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I can easily say that this was by far the best concert I have been to in quite some time. The show was an overall hit. Though the crowd was fairly small, more people showed up than I expected. I really was convinced it was going to be a dead night due to the fact that Black Kids where playing with Mates of State that very same night. In the end it looks like I made the right choice by going to Late of the Pier and The Whip instead.

The night of the show I was extremely tired I had worked a long day and thought I was late. Not knowing what time it was at all I ran to Les Saints and walked into what turned out to be the sound check. The band started over an hour late due to problems at the border. But it was well worth the wait as openers The Whip were amazing live; their stage presence and accuracy was impressive. Trippy rocking sounds exploded from the small stage in all kinds of bright colors. Young bands seem to really grasp the concept of having fun on stage. It was really nice to see the guys express their excitement to be playing in Montreal like that.

As for Late of the Pier well lets just say I found myself lost in world of strange tribal  music that had mated with Hardcore electro. These boys are truly one of the most talented bands I have seen in a long time. I was really excited to actually see a band I love in Montreal. Their performance was nothing short of perfection and everyone was really into it. There was even a mosh pit for some messed up reason during their performance of “Focker” and “The Bears are Coming”. The band really went all out jumping into the crowd, dancing and Julian the lead singer even hoped onto to the keyboard stand. It was actually pretty funny to see. Later that night I met up with the members of the band who were happy to have such a wonderful crowd here. They had a blast during the show and even spun a few crazy mixes afterwards. The boys told me that they would come back to Montreal but it will not be for at least another 9 months. So if you attended the show consider yourself lucky because they will not be back until they finish recording a new album which should be a gem. They are all really sweet guys and quite the gang of brilliant young men. They take their music very seriously and embrace the challenge of creating new and interesting sounds and rhythms for people to enjoy. If you don’t already own their CD you should because those boys are headed straight to the top or at least somewhere real close. As for me well I couldn’t have had a better night if I tried.  

This year's Osheaga music festival went off without a hitch.... well, with the exception of a headlining act cancelation, torrential rain and ankle deep mud. This didn’t stop concert goers from flocking to the island however, with Saturday night capping at a whopping 30,000 spectators.  Having Coldplay round out the evening will have that effect.

I first attended Osheaga in its first year, and it was nothing to scoff at. However, mediocre line ups and overlapping schedules always made me think that I would never again pay to stand around waiting for the one or two bands I wanted to see within a lineup of bands that didn’t seem to really fit. This year I was fortunate enough to land a press-pass, and so I gave it another go.

Once again this year, the line up and the schedule were disappointing. With the festival falling after All Points West in New Jersey, the bookings seem to follow those of the festival. However, none of the bands I was hoping to see managed to appear above the border. When Beastie Boys canceled, All Points West landed Jay-Z. Osheaga landed….no one.

In any case, there were some highlights. Saturday saw The Roots, being the typical party band, play an average set but a fun set. I have to salute the kid with the Tuba, who pretty much made their whole performance worth watching.

 Lykke Li was a huge surprise. I’ve enjoyed her album, but found it ordinary. Live however, her band and her stage presence added a whole other dimension to the music that could not be ignored. If her album was anything like it was live, it would have won over so many more dusty hipsters than it already has. Also of note was emerging band The Rural Alberta Advantage who I predict will be the new Canadian band to watch for à la Wintersleep. Coldplay played an impressive set which was to be expected. As commercial as they are I still can’t help but love them and they pulled out all the stops.

Sunday’s heavy hitters included Cursive, Crystal Castles, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Anyone who’s ever been to Jean Drapeau after a heavy downpour knows what kind of state the rain leaves the island in. Cursive’s stage area had become one giant mud puddle, resulting in a hipster muddy dance party. The band played a great set with the mud being a bonus for some. I sat out Crystal Castles having seen them before and having never seen Yeah Yeah Yeahs before.

I’ve always hated The Decemerists. I find their music average at best and their set did nothing to make me think differently. I feel the same way about Arctic Monkeys but couldn’t avoid them as I found myself waiting by the empty stage during in an effort to get a better spot for Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs played a set worthy of a headlining spot. I always wondered if Karen O would be obnoxious on stage but alas she seemed incredibly happy to be there. Filled with energy, the songs off the new album, It’s Blitz came off bigger and better than expected and the old songs were classic and wonderful all at the same time. The set was everything I could have hoped for from that band that you’ve always wanted to see but never had.

