LLTQ prestens: Iron Giant, Myles Deck and the Fuzz, Bike Rodeo, Union of the Snake & Cursed Arrows

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN FESTIVAL
Featuring: Cursed Arrows, Union of the Snake, Bike Rodeo, Myles Deck & the Fuzz, Iron Giant

Start Time: Friday, May 21, 2010 at 10:00pm
End Time: Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 2:00am
Location: Gus' Pub

Cursed Arrows started off a diverse show of punk, rock, and metal by showcasing a bit of it all – beyond their tight two piece original compositions, I caught covers by Fugazi and Black Sabbath. A lot of two piece bands have a less than full sound, but Cursed Arrows filled up the space nicely with with rapid fire effect stomping and good vocals. Tight and knowing how to please a crowd, and hopefully they're be returning to Halifax often from their hometown of Kitchener.

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Union of the Snake were up next – a new band featuring members of Kestrels & VKNGS to name a few more recent projects, these guys had a huge sound. Distorted bass chords and heavy, simple drums gave a satisfying counterpoint to the usual wild chords, whammy bends, and great riffage from prolific guitarist Chad Peck. This may have been the first show for these guys, and while they lacked the polish that a lot of the other bands on the billed showed, they made up for it with tough as shit riffs and pure attitude.

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Bike Rodeo hit the stage next with their signature garage rock sound and some great new songs. Fresh off writing and recording an album, they all ready had new material to pack into a quick, blistering set ripe with 3-part harmonies and frantic dueling guitar riffs.

The dead-steady rhythm section keeps the crowd dancing pretty much non-stop while guitarists Mike Deon and Nigel Tinker rip off chord after chord of ear candy scale squiggles and crazy bends. It's worth mentioning that the 'no pedals' approach these guys have to playing really gives a lot of room in the mix to hear both guitars, the bass, drums, and 3 vocals – with nasty, artificially distorted guitars, a lot of that usually gets lost. It helped that a proper sound guy and PA were in place last night at the pub!

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Sharing the same bass player but somehow seeming to crank him up to '11,' even after a sweaty set with Bike Rodeo, was Myles Deck & the Fuzz. Lead singer Deck struts around the stage with all the swagger of early Rolling Stones, MC5, and Iggy Pop put together, while the band lays down punk rock like it should be – tight, razor sharp, frantic, and edgy. Guitarist Dale Boudreau loses his sound a few times during the scramble of stage divers, head bangers, and Queen (of England, that is) styled mannequin bashers (“Off with her head!” cries Deck as the band riffs continuously on the first note of 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols), but you'd never know it with the steady stream of 8th notes somehow emerging from bassist Al Hoskins' fingers. Dummy destoyed, the band bangs out the cover we were all waiting to hear and the crowd goes wild.

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Not ones to be up-staged, Moncton's Iron Giant take the stage for the final set. While devoid of props, beyond singer Chris Lewis' chain link mic stand, Iron Giant waste no time in amping the crowd back up with loud, heavy, badass old school metal. The drummer, looking all of 99 pounds soaking wet (which he would be by the end of the set), sounds like a man of twice the legs with non stop double kick and monster fills. The show is tame by Iron Giant standards, with very little nudity, fire, or stage diving (all of the stage divers seem to have been given the boot during the Myles Deck set). The bar is still packed as the band plays over the 2AM close, but no one seems to care.

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Five bands is a lot to schedule but the LLTQ crew pulled it off and the crowd loved every minute of it, from the first band. The additional PA was nice to hear at a Gus' show, though it mostly benefited the strong Bike Rodeo vocals. All in all a superb job, and we hope to see the return of the festival next year.

Click here to view all the photos!


- Review by Daniel Nightingale
- Photos/Video by Tiffany Naugler & Daniel Nightingale

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