To keep with the mood of things (and with the god damn smell) here’s a smokin’ hot, incendiary playlist

The Unforgettable Fire- U2 

Sleep Now in The Fire- Rage Against the Machine

Firestarter- The Prodigy

I Caught Fire- The Used

Sex on Fire- Kings of Leon

Inside The Fire- Disturbed

Fire- Dead by Sunrise

The Danger in Starting a Fire- A Day to Remember

Slow Burn- Atreyu

Burn The Evidence- Billy Talent

Beds are Burning- Midnight Oil

Crash and Burn- Sinner

Burn- Three Days Grace

Hearts Burst Into Fire- Bullet for my Valentine

Enjoy!

“Let’s watch this city burn”

Get it?  Cause Quebec is on fire?

I wrote this whole review of the A Day to Remember concert in Montreal with August Burns Red, Enter Shikari and Veara full of recommendations, album reviews and links but i accidentally hit something and it deleted itself so basically you get this: 

The concert was good. 

Veara is mediocre and generic post-hardcore.  

Moshometer rating- moshish

Enter Shikari is the greatest band in the world so go listen to everything they’ve ever released (if you don’t like them at first, give them a chance to grow on you.  They’re that kind of band).  

Moshometer rating- moshmobiles (with a side order of hardcore pits)

August Burns Red kind of scares me and, while I’m all for screaming, for some reason theirs just doesn’t do it for me.  Here’s a video I took of the crazy shit that was going down during them performance.  

Moshometer rating- hardcore pit brutality (with a circle pit or two for good measure)

I went upstairs for ABR because I was tired from Enter Shikari and wanted to save my energy for

A Day to Remember is great.  Go see them.  The Floridians start with a video and while it was pretty cheesy (let’s just say that musicians are not actors nor are they comedians) it was a memorable and original way to start a show.  The setlist was great and the moshing was solid.  

Moshometer rating- moshgasm

Keep it (post) hardcore, guys

It rhymes, see?  Maybe I’ll make all my post title rhyme from now on…

Anyways, Billy Talent was here last Wednesday and I haven’t reviewed the show yet because I’ve been tired.  Also, I’ve finally recovered physically from the bruises and limps acquired at this show so I can judge it without the pain skewing my opinion.

So first up was Cancer Bats, and they let us know that as their lead singer repeatedly explained: “WE ARE THE MOTHERFUCKING CANCER BATS”.  I kind of like this group and they sounded good- I expected the guitar and vocals to be very noticeably inferior to those recorded but they managed to make every pinch harmonic resonant, and every scream piercing.  Their cover of the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage was definitely the highlight of their set and was one of the best songs of the night to mosh to.

“Children of nothing this is our song”

Moshometer rating: Moshish

Next up was Against Me! who I seem to like enough to have devoted a post solely to them a while back.  The first half of their set was all unreleased songs off of their upcoming album White Crosses.  I felt kind of lost during this part because I hadn’t heard any songs off of the album but I really enjoyed one called Suffocation -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y0us6-PXJg 

That’s the only video I could find of the song, ignore the random parcour dude and just listen

Their last few songs were off of New Wave and I happily sung along in recognition.  Tom’s raw voice came off great live and Against Me! was really a joy to listen to.

“Protest songs in response to military aggression, protest songs trying to stop the soldier’s guns.  But the battle raged on”

Moshometer rating: Minimal Moshage

Alexisonfire took the stage next and the second the first “alright!” erupted from the depths of George Pettit a second into their opener Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints the fairly docile crowd turned to madness.  I actually posted a video of the explosion of intensity- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_mZVS3439I

Their set was mostly satisfying- There was a dry spot around the middle with a few of their more forgettable songs but they redeemed themselves with The Northern and their grand finale This Could Be Anywhere in the World

“The streets are in distress.  The sun suffocates behind the darkened skies”

Moshometer rating- Moshtastic

So moshtastic, in fact, that the only picture i managed to get was of their giant poster before they came on…

Finally, Billy T had their turn and they did not disappoint.  I used to really love them a few years ago so every song from the albums Billy Talent 1 and 2 was a wonderful blast from the past while the new tracks from Billy Talent 3 were a demonstration of where the group stands now.  The performance of Saint Veronika, my favorite song from the new album, was practically surreal as the crowd went completely nuts, I crowd-surfed during the climax of Line & Sinker which was fantastic and the grand finale Red Flag may have been the most intense 3 to 5 minutes of my life.     

“In a crooked little town they were lost and never found.  Fallen leaves on the ground”

Moshometer rating- Moshsplosion

Ian D’Sa, Billy Talent’s guitarist, rocking out at the Bell Centre last night

Just discovered that Montreal has a tolerable radio station that isn’t top 40 or classic rock played over and over again.  Up until now my escape has been 999 the buzz (http://999thebuzz.com/) but that’s cheating because it’s based in Vermont and not Montreal- it’s mainstream alternative rock but it’s better than hearing Lady Gaga all day.  Anyways, back to my discovery.  I was on my way back from tennis in the car and I stumbled upon this AM station- 1690 called CJLO.  I heard that the current show was called “Burt Offerings”.  That was enough for me.  The DJ showed up late, sounded stoned out of his mind and the music was nothing short of a head-banger’s delight.  Their charts consist of indie and metal tunes and are inspiring to say the least.  You can listen online- http://www.cjlo.com/ 

Rock on.

