Show Overview: The Bad Bad Bad / Life In Vacuum (ON) / Mighty Atom(ON) / Scribbler
Photos - Tiffany Naugler
Overview & Video- Tiffany Naugler & Dan Nightingale
Saturday, August 27 at 10:00pm
Gus' Pub & Grill
The Bad Bad Bad - fuzz rock, newly two piece'd, home from tour
http://www.thebadbadbad.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thebadbadbad
Life In Vacuum (Waterloo, ON) - 5th dimensional prog punx
http://lifeinvacuum.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lifeinvacuum
Mighty Atom (Waterloo, ON) - Atomic hardcore noise punk
http://mightyatom.bandcamp.com/
Scribbler - noisy futuristic post everything
http://www.myspace.com/scribblerns
http://theradiatorfamily.blogspot.com/
Let us first start off here, by saying that well... this show was weird.
Dan and I have seen a lot of shows go down at Gus' Pub and this was the weirdest thing we've ever seen.
To start - Gus' was strangely deserted for a Saturday night, which is a real shame, because's Waterloo, ON's Life in Vacuum were there to play some amazing music. Even help from home town favorites Scribbler and the Bad Bad Bad were apparently not enough to win the hearts of music going Haligonions that night. I believe that I counted maybe (maybe) 4 non-band attendees.
I got there around 10:30pm, and was greeted with a mash up of members from Life in Vacuum & The Mighty Atom on stage. I am pretty sure they're crazy little band has a name, but it leaves me as of right now what it was. I just remember walking into the bar and seeing the "front man" standing on the floor in front of the stage screaming (and I mean SCREAMING) some nonsense that I couldn't even make out. It was kind of amusing, as he was screaming to a practically empty bar! Gotta give'em credit - they played like the place was friggin' packed!
The Mighty Atom were up next...
During their set up - not a soul was in the bar. It was kind of eerie.
At this point I was starting to get a little weary... Scribbler was to follow The Mighty Atom and there was still no sign of them heading to the bar, nor their posse... which is well - weird.
When the Mighty Atom finally took the stage, I was curious as to where their singer was. I could hear her - but could see her anywhere. Out of practically nowhere, she burst out onto the dance floor in front of the stage and proceeded to wear a trench into the floor as she sang! Weird!!! I mean, seriously, she made me a tad dizzy trying to record video and take photos. Back and forth, back and forth, back an forth. The rampant pacing in front of the stage went on for the ENTIRE duration of the set, during tuning, mic problems, beer requesting and wow...
I guess that's how the girl keeps that figure of hers while she's on tour, cause holy hell, she must have walked at least 100km during the 20 min set!
I can say - she certainly does have a great set of pipes! As per usual, the quieter parts of the songs, the vocals were buried by the massive drums and bass, but.. when she let it rip - you listened!
Scribbler showed up during The Mighty Atom's performance and proceeded to set up gear and get themselves situated. There was STILL no one in the bar. Literally, during the set up of each band that night there was NO ONE in the bar. There wasn't even anyone outside! Where did they go? I don't know... but they weren't in Gus' that's for sure. *Weird!*
Amazingly, as soon as the first few synth notes were played and the first guitar chords strummed - the few who were still there *somewhere*- appeared happily.
It was Scribbler's last show with drummer Matt Blanchard. The fate of the band remains unknown at this point, with a completely replaced rhythm section and the core members all devoted to other bands (guitarist Alex Currie's Fuck Montreal project is going, of all places, to play Pop Montreal in a few weeks). It's hard to picture the Halifax music scene without these guys there to spread their lofi noise-pop brilliance, so while Scribbler might lay dormant for the winter, there's always hope for a return at some random point in the future.
For all you Haligonians who decided this show wasn't worth your time - the loss is all yours. Life In Vacuum kicked the asses of the few of us who were smart enough to attend - with their tight, heavy, intricately woven post-punk tunes. Harking to the likes of other great Ontario bands like Rockets Red Glare or DD/MM/YYYY, Life in Vacuum showcased the fantastic dynamic range, intense drumming, and swirling synth sounds that give their music a unique place in Canadian rock today. With giant amps and keyboard racks overflowing from the stage, it was hard to tell where the band ended and the dance floor began.
Closing out the night were Halifax's own The Bad Bad Bad.
Now I had heard a lot of hype for this show. Since the last time that I had seen them play, they had gone from a 3 piece to a duo, by removing the bass player. This is a pretty hard thing to do in the Noisography books - especially for Dan & I. We are pretty strong believers that the bass guitar is usually the glue which holds many bands together. Even a shitty band with a great bassist can get by (by the skin of their teeth) cause everyone will just groove to the bass lines without even noticing their doing it.
The Bad Bad Bad suffered, in our opinion, with the lack of bass. Not many bands can pull off the two piece rock band, without sounding harsh and thin, and this was definitely the case on this particular night. I'm not sure if it had to do with the fact the band is still trying to find their sound as a 2 piece, or if the pedal which was supposed to "replace" the bass wasn't working properly (or lost in the shitty Gus' sound system) but, this was not the best that we have seen The Bad Bad Bad be.
Sorry guys - still haven't earned Dan's "Two Pieces That Don't Suck" seal of approval. Keep workin' at it though!!
Regardless, guitarist Jake Seaward rocked on and gave the ever so small crowd a good show to watch! I was nearly taken out, quite a few times, by the whirlwind of hair belonging to "twirling girl" (who was also known as "the mute" for a good portion of the night as she refused to speak to most people and communicated with only head nods and shoulder shruggs - weird! right?)
As The Bad Bad Bad, finished up their set we headed out...
The place was pretty much void of people and the place was just weird.
