Just over a week ago, Boston’s Shipwreck rolled through on their way to Sound and Fury. They were taking it upon themselves to go through Canada as opposed to touring through the U.S. as most east coast bands making their way to Sound and Fury do. Originally they were supposed to do the tour with Bitter End, but that band made the poor decision of skipping out. That said, Shipwreck is still one of the best hardcore bands around these days, so if you missed out, sucks to you.
Molested Youth opened up the show. I’m into these guys a lot. As someone who was, for awhile, questioning where the youth was in the Toronto Hardcore Community, these guys are that cliched “breath of fresh air”. Young (subjectively stated) kids who seem both genuinely apathetic and angry. The show also served as their demo release show. I didn’t spot any copies at Hits and Misses earlier this week, but I’m sure you should be able to find one there soon.
The Fitzpatrick Incident followed Molested Youth. Despite having met a couple of the guys in the band before, I had never actually seen their band perform. They play a sort of melodic hardcore with a message that seems to get a lot of kids attention these days and do it rather energetically. Although their music isn’t necessarily my favourite thing, its great to see that there are bands in the GTA that are still concerned with using hardcore as a platform to spread a message. They’ve been posting new tracks from an upcoming self-released (DIY is the only way!) EP on their myspace. Be sure to check them out.
After The Fitzpatrick Incident finished up their set, the show hit a bit of a snag. As many people know, unlike most of us, To The Lions are comprised of men with families, houses and jobs. These obligations kept some of them back, and combined with traffic, hindered their on-time arrival. That said, we at Stuck in the City have no problem waiting for To The Lions, ever. When the two family vehicles (seats conveniently removed or stowed for optimal space) arrived filled with gear, a team-effort brought it all inside and the band set up swiftly. The set was filled with muscle-flexing and pinch harmonics. As with every other To The Lions set, it was awesome. About 6 months ago I was informed by the band that they are working on a concept album having something to do with a vampire uprising. Be on the lookout for that.
Shipwreck followed To The Lions. These guys had played here last summer on a tour with Lion of Judah and I was really impressed. I later picked up Abyss and found myself really into what the band was doing. They played a set of mostly songs from the full-length and did so really well, which is to be expected considering that they tour something like 10 months a year. Overall, their set was intense and tight. Do yourself a favour and pick up Abyss if you don’t already have it, especially if you’re into epic concept records (as I write this, I realize again what an anomaly this is in hardcore).
Following Shipwreck’s set, we were greeted by two cop cruisers outside the venue. I guess it was a slow night. When I approached the first officer, he asked what was going on. I let him know that bands had played and he tried to make an ill-informed argument that what we were doing was illegal, which it is not. When I said I would get the proprietor of the venue, he demanded that we just get everyone to leave and sped away. The second cruiser pulled up and I asked one of the officers in the car if he had any questions. He responded, “Oh, I have a lot of questions!” He then sped after his buddy. Why some cops feel the need to act like this, I will never know.
After everything was over, I fucked with my shitty bike lock for about 10 minutes, then threw it in the back of Shipwreck’s van. We drove to Sneaky Dees to chow down and I had the chance to do an impromptu interview with JD, their singer. Vik was supposed to do it, but he got too drunk. I think the interview is one of the best I’ve ever done, so keep your eyes open for it.
All in all, another great show aside from the heat from the cops. We had to postpone any BYOBing until further notice as a result. It’ll likely come back with some stricter rules. Keep your ears open.
Stuck In The City 