It's been quite the delay, I know. I haven't been ignoring you (or my last two concerts)! Maybe this entry will earn your much desired forgiveness.
The night after the mind-blowing Untapped Alberta concert I was starting to feel like I was lucking out for November by getting to see The Reason, Free Energy and Hollerado on November 14 at the Pawn Shop on Whyte. The Reason is that band...You know the song you always hear on the radio and think "Ok so what time is it...Let me go onto [local radio station's] website and track down what the name of this is!" Well, the song is "The Longest Highway Home" and the band is from Hamilton, ON (Even though I only lived in Hamilton for 6 months I feel pretty proud that the city produces such amazing bands like The Reason and the Arkells).
The show started later than expected (especially for a Sunday night...which I know, makes me sound old); doors were to open at 7.30pm, but didn't actually open until after 8...and The Reason started playing closer to 10. The long wait time was worth it though, since members of all three bands (Foxy Shazam was also supposed to perform, but due to an unfortunate eye-poking of one member they cancelled their N. American leg of their tour)(Info from Foxy's website...nothing was even mentioned about their cancellation during the show) were walking around the bar. Now, it's my time to be the gushing fan that I most obviously am: Menno Versteeg, lead singer of Hollerado, was (surprisingly) nice and patient. He signed three newly purchased copies of Record in a Bag, their newest CD, for myself, a friend and my brother, as well as a "Paint-by-Numbers" Hollerado t-shirt I bought. Nixon Boyd, Hollerado's lead guitarist, was also walking around, but snuck away too quickly for an autograph. Sad face emoticon. A member of the Reason was also hanging out just before playing.
Turns out that the reason The Reason (...I just laughed out loud at that, honestly) was late in coming on was because they drove from Vancouver and almost didn't make it! So...not only because of that, but because of how they rocked the place, are they ever forgiven. They played quite a few songs, including their radio hit "Longest Highway..." and it seems like they were the perfect start to such a low-key-but-high-energy show. Their brand of rock reminds me of when music was less flash and more substance. They played with feeling, and it was actually possible to hear the vocals. It was kinda nice to be able to sneak backstage" to ask the drummer of the band what his shirt said...like I said, low key ;)
The night after the mind-blowing Untapped Alberta concert I was starting to feel like I was lucking out for November by getting to see The Reason, Free Energy and Hollerado on November 14 at the Pawn Shop on Whyte. The Reason is that band...You know the song you always hear on the radio and think "Ok so what time is it...Let me go onto [local radio station's] website and track down what the name of this is!" Well, the song is "The Longest Highway Home" and the band is from Hamilton, ON (Even though I only lived in Hamilton for 6 months I feel pretty proud that the city produces such amazing bands like The Reason and the Arkells).
The show started later than expected (especially for a Sunday night...which I know, makes me sound old); doors were to open at 7.30pm, but didn't actually open until after 8...and The Reason started playing closer to 10. The long wait time was worth it though, since members of all three bands (Foxy Shazam was also supposed to perform, but due to an unfortunate eye-poking of one member they cancelled their N. American leg of their tour)(Info from Foxy's website...nothing was even mentioned about their cancellation during the show) were walking around the bar. Now, it's my time to be the gushing fan that I most obviously am: Menno Versteeg, lead singer of Hollerado, was (surprisingly) nice and patient. He signed three newly purchased copies of Record in a Bag, their newest CD, for myself, a friend and my brother, as well as a "Paint-by-Numbers" Hollerado t-shirt I bought. Nixon Boyd, Hollerado's lead guitarist, was also walking around, but snuck away too quickly for an autograph. Sad face emoticon. A member of the Reason was also hanging out just before playing.
Turns out that the reason The Reason (...I just laughed out loud at that, honestly) was late in coming on was because they drove from Vancouver and almost didn't make it! So...not only because of that, but because of how they rocked the place, are they ever forgiven. They played quite a few songs, including their radio hit "Longest Highway..." and it seems like they were the perfect start to such a low-key-but-high-energy show. Their brand of rock reminds me of when music was less flash and more substance. They played with feeling, and it was actually possible to hear the vocals. It was kinda nice to be able to sneak backstage" to ask the drummer of the band what his shirt said...like I said, low key ;)
Free Energy from Philidelphia (the 1/9 bands that I mentioned in the last post wasn't Canadian) came on shortly after. One way to tell how energetic a band is (besides having Energy as 1/2 of their title) is by checking how many non-blurry pictures you actually have of them after! Free Energy = maybe 2, at best. I'll be honest and say that I'd never heard of this band before the show (their songs maybe), but was really impressed with their 1970's-esque rock/funk style of music. Their songs were very dance-able, and made you think "WAIT, where have I heard this before" in a way that lets you know you have an instant classic (oxymorons are allowed here). They were consistently owning the stage, and interacting with the audience. The lead singer, Paul Sprangers, even talked to me about my (numerous) bracelets and The Joker t-shirt I was wearing, while tuning for a new song. It always adds that extra...somethingsomething to any set when the band actually takes an interest in the people who paid to see them. One of the highlights of their set would be when Hollerado came out to play a song with the band; what's better than 9 guys sharing mics and instruments! (Notice the lack of question mark because nothing's better...). Once their set was done, and while Hollerado was setting up, Paul also came out to just hang around and we were able to actually chat with him.
