Concert Reviews

On Monday, May 16th, I discovered I was wrong in thinking leather pants couldn’t be cool. All the tight, glistening pairs of pants I once associated with thrift stores, venereal disease and general scumminess should be sent to Japan without hesitation. Why? Because apparently Japanese rock and roll bands like Guitar Wolf have figured out some mystical way to rock that shit.

Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings is kicking off a new tour and her first stop is Montreal at Metropolis. This meant the crowd had the pleasure of getting her fresh and excited.

The American ‘metal’ band Deftones reigned over a full house on May 4th. Metropolis was at full capacity; people could barely walk to the bar without bumping into someone. Personally, I had never seen the venue so crowded. Fans flocked from all over the country just to see these guys perform live. “I bought my ticket off some dude from Vermont,” exclaimed one fan that had searched craigslist for a ticket after he found out that the show was already sold out.

Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio The Reverend Horton Heat were recently back in Montreal and back in my jukebox! With 9 albums and 25 years of greasy, grimy, guitar lickin', bad-ass upright bass whippin', and dirty drum kickin' music under their belt, The Reverend Horton Heat kept the crowd rockin'.

Midway through their opening song, vocalist Menny More of the reggae collective Easy Star All-Stars, interrupted the music: “Don’t be shy. Bring yourselves closer, so we can party rightly.” There was no hesitation at all; the no man’s land between the stage and crowd was instantly filled with revellers itching to groove to the sweet bass work of Ras I Ray.

This just in: thrash is back.