And thus Osheaga wasn’t quite a wash—even despite the rain. But I still wouldn’t pay to attend. I’m hoping next year’s line up will change my opinion for the better.  

Theory Of A Deadman is no one's favourite band. I'm glad I got that statement out of the way at the onset of this review, as I feel like it accurately describes the concert experience I recently flung myself into.

However, if Theory Of A Deadman is no one's favourite band and TOAD's a shitty copy of a shitty idea (Nickelback) about what rock and roll should be, then where does that leave its fans? What kind of people flock to Le National to witness such Canadian lite rock staples like “Gasoline” and “Santa Monica”?

The idea behind the excursion was to gauge what, exactly, made TOAD (which, incidentally, is an apt acronym, fitting for the music I was subjected to) fans tick. Were they entranced by the run-of-the-mill musicianship and songwriting, did the shatteringly hollow lyrics ring true for people? Was it their (non) explosive stage show that made people fall in love? All of these questions were left very unanswered, even after mingling with several attendees.

In true scientific fashion, I quizzed people about their reasons for attending the show before the proceedings got underway. The most common one I got was that the music was "enjoyable" and "somewhat catchy", that the vocalist seemed to have a "good voice" and that they had nothing better to do on a Thursday night in January, and that the price for tickets was just about right. The room was still largely empty as I continued to make my way around it.

I switched gears. "Would you say that Theory Of A Deadman is your favourite band?" I advanced the theory, hoping to give the people I informally interviewed an out. Not one of the ten people I talked to answered in the affirmative. They were people's third or fourth choice, generally, after heavyweights like Nickelback (oh the irony), U2, Metallica and Pearl Jam. No surprises there, unfortunately. Just as I was about to probe more, the lights dimmed and the evening's musical entertainment got underway.

The Rev Theory (who were last heard of as no-shows at last June's Heavy MTL metalfest) put up an uninspiring opening slot. Lead single "Hell Yeah" inspired a few scattered cheers and generally the crowd was very receptive to a band that seemed like a tepid mix in-between latter-day Papa Roach and Buckcherry, only blander, with neither band's penchant for irking out an enjoyable song once in a while.

The sauntering and fake sense of danger that most bands try to create (using the f-word repeatedly, snarling menacingly and trying to come off hard as nails) continued to crumble as at one point during their set they launched into a half-heated cover of Nine Inch Nails' “Head Like A Hole”.  The band generally tried to stir up a true sense of high energy (the singer, at one point, wandered into the crowd) but it felt trite and soon déjà vu set in.

The headliners hit the stage a half-hour after Rev Theory cleared out and started with “Crutch” and it was all boring stage banter and same-sounding songs for the rest of the evening. As boring as Rev Theory came off as, TOAD were even better at sapping up the crowd's energy. Singer Tyler Connoly seemed jovial enough, but lacked the presence of a true frontman as he juggled in-between singing and playing rhythm throughout the night's set, unsure which role suited him better. In the end, neither did, as he fulfilled both roles marginally well.

Being forced to listen to FM radio at work, I came to recognize some of the band's singles – they were better in a live setting, but still leagues below being able to redeem the songs as listenable in a non-forced (read: non-radio) way. The best thing I can say about their show was the fact that they had a competent light show. The band played songs from all three releases, favouring none and trying to make fans of their discography happy. “Better Off” got a surprisingly loud response as the mostly mute audience refrained from doing much of anything. The tossed-off encore of “Santa Monica”, “Bad Girlfriend” and “Hating Hollywood” put a merciful end to a night that would be best chronicled as forgettable.

Ah, Earthless, the perfect soundtrack for a frigid February night. All precise, pummeling, instrumental rock, erring more on the bong hit rather than acid trip side of psychedelic. Trekking out to see them somewhere in the wilds of Brooklyn in 2007 is one of my fondest memories from that year's CMJ festival, and I knew that if this show would be anything like that one, I was in for a treat. The night before that CMJ showcase, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell somehow seriously damaged his wrist, and yet the band still played a blistering, unbroken 45 minute set, his bandage slowly unraveling all the while. That dedication to their craft, as well as their incredible musicianship left me extremely impressed that night, and I was not to be dismayed again here in Montreal.