Now, bring on the big guns (well bigger, I should say), Hollerado. From small town Ontario, these guys have the makings of greatness in them. They also seem to be one of those bands that everyone's heard before but don't actually "know"... just yet. They of course played all the most heard of songs like "Americanarama" (if you haven't seen the music video yet, Follow Me, it's so worth it), and "Juliette". No question that the band has their own sound, which I think is one of the most important things for a long lasting band to have. They really know how to interact with each other and make the crowd feel like the show was done just for them in mind. Confetti was being sprayed into the crowd almost every third song, making it actually feel like a party! This has to be the most personable bands I've ever come in contact with or seen. There was a lot of microphone tossing (or should I say falling) to people closest to the stage for a sing-along, and a lot of band members coming right into the crowd while playing. It was really good to see the band members joking around and interacting with each other too; it's pretty easy to forget how some witty banter can make a show that much better.
(Time out for a little personal tidbit: Before going to the Pawn Shop that Sunday I had been a little bored, and was listening to Record in a Bag to get ready. While I was listening to one of the slower songs on the album, "Hard Love", I couldn't help but love the lyrics "I'd trade a hard love for a sad song/I'd trade a sad song for a good time/I'd trade a good time for a hard love/And that's all/ I got for you". Long(er) story short: I wrote on my left palm "Hard Love", on my right palm "Sad Song, and on my left and right hands (outside) "Good", "Time". Well my love for drawing on myself finally payed off in the best way possible. After playing, and leaving, Menno (the lead singer), followed by the band, came out for the encore. Of course everyone's shouting their favourite...but I was showing it! And so came the best few minutes of my life: Menno saw my hands, said I was so sweet, and played what is now known as My Song. It was amazing. )
Right after the encore song of "Hard Love", the band invited anyone who "knew the words" up on stage. Which is exactly how more than half the audience ended up on stage with Hollerado, Free Energy and The Reason for the best version of "Keep on Rockin in the Free World" that I think I've ever heard. It was the most spirited and memorable way to end an amazing night. (Hugs from Menno didn't hurt either)
Another never-been-done-before for me was going to the Pawn Shop. It's a medium-size bar on Whyte Ave, one of the city's most popular areas for all sorts of nightlife. One of the biggest reasons I now love the venue is because it seems so personable, and that you can actually see the band being "real" before and after the show (However, I'm not sure if it was the band or venue that wanted this). The Pawn Shop also plays host to a local radio stations Band of the Month performance (local bands selected to have their song aired on the radio) every month. (Christian Hansen and the Autistics were an early 2010 band of the month)
(Time out for a little personal tidbit: Before going to the Pawn Shop that Sunday I had been a little bored, and was listening to Record in a Bag to get ready. While I was listening to one of the slower songs on the album, "Hard Love", I couldn't help but love the lyrics "I'd trade a hard love for a sad song/I'd trade a sad song for a good time/I'd trade a good time for a hard love/And that's all/ I got for you". Long(er) story short: I wrote on my left palm "Hard Love", on my right palm "Sad Song, and on my left and right hands (outside) "Good", "Time". Well my love for drawing on myself finally payed off in the best way possible. After playing, and leaving, Menno (the lead singer), followed by the band, came out for the encore. Of course everyone's shouting their favourite...but I was showing it! And so came the best few minutes of my life: Menno saw my hands, said I was so sweet, and played what is now known as My Song. It was amazing. )
Right after the encore song of "Hard Love", the band invited anyone who "knew the words" up on stage. Which is exactly how more than half the audience ended up on stage with Hollerado, Free Energy and The Reason for the best version of "Keep on Rockin in the Free World" that I think I've ever heard. It was the most spirited and memorable way to end an amazing night. (Hugs from Menno didn't hurt either)
Another never-been-done-before for me was going to the Pawn Shop. It's a medium-size bar on Whyte Ave, one of the city's most popular areas for all sorts of nightlife. One of the biggest reasons I now love the venue is because it seems so personable, and that you can actually see the band being "real" before and after the show (However, I'm not sure if it was the band or venue that wanted this). The Pawn Shop also plays host to a local radio stations Band of the Month performance (local bands selected to have their song aired on the radio) every month. (Christian Hansen and the Autistics were an early 2010 band of the month)
No comments:
Post a Comment