These Days Will Be The End of Me..

It has been a long time since I posted anything to this blog. Perplexingly, the reason I have not wrote anything for this blog during these past couple weeks has been a complete overdose of the indie rock life and the crippling insomnia, headaches, hangovers and broken fingers that come along with it. But now it is Tuesday, December 14 and a degree of normalcy has returned to my life and routine, allowing me to write about rock and roll fantasies instead of actually embarking upon them.

So what has been going on?

The main source of this shiticane (inside east coast trailer boy humour for y’all) was that the Burdocks arrived in town two weeks ago to begin recording their next album-and first for Black Mountain Music! With most of the bed tracks and vocals recorded, this album is sounding absolutely killer. It has the intricate and complicated that broke so many ankles their first couple of times around, but these aspects are complemented by a more straightforward, dare I say poppy sound, on other tracks that really hit the heart and the hips. I will not even pretend to not be biased, but I can’t help but think this album will become a permanent fixture on indie kids stereos and will be finding it’s way onto top 10 lists across the continent. Speaking of top 10 lists, the Burdocks last album was #1 on the CKDU top 100 list for 2004…congrats!!

While the band was here, they played a pretty packed Wavelength night that blew away those in attendance and also played at the Ford Plant, a show which managed to reaffirm my belief that DIY culture can and does make a tremendous impact in those places where it is loved, nurtured and then let loose. Brantford is a shitty town. I mean, really, really shitty. The downtown core is totally boarded up and populated almost exclusively by shadow people etched onto the few remaining windows, harkening ominously to Pompeii and the much more violent and sudden end of that city. The only signs of life pulsate from the Ford Plant, an all-ages venue and art space, tucked onto a little corner of this desolate little downtown. Packed inside and spilling out onto the sidewalk were 125 kids, here to see four of the best up and coming bands in Canada. There is vitality, an energy to the Ford Plant which does not exist in the vast number of clubs out there- this is totally because the Ford Plant is for the kids, by the kids. It’s an active statement in creating your own music, your own entertainment, your own superstars, your own movement, your own life. This was one of those nights were everybody felt the exhilaration (not caused by alcohol either), that glorious electricity of rock shows were each and everyone knew that this song, this melody, this moment was what it feels like to be truly alive. The Burdocks opened the night, wearing matching ‘Let’s Just Have Some Fun’ shirts which aptly summed up the night. They were followed by fellow Haligoonians, Wintersleep. This was a band that I felt a little too one dimensional and flat on CD, but upon seeing them live, I now see that I was missing the fundamental power and beauty of their music. Their songs are fairly simple arrangements, but the intensity of the drumming and the passion in the singers voice make this band a very commanding and intriguing live act, with great builds and crescendos that had the audience floating along with every note. Following Wintersleep was the Sour Keys. I have never seen them before and only saw a couple songs this time, but what I did see blew me away. On the face of it, pretty straight up rock and roll, but with more intricate timings and arrangements then most bands out there—kinda like the Burdocks, but leaning towards the heavier end of the musical spectrum. They had one song which was a call and response song that had the audience chanting along with them (if anyone remembers Kitchens and Bathrooms this is the song they totally stole and called ‘We bit into Sourkeys and became alphabet conscious’). After the Sourkeys were the Vermicious Knid, but I didn’t see any of their set. I was in a van getting very, very baked.

And that is more then enough for now. Later this week, I will post a review of the Nein’s new CD and will preview some very exciting stuff from a certain husband and wife combo….adieu!

Wintersleep- Check out a bunch of their stuff here.
The Burdocks- Pop Cult, live on CKDU
The Sour Keys- I am not a Demon or Deity
The Vermicious Knid- A demo of These Werewolves