Now, I believe that in order to be a great instrumental band, you have to work twice as hard as any band with a vocalist. After all, it's easy to distract people away from poor song structure and instrumentation with antics, banter and lyrics... any lyrics, even bad ones. With instrumental bands, however, the music stands alone. Holding the attention of a crowd can be difficult unless you're very skilled, so most fledgling bands should be prepared to soundtrack their audience's conversations, beer runs and bathroom breaks. It takes extraordinary musical craftsmanship to keep a crowd glued to their spot, and Earthless had the room doing just that. They played on endlessly, seamlessly blending together songs into one continuous track that ebbed and flowed and eddied out, only to rush back with a roar. One would think that after 45 minutes, non-stop, it might lose some appeal, and yet the prodigious display of skill onstage is riveting.

They lost me briefly during an extended jam, (with drummer Mario Rubalcaba trying to rein the guitarists in and back on track on a couple of occasions to no avail), but despite that thankfully relatively shortlived bout of wankery, they were as tight and on target as possible. Earthless is not a band for everyone. Their bluesy, ponderous, psych-inspired rock doesn't appeal to all, but if you like heavy music, this threesome strips it down to its barest bones with surgical precision, and that's mastery all music lovers can understand.

Up next was New England's Witch. Having seen them on two previous occasions all the way back in 2006, once supporting the mythical Blue Cheer here in Montreal, and shortly thereafter with Teeth of the Hydra at CMJ in New York City, I was looking forward to a rematch after all these years. I couldn't wait to hear my old favorites from their first self-titled record, and get an introduction to their latest album, which I have managed to avoid since its release. "It's really not that good," I had been told, over and over, and knowing that some stuff sounds better live than on record, I decided that going in fresh was perhaps the best way to try the new material on for size.

From what I gathered, Witch's new stuff is a pretty radical departure from their debut album, and I was unhappily surprised to discover that the band has matched their live sound to the new record. While the first album deftly tapped into the sound and atmosphere of a funeral dirge signaling the end of the Flower Power movement, the new songs have lost a lot of fuzz in favor of fast, messy, angry execution. I was surprised to hear a song or two even dipping into rolling punk rock beats, undoubtedly comfortable Dinosaur Jr. territory for J. Mascis on drums, but not the vibe suited to the much-loved tracks from the first album. Earlier songs that once swelled and sprawled under soaring elfin vocals are now filtered through a layer of grit and rage, and lead singer Kyle Thomas' once sweet, haunting Bolan-esque vocals have been replaced with grating, strident shrieks. On their own, the new songs are probably not that bad, but when you show up expecting to hear Black Sabbath, and get Black Flag instead, you're either going to get your mind blown, or go home disappointed, and I think a lot of fans of the band's first release aren't cleaving to the new album for just that reason. Similarly, I left disappointed that night, if only because what I once knew as a rare, shining diamond of throwback psychedelic drone has morphed into just another generic rock band. That said, the band's last song that night was the mighty “Seer”, the standout track from the first record. That one last taste somewhat sweetened the otherwise bitter quality of that performance... it was a final reminder of just how good it once was.

Finally, the CJLO magazine has been subjected to a lot of bitching on my behalf about Les Saints, and while I could mention the abominable state of the venue, which is steadily sliding from upscale rock club to dive bar (seriously, I dig the fancy fountain sink in the women's washroom, but it'd be even nicer if it, you know, worked), I will mention that I had a really pleasant time that night. The staff is always very polite and courteous, and for the first time in a long time, so was the crowd. Of course, doom/drone shows are always the best for that kind of thing, since at these sausage fests overt appreciation of the music beyond head-nodding is generally non-existent. Oh, and girls, if your ideal man is long-haired and/or bearded and/or flannel clad, there are some good pickings at these shows, as the lovely Steph from Twee Time will attest to... "So this is where all the hot guys are!" The music ain't that bad, either.