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Presented by Blue Skies Turn Black

On a muggy Wednesday night in August, C H R I S T and Boris played a sold out show at Bar Le Ritz PDB to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Boris' classic album, Pink.

The opening act was the local minimal instrumental post-metal band C H R I S T. They were covering for the grindcore band SHITSTORM, who could not come to any of the shows of the tour for unknown reasons (assuming their name not being mentioned in any of Boris' Facebook events despite being on the official tour poster meant that they could not come). Legendary drone metal pioneers Earth also could not show up, but they were not planning on playing in any of the two Canadian shows (the other one being at Lee's Palace in Toronto).

I've later noticed how great the one-two punch of SHITSTORM and Earth could have been. SHITSTORM has the raw energy of Boris' more straightforward songs, amplified and sped up tenfold; while Earth has been a major influence on Boris' early drone-heavy music. Interestingly, much like Boris, Earth has recently moved from their signature drone doom to a more organic, nuanced, stoner and post-rock influenced sound. Pink, the Boris album that is the basis of this tour, has all of these influences. In that respect, SHITSTORM and Earth are excellent picks for opening bands.

C H R I S T, in comparison, sounds much less oppressive, but still quite somber. Their entire performance felt to me like a huge build-up to their last song, with distorted guitars and booming percussions getting louder and louder, with layers of synths and guitars getting built on top of each other as the show continued. While I enjoyed the repetitive, relentless, almost hypnotic nature of the music, I could not help but feel a little disappointed by the show's climax, which did not have an explosion of on-stage energy, much to my dismay.

When C H R I S T finished their set, their equipment had to be loaded off the stage so that Boris' own could be prepared. That's when I noticed that two-thirds of the back of the stage was covered with amplifiers—there must have been a dozen of them for a three-piece band. That's also when I realized that they weren't messing around. This was going to be loud.

Takeshi, Wata, and Atsuo came on the stage, all dressed in black, and opted to play the first song off of Pink (which they performed in its entirety), titled "Farewell", at the very end of their set. Perhaps because they thought that the song would not fire up the crowd, perhaps because of its title. Nonetheless, the first song of the set, "Blackout", has a similar gloomy vibe, but it wasn't the "accept the darkness into your life" of "Farewell." It was more like "the darkness will devour you whole." To add to the effect, the smoke machine was consistently used during their more somber songs (including both "Farewell" and "Blackout"), shrouding the band with an air of mystery. Considering that my friend and I were in a packed and ridiculously hot place, the smoke also gave us the impression that they were trying to simulate a metalhead's vision of Hell.

Just as the feedback and fuzz rips apart your very being, the song abruptly cuts to make way to the title track, "Pink", a more upbeat, mosh pit friendly noise rock track. And mosh pits there were – as soon as Takeshi's familiar "OOWWWW!" resonated throughout the venue, I turned around and saw that the shovefest had begun. During later commotions, I also discovered that the only crowd surfer of the night (supposedly) was none other than CJLO's own Orin Loft, of The Noisy Loft.

Unfortunately, the vocals were buried beneath the other instruments. In contrast, Wata's guitar was crystal clear, Takeshi's bass and rhythm guitar (his double necked instrument had both of these in one) grooves could be felt in your bones, and Atsuo assured everyone that both his drumming and his performance would be memorable. The guitar solos interspersed throughout all the songs pierced your ears like a banshee's scream, despite the guitarist keeping a statue-like face during the entire show. The only times Wata has shown any kind of expression is a slight smirk when drummer/hype man Atsuo cheered her on for her stellar performance, and at the very end of the show, when hearing the audience's applause.

The sweaty mass of concert goers notwithstanding, Atsuo was by far the person who had the most fun during the night. He had the best "jam faces"—the only times his face was not contorted by a mix of joy and intense focus was when he was hyping up the audience, either by lifting up a single drumstick or the classic "I can't hear you!" gesture, banging the gong behind him louder and louder every time he would do it.

