th @ the Garrison.
Reunion tours can be touchy, especially in the ideological shark-waters of punk rock. But the day the Sex Pistols signed up for "Filthy Lucre" nearly fifteen years ago (with the wild-eyed Lydon happily fleecing his fans) all bets were off.
Frankly, if it feels good, do it, and Antwerp, Belgium's the Kids seem to be making that manifest. Relatively unknown outside of their homeland, and back at it for about half a decade, the Kids are the premier spirit of '77 punk band from the wee land of waffles. Their amazing self-titled debut stands on its own quite easily alongside the other classics of the era, and their subsequent '70s records are full of hot anthems and shoulda-been hits.
For their first Toronto show ever, the Kids pulled out all the stops, playing a jam-packed set of their catchiest tracks, from the lost power pop anthem "Do You Wanna Know." to "Fascist Cops," one of the finest protest songs ever written. The Kids may be well into their 50s (and did look endearingly goofy in their formerly mothballed punk gear) but they zipped through their remarkable catalogue with aplomb. School was in session and the Kids had taken over.
Opening were hardcore stalwarts Brutal Kinights and Ottawa’s White Wires, The BKs played their last Toronto show ever, not straying from their trademark speedy, journeyman gunk-punk formula. Fists were pumped, bottles were smashed, and crowds were surfed in tribute. They will be missed. White Wires put on one of their tightest sets to date, seemingly rejuvenated after some time off to focus on their new sophomore record on Dirtnap. Frontman Ian Manhire’s always contagious enthusiasm managed to get the crowd riled up, and their short but sweet set was a nice aperitif for the fun to come.
MONOTONIX / NEON WINDBREAKER
Saturday December 11th @ Sneaky Dee's
In 2005 the Dirtbombs released a double CD compilation of singles and odds-and-ends called If You Don’t Already Have a Look. The title was derived from a hand-out the band came across playing a European garage rock festival encouraging bands playing that didn’t have a “look,” or gimmick, to create one.
Monotonix, from Tel Aviv, Israel, already have a look and that look has nothing to do with powdered wigs or Mexican wrestling masks. Their ‘look’ is taking over an entire venue, literally and physically, playing every corner and every angle. Comprised of three hairy gentleman clad in running shorts, Monotonix launched riff-heavy, blunted-out scumrock, with only a mere drum kit, guitar, and ample Marshall stacks to shoulder the burden. The hook is the band, spurred on my nomadic/shamanic lead singer Ami Shalev, refuses to stay put, breaking the traditionally audience-imposed fourth wall and spreading their rock love like peanut butter, shifting their equipment periodically so no section of the bar remains untouched or unrocked.
When a band spends more time jumping on the bar than trying to redeem relatively worthless drink tickets one worries about the presence of actual songs, but this particular group of extroverts had that ground covered. The crowd was as game as any, forming a communal circle as the wild-maned Semites pounded out their heavy jams. Put simply, Monotonix gleefully stuffed the elements of performance and spectacle back into the traditionally staid Saturday night rock show in a most unpredictable way.
Openers Neon Windbreaker charmingly sped through a short set. Fidelity to early ‘90s Dischord and AmRep is apparent, but a more distinctive sound needs to be realized. If, in future, they let the particularly tight rhythm section lead the way and take the vocal histrionics down a notch they’ll satisfy the promise they showed Saturday night.
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