I rushed to the V-Lounge after work hoping that I hadn't missed too much. Out of breath, and out of patience for public transit, I was informed I had arrived at the tail end of Weak Patrol's set.
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| Weak Patrol - Photo by Master Joda Promotions |
First thing I noticed was the insane energy. The floor was absolutely packed with people dancing. Vocalist Caleb Kennedy was sweating bullets while he strummed his acoustic guitar ferociously. All the members were clad in army inspired uniforms. Carling Battistuzzi was constantly bouncing up and down, providing a sweetness to Kennedy's more punk infused vocals. It was like Jello Biafra singing for the New Pornographers, or something along those lines. Like a NME buzz band NME hasn't heard of yet. Willis Schneider kept stoic and professional on bass. On the other side of the stage Jaime Nolan, who you could mistake for John Lennon at times, was unabashed on lead guitar and really cranked the temperature for every solo. Dekan Delaney smashed his drums with authority. After they played their last song...it was decided they'd actually play a couple more. I was very thankful. They are an incredible band. Kennedy pushed so hard that he broke a string on the second to last song, then another on the very last song. Mentioning the Dead Kennedys and The New Pornographers, there are also a whole lot of different influences here. A lot going back to classic rock, pre-90's. Keep your eyes on these guys, because you don't know what brilliance they are going to come up with next. A chant brewed after their set, and I knew I needed to see this band from start to finish, but it wasn't out of tardiness by choice AKA a job.
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| Funk Vigilante - Photo by Master Joda Promotions |
Next up was Funk Vigilante. I couldn't help but think, what the fuck is going on? I had never heard of Funk Vigilante. I assumed they were, of course, going to be a funk band of some sort. Yet, they put huge sirens on their amps. The bassist was wearing fairy wings and a light up necklace. The keyboardist was wearing a V for Vendetta mask, and I wasn't sure if he liked the movie or was a frequent user of 4chan. Where was the singer? I braced myself for something strange and weird. Upon being announced, the singer rushed the stage in a top hat. By the first note, rap rock has made a comeback with this Rage Against the Machine/Red Hot Chili Peppers hybrid. Did I complain? No, because it was good. All the songs were quite political. Vocalist Ghosty Boy definitely had the Zack de la Rocha vibe. At times, if you closed your eyes, you might actually forget what concert you were at. Bassist Matt Williams' hero would be Flea. He even had his moves. The other members were harder to pin down. The guitarists, I am unsure which was which since Funk Vigilante haven't been so vigilant to update their profiles to include their current roster. I will say Jud Makay hits his drums harder than anyone I've ever seen. I was surprised there weren't fragments of wood hitting the crowd. His drum had an interesting set up. He plays the open style, with the high hat on the same side as the ride playing the snare with his left. The keyboardist wasn't only just a keyboardist. He switched between keys, samples, drum n bass beats, hand drum and, at one point, left his station to shoot the fans with Nerf missiles. Due to the political nature of the band, the Nerf bullets even had a reason. I told my friend, this band is like every 90's hard rock band rolled into one. During Tankman, which he explained was about the man who stood up to a tank at Tianamen Square, I couldn't help but think Jane's Addiction's Mountain Song. A different song started quite a bit like Smashing Pumpkin's Quiet. All that aside, I felt like this was the band of the night, because they combined political awareness with pure fun. There was a lot of singing along. A lot of the songs would start with Ghosty Boy teaching us some lyrics. Thinking about it, there was a bit too much of that. I'm all for crowd participation, but near the end of the set, it almost seemed like every song he wanted us to sing something. It would best be used sparingly, perhaps for their strongest songs. Another highlight was a ska song, which was a break from the heavy onslaught of riffs. The keyboardist proved another one of his talents, the trumpet. Is there anything this guy can't play. By this point the mask had fallen off long ago. The band was flying around the stage, but gladly no one knocked eachother over. I was really impressed with these guys, but I hope they are as involved in their lyrics as they are to singing petitions or attending protests. If not, lyrics like "Fuck the riot police!" are nothing more than a spew of kool aid.
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| Black Hat Villain - Photo by Master Joda Promotions |
Ghosty Boy promised us that Black Hat Villain was just as heavy or heavier than they were. Everyone was telling me these guys were really good. If their merch table was any indication, they better be. I saw several people walking around in their "Black Nation" t-shirts. The people that were coming on stage look like they could be in a metal band. Where did all the young people go? Suddenly I was stuck with a lot of people in their 30's/40's/50's. The lead singer came on stage dressed really nice with also a top hat [popular item tonight], sun glasses and a cane. Well, this is interesting so far. It is announced that Black Hat Villain was Zone's band of the month for April, in which singer Scotty Tuesday replied "Fuck the Zone! They don't play our song". Fair enough. Well, right from the get-go, this was definitely not a Zone band. More of what they would play on the Fox or the Q. Scotty Tuesday used his cane as a prop and came across as a mix of Scott Weiland and late Jim Morrison. Yet the sound of the band was more Shinedown, than anything else. Guitarists Sam Edmundson and Abe Cox traded off some hard rock riffs, often times providing harmonies to eachother's pieces. This isn't a band heavy with solos. Just straight forward rock and roll. They have an impressive fanbase. People knew the words. Women were going crazy. The thing with this group, is that they are accessible enough for the females, but also have flourishes of metal in their music to keep the men rocking. I see this band going far, just based on the fact all their songs are radio tailored to be that magic length of about 3 minutes. The vocals were great. They really complimented eachother with Edmundson going just a bit higher in tone than Tuesday. Drummer Tim Sweeting made it look easy in the back. I really liked how, even though they are highly accessible, they embraced different time signatures. The choruses were like anthems. Scotty Tuesday is the ultimate frontman. He engaged the crowd, and played it up. After their last song, it seemed pretty obvious they were going to play one more but they made it seem like they needed to think about it while they huddled at side of the stage. Upon return, they said they couldn't leave without playing their single "My Generation". No shit. Do Victoria bands really need to do fake encores? In any case, this was the last song and a lot of pushing ensued. It came apparent, this was yet another rock show where people like to be as close to the stage as possible, yet get offended with crashing bodies. Please, for the love of god, stand somewhere else. This is definitely for the woman who told a guy "No, you stay over there! What is your problem?". I'd say the same thing to you. People cried for one last song, but it was not to be.
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