After the cheers clamoring "Boris! Boris! Boris!" and the encore that would ensue had faded out, I stepped out of the venue content, feeling almost cleansed by the sheer energy of the fans and the music. It was almost exactly what I expected: loud, fun, and alternating between oppressive walls of noise and crowd empowering walls of noise. You know you've done something right when you think of a hot, humid, smoky, and deafeningly loud place, and think: "Man, I wish I was in Hell again."

--DJ Lawrell hosts Fukubukuro every Sunday at 9PM, only on CJLO. With moods ranging from serene to hotblooded, light-hearted to upsetting, minimalistic to ear-shatteringly loud; the fun part of Fukubukuro is not knowing what you'll get every show.

CJLO is proud to welcome Wiklow as our first RPM On Rotation Artist in Residence! With the help of our On Rotation director and radio team, this talented electronic artist will record and produce an EP in our studio and have more than 200 copies of it distributed across the country! Check out his smooth, melodic, downtempo sounds on SoundCloud page here!

Stay tuned for his EP Launch Party this October during CJLO's annual FUNdrive! Be on the lookout for more FUNdrive updates in the upcoming weeks.

The Final Lap

On the last day of the 20th edition of the Fantasia Film Festival, I knew that it was time to hustle as many films in as possible. Even though I am in the rookie number of films viewed this year, I am content with every film the festival has bestowed upon my eyes. I hoped to participate in four screenings on the last day.

Tower

Tower has to be one of the most innovative and creative spins to the documentary genre. Keith Maitland keeps the documentary simple and formulaic, as a piece of oral history. The narrators are those that experienced the 1966 Austin Texas shooting that happened at the hands of Charles Whitman from the clock tower of University of Texas. It is the blending both of the archival footage and the paint brush animation that adds a layer of innovation to this documentary.

The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon is a German film directed by Stephan Rick. It is a psychological thriller about a man who lives a mundane life as a wealthy pharmaceutical lawyer, who gets involved with some recreational drug users. He has a truly transformative experience under these mushrooms that cause his erratic behaviour. He must find out what's become of him before the forces take him out. Beautifully shot cinematography with an impressive score, but sadly none of the Pink Floyd classics.

Man Underground

Man Underground, from directors Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine, has to be one my underrated gems of the festival. I had no intentions of viewing this movie, yet I am so happy I got to see something that is truly and exemplary little indie film. Willem (George Basil) is certain the United States government is hiding aliens. As part of an expose he enlists his best friend (Andy Rocco) and the girl from the local diner (Pamela Fila) to star in a no-budget DIY film to expose the truth. At times the film is comically funny, but also the sad clown shows its face well to create the atmospheric sense of drama.

Blood Father

Blood Father is a pulsating action film from director Jean-François Richet, that brings Mel Gibson out of retirement. The film is a story about a father in substance recovery, who must protect his estranged daughter from a drug cartel and sicarios. Gibson has some fun with himself as the washed up Hollywood action star, but still has the action hero qualities. Just watching the motorcycle scene brings back memories of Mad Max.

The 20th edition of the Fantasia Film Festival had a little bit of everything for genre audiences to sink their eyes into. As the festival closes I am looking forward to regular sleeping hours, but telling everyone about the small films that need the publicity that the festival champions. If you can at least one person, you know you have championed a film that is something special to the genre audience.

--All of what is new and out! Join Remi and Danny for At the Movies (with Iconic Sounds), every Tuesday at 8AM, only on CJLO 1690AM.

Yesterday on Hot Chaud, Deevo had the pleasure of interviewing social activist Amy Mills as well as forensic criminologist Dwane Connors about their conference at the World Social Forum. They also promoted a benefit concert for "Youth Day" that is in association with the United Nations.

Amy and Dwane were kind enough to give away two tickets to CJLO listeners for Friday's hip-hop show at the Metropolis featuring Koriass, Manu Militari, D-Track, Dramatik, J.Kyll, Webster, Sarahmée, KNLO, Narcy and Moysés Martins (Brasil Deficiente).

If you are interested in winning 2 free tickets to the concert, comment below and tell us why!

Hot Chaud is a bilingual show that creates a 'melange' of tunes, news and interviews - Mondays from 3-4pm.