In preparation for Billy Talent’s show at the Bell Centre next Wednesday and my recent neglecting of posting new bands, I’m going to talk about Billy T along with the handful of Canadian bands supporting them.  The lineup is Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire and Against Me! (who I’ve already recommended).  These bands are all very punk so if that’s not your thing beware but keep in mind a little punk never hurt anyone.  

Cancer Bats - This Torontonian hardcore-punk band takes a bit of getting used to- I understand how this could offensive to the ears if you don’t have a high tolerance for screaming.  Their music is generally very aggressive and great for getting pumped up (punching babies and all that junk).  My favorite album of theirs is Hail destroyer, which features collaborations with Tim from Rise Against (a great punk band, I’ll do a post about them one of these days), Wade from Alexisonfire, and Ben from Billy Talent.  The coolest part of this is that they’ll probably play these songs together at the show. On their new album Bears, Mayors, Scrapes and Bones they do a cover of the Beastie Boys’ hit “Sabotage”.  The music video for this cover is nothing short of hilarious as the band members run around chasing people who vaguely resemble the Beasties.  

Hail Destroyer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2j-xR_wSAQ 

Sabotage- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrlPuveLAAw 

Smiling Politely (With Ben from Billy Talent) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F8A8dWfoc0&feature=PlayList&p=E6FD1EF0994A295C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7

Alexisonfire - Also from Ontario, Alexisonfire is often described as screamo but I hate that term so let’s call them post-hardcore.  Unlike Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire actually has a singer who can carry a tune in addition to a screamer.  I believe Alexisonfire has found a healthy balance between clean and dirty vocals (and i’m not talking subject matter, it’s all pretty tame in that respect). “This Could Be Anywhere in the World”, off of their 2006 release “Crisis” is their most popular song, and rightfully so.  Most of their stuff is good but there are a few tracks on “Crisis” along with their newest release “Old Crows/Young Cardinals” that really stand out.  ”Young Cardinals” was the first single off the new album and really showcases the band’s contrast going from intensely shouted verses to beautifully sung choruses.  ”The Northern” is their newest single and shows the softer side of the band (although don’t expect a ballad, folks).  Personally, I really like “Sons of Privilege” but nobody else seems to so I have to convince myself that it’s not a good song 

This Could Be Anywhere in the World - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Ivt-ikYIk

Young Cardinals - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JNO5nJ0L0U

The Northern - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDZO5KihUbc

Sons of Privilege - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TWxFYRu3Fc

Against Me! - Been there, done that.  Just go back a few posts you lazy twats (Canada’s a British colony, isn’t it?).  

Billy Talent - Some more Ontario punks for you.  Billy Talent has a very recognizable due to the lead singer Ben’s high pitched shrieks that riddle the tracks of the band’s 3 albums.  They name their releases a la Led Zeppelin- Billy Talent was followed by Billy Talent II and after much speculation about the name, Billy Talent III  was released last year.  I used to really love this band, they’re very simple musically (although they have some cool harmonies) and seem to appeal to younger teen listeners.  I’m going to see them mostly for old time’s sake, they were one of the first bands I really got into.  Anyways, some of their stuff is pretty cool. Billy Talent is one of those band where if you like a few songs, you’ll probably enjoy them all.  I don’t want to bore you any more so just listen to some of my favorites.  

Devil in a Midnight Mass - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULSODQOMza8

Saint Veronika - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSRrUDVm4Dg&feature=fvw

River Below - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW3jyZRDlII

Red Flag- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VhJWH2eDUA

Fallen Leaves- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmOBKgcjZlg

So muse played a show in Montreal on Wednesday at the Bell Centre for more than 16,000 people, one of which was me.  The trio clearly has a knack for show business and made this apparent after their explosive anti-establishment performance loosely based around the concept of George Orwell’s 1984.  The highlight of the show had to be Muse’s ridiculous stage- consisting of 3 giant 4-sided pillars, each with a band member standing in the middle.  Each of the monstrosities had screens all around its surface, above and below each performer, showing a live feed of them along with effects and some mind blowing videos.  The platforms also moved up and down during and in between songs, allowing the Brits to get off of their respective towers and play all together on the stage in front.  I’ll upload a video I took of Muse being revealed on their stage after I post this.  

Edit: I can’t figure out how to upload something right to Tumblr or if it’s even possible so here’s a video of their intro and their crazy stage- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Ly0JJYc8E

The setlist was hearty and featured hits from all of the bands 5 albums, obviously with a slightly heavier focus on their most recent album which the tour was promoting.  Lead singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy delivered impressively on-key vocals and an interesting solo reminiscent of Tom Morello’s scratching which he played on a little Kaoss pad he has installed in his guitar. For those of you who are not sound effect enthusiasts- a little glowing thing that made noises when he touched it.  Drummer and Bassist Dom and Chris respectively had a crazy solo while Matt was off getting his keyboard-synth-guitar thing that has been coined the ‘Helsinki’ Jam, Helsinki being the first city in which it was played.  Check it out (this isn’t a video i took myself, in fact it’s in a different continent but this ones much better quality than mine)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=593z7lVWBE8&feature=related

All in all, it was a completely over the top show.  From the drummer’s spinning platform, to the raining down of giant eyeball balloons filled with confetti during the climax of “Plug In Baby”, not to mention the nonstop laser show.

If Muse is passing by your hometown on this tour, I highly suggest you see them.  You won’t be disappointed.