Heather Curