HPX Day#1: Tuesday Oct 18th 2011 - DAN

DD/MM/YYYY @ Gus' Pub

HPX 2011

Written & Photographed by Dan Nightingale

Greys - http://www.greysrock.com
VKNGS - http://vkngs.bandcamp.com
Die Brücke
DD/MM/YYYY - http://www.ddmmyyyy.net/

While Pop Ex 2011 kicked off with many different bands in many different venues, for me it started with the heavy, calculating riffage of Toronto’s Greys. Equal parts math rock and stoner rock with shots of classic Canadian indie rock thrown in, these guys were a great opener for a heavy rock show. As with all HPX shows, there were no bad bands, no filler, just great music all the way through.





Halifax’s own pillagers of noise, VKNGS took the stage, sans their usual towering Marshall stacks. Despite the lack of heavy weapons, VKNGS still played a tight and powerful set – without full stacks cranked to 10, one could actually make out notes and chords that were being played, which is always a benefit to music. All kidding aside this was probably one of the best VKNGS sets I’ve seen over the years, with predicably insane drumming from drummer Nick Wambolt and Lemmy style vocal poses from Rickenbacker wielding frontmen.



This festival opening show was also, of course, part of a tribute to Alex Fountain, who had worked for Pop Ex for several years. Band members and the crowd took a moment to reflect on their thoughts and memories of Alex. While I like many in the audience only knew Alex in passing, we drove to Montreal together once, and as espoused by those who knew him best he loved music and was relaxed and friendly from the second we met him.

Also returning from the woodwork (or Korea) was Die Brücke, with front man Mark Black remembering Alex’s encouragement for dancing at their shows – the crowd took this to heart and threw themselves, literally, off the stage and into the crowd for a set of loud and fast songs that could probably only be described as hardcore channeled through years of Halifax indie rock. It’s very likely that there are some bruised (and hungover) people out there right now waking up on a Wednesday morning still faced with 4 more days of shows that are sure to prove just as intense or moreso.





There was much buzz in the air regarding headliner’s DD/MM/YYYY’s last Halifax show, counted among their last shows ever. After 6+ years of making music it seems the end has come for the math rock dance party who have undeniably come to rank among the best underground bands in Canada. With a set of old and newer favorites, the band bleeped, blooped, shouted, and shuffled all over a stage packed with road worn synths and battered pedals, all lit by strange projections and blinking lights. Invoking everything from classic funk (if you closed your eyes you might swear there was a horn section on stage) to ethereal dream punk, these guys no doubt left a lasting impression on the packed crowd jammed into Gus’.