GROWN-UPS (Calgary) with Bloodhouse & Quivers @ Gus Pub
More sexy fun from Oscar's Wild.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111311882250970
GROWN-UPS, on tour from sunny Calgary Alberta. Sweet punk jams, fun for everyone.
Joining them were Bloodhouse, armed with a doomy new tape and Quivers fresh from the party pit.
+++++++++++++
http://www.myspace.com/wearegrownups
http://bloodhouse.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/quiversquivers
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111311882250970
GROWN-UPS, on tour from sunny Calgary Alberta. Sweet punk jams, fun for everyone.
Joining them were Bloodhouse, armed with a doomy new tape and Quivers fresh from the party pit.
+++++++++++++
http://www.myspace.com/wearegrownups
http://bloodhouse.bandcamp.com/
http://www.myspace.com/quiversquivers
Quivers were up first. A relatively new band (this is their third show according to bassist Ryan Allen), these guys ripped out some heavy garage rock tunes with thick, distorted guitars carrying catchy rhythms and trading off screeching solos - sounding kind of like a mash up between Thee Oh Sees and the Yardbirds. Sometimes the distortion was pretty overwhelming and made it hard to hear the vocals, but the energy was all there: guitarist/singer Josh Salter diving off the stage and playing guitar on his back in the middle of a gleefull crowd, for example!
The vocals harked back to classic, howling garage vocals, with enough of The Animals or the Kinks to make out a catchy vocal line here and there. I could hear a little more variety in the guitar tones, as they made the bass and drums hard to make out sometimes (someone in the crowd may have shouted “turn up the drums!”), but it made for a satisfyingly loud rock and roll set, so I have no doubts these guys will do some great stuff in the near future (maybe some EPs?). Check out the myspace for a lone song.
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Calgary's Grown Ups were up next, and they were a great bridge between the swinging beats of Quivers and the total brainwall pounding of Bloodhouse. Clearly harking from more a classic punk influence, these guys had an usual setup of two guitars – though I saw a pretty thick looking low E string on that Jaguar, and I thought I made out some faint low bass doubling sounds from that side of the stage. Usually I have a bias against no-bass bands, but for these guys it worked for the sound – the two different guitar tone styles (RAT v. Fender) kept things fairly separated.
Dual vocals and frantic, desperate beats pulled it all together. Their set was sort and sweet, which has always been my philosophy for fast, harsh, loud music – play hard for 22 minutes, then back to the bar for more beers!
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Bloodhouse were up last, and are clearly becoming a new favorite Halifax band, judging by the crowd on a Tuesday night. The set started with intense raunchy guitar that remained redundant for just the right amount of time, before taking a hard swerve into pounding, banging freak-out pysc rock. The sound was always thick and the beats were catchy and incessant. These guys know how to ride the line between rock and noise just right, always teetering right on the edge but never really falling too far to either side. Catchy vocals are just as likely as chaotic, string-snapping guitar struggles, but best of all they both happen in one song.
The hardest part about playing music like this (for a live audience) is probably keeping things sounding fresh song to song, and not just sounding like you're repeating the same song over and over. Bloodhouse do a great job of this, even while seemingly limiting themselves to simple beats and repetitive riffs. I could hear a bit more vocal variety in terms of harmonies or shouted group dynamics, but maybe that's overdone to these guys. It certainly recalls the vision of classic stoner rock bands like Sleep or the Melvins, and the new wave harsh brain tunes from the likes of bands like Tyvek, Times New Viking, and No Age. Look for their new cassette at shows or via email/bandcamp.
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