Good show though guys! Weird as hell - but good!
It was a night we'll surely remember!
Overview & Video- Tiffany Naugler & Dan Nightingale
Saturday, August 27 at 10:00pmGus' Pub & Grill
The Bad Bad Bad - fuzz rock, newly two piece'd, home from tour
http://www.thebadbadbad.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thebadbadbad
Life In Vacuum (Waterloo, ON) - 5th dimensional prog punx
http://lifeinvacuum.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lifeinvacuum
Mighty Atom (Waterloo, ON) - Atomic hardcore noise punk
http://mightyatom.bandcamp.com/
Scribbler - noisy futuristic post everything
http://www.myspace.com/scribblerns
http://theradiatorfamily.blogspot.com/
Let us first start off here, by saying that well... this show was weird.
Dan and I have seen a lot of shows go down at Gus' Pub and this was the weirdest thing we've ever seen.
To start - Gus' was strangely deserted for a Saturday night, which is a real shame, because's Waterloo, ON's Life in Vacuum were there to play some amazing music. Even help from home town favorites Scribbler and the Bad Bad Bad were apparently not enough to win the hearts of music going Haligonions that night. I believe that I counted maybe (maybe) 4 non-band attendees.
I got there around 10:30pm, and was greeted with a mash up of members from Life in Vacuum & The Mighty Atom on stage. I am pretty sure they're crazy little band has a name, but it leaves me as of right now what it was. I just remember walking into the bar and seeing the "front man" standing on the floor in front of the stage screaming (and I mean SCREAMING) some nonsense that I couldn't even make out. It was kind of amusing, as he was screaming to a practically empty bar! Gotta give'em credit - they played like the place was friggin' packed!
The Mighty Atom were up next...
During their set up - not a soul was in the bar. It was kind of eerie.
At this point I was starting to get a little weary... Scribbler was to follow The Mighty Atom and there was still no sign of them heading to the bar, nor their posse... which is well - weird.
When the Mighty Atom finally took the stage, I was curious as to where their singer was. I could hear her - but could see her anywhere. Out of practically nowhere, she burst out onto the dance floor in front of the stage and proceeded to wear a trench into the floor as she sang! Weird!!! I mean, seriously, she made me a tad dizzy trying to record video and take photos. Back and forth, back and forth, back an forth. The rampant pacing in front of the stage went on for the ENTIRE duration of the set, during tuning, mic problems, beer requesting and wow...
I guess that's how the girl keeps that figure of hers while she's on tour, cause holy hell, she must have walked at least 100km during the 20 min set!
I can say - she certainly does have a great set of pipes! As per usual, the quieter parts of the songs, the vocals were buried by the massive drums and bass, but.. when she let it rip - you listened!
Scribbler showed up during The Mighty Atom's performance and proceeded to set up gear and get themselves situated. There was STILL no one in the bar. Literally, during the set up of each band that night there was NO ONE in the bar. There wasn't even anyone outside! Where did they go? I don't know... but they weren't in Gus' that's for sure. *Weird!*
Amazingly, as soon as the first few synth notes were played and the first guitar chords strummed - the few who were still there *somewhere*- appeared happily.
It was Scribbler's last show with drummer Matt Blanchard. The fate of the band remains unknown at this point, with a completely replaced rhythm section and the core members all devoted to other bands (guitarist Alex Currie's Fuck Montreal project is going, of all places, to play Pop Montreal in a few weeks). It's hard to picture the Halifax music scene without these guys there to spread their lofi noise-pop brilliance, so while Scribbler might lay dormant for the winter, there's always hope for a return at some random point in the future.
For all you Haligonians who decided this show wasn't worth your time - the loss is all yours. Life In Vacuum kicked the asses of the few of us who were smart enough to attend - with their tight, heavy, intricately woven post-punk tunes. Harking to the likes of other great Ontario bands like Rockets Red Glare or DD/MM/YYYY, Life in Vacuum showcased the fantastic dynamic range, intense drumming, and swirling synth sounds that give their music a unique place in Canadian rock today. With giant amps and keyboard racks overflowing from the stage, it was hard to tell where the band ended and the dance floor began.
Closing out the night were Halifax's own The Bad Bad Bad.
Now I had heard a lot of hype for this show. Since the last time that I had seen them play, they had gone from a 3 piece to a duo, by removing the bass player. This is a pretty hard thing to do in the Noisography books - especially for Dan & I. We are pretty strong believers that the bass guitar is usually the glue which holds many bands together. Even a shitty band with a great bassist can get by (by the skin of their teeth) cause everyone will just groove to the bass lines without even noticing their doing it.
The Bad Bad Bad suffered, in our opinion, with the lack of bass. Not many bands can pull off the two piece rock band, without sounding harsh and thin, and this was definitely the case on this particular night. I'm not sure if it had to do with the fact the band is still trying to find their sound as a 2 piece, or if the pedal which was supposed to "replace" the bass wasn't working properly (or lost in the shitty Gus' sound system) but, this was not the best that we have seen The Bad Bad Bad be.
Sorry guys - still haven't earned Dan's "Two Pieces That Don't Suck" seal of approval. Keep workin' at it though!!
Regardless, guitarist Jake Seaward rocked on and gave the ever so small crowd a good show to watch! I was nearly taken out, quite a few times, by the whirlwind of hair belonging to "twirling girl" (who was also known as "the mute" for a good portion of the night as she refused to speak to most people and communicated with only head nods and shoulder shruggs - weird! right?)
As The Bad Bad Bad, finished up their set we headed out...
The place was pretty much void of people and the place was just weird.
Good show though guys! Weird as hell - but good!
It was a night we'll surely remember!
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