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
