Figured I'd hit a Tuesday night show for a change, since I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off.
Powerblessings were opening. I heard they were a hardcore band. I was kinda bummed, because when I think "power" + "hardcore", powerviolence immediately comes to mind.
This was not a powerviolence band. They were older dudes playing oldschool punk with hardcore style vocals. I liked the vocalist, who was energetic and charismatic, and reminded me a bit of Rollins. Alas, the music wasn't really my style, as the songs were all really midtempo and not too aggressive, and I prefer my punk/hardcore to either be faster, like Discharge, who just become a trance enducing blur of sound, slower, like Flipper and My War era Black Flag, or to have lots of tempo changes and shit like more modern forms. They did one tune I really liked, but it was more post-punk/Joy Division-esque. They weren't bad, in fact, they were solid, but the songs didn't stand out to me.
Barn Burner went next, and I really dug them. Wish I had found out that they were Canadian BEFORE they hit the stage, cuz then I would have busted on them. Busting on Canadians is one of my favourite hobbies. I also like turtles. With song titles like "Keg Stand And Deliver", they their blend of crossover/party thrash and old school metal came off like Muncipal Waste playing the first two Maiden records, with a smidget of Sabbath-esque stoner groove thrown in from time to time. Great energy and some memorable riffs, I would go see them again, but they were a little too light hearted for me to get the album. The closest comparison I could think of would be Early Man. Good set from them.
War Animal reminded me a bit of Raven crossed with Karp, and that's a good thing. They headlined, and a bit of the sizeable Tuesday night crowd left after Barn Burner, but they still had a good turnout. I enjoyed the more "metal" parts of their set, which was fairly brief but memorable. Their vocal style was a bit more aggressive, and they were thick for a three piece (four dudes in Barn Burner...)
Glad I caught this one, not my normal bag of nuts, but hey, you only live once, right?
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I was here, but I dis-appare. You can get it if you really want, but you must try, try and try, you succeed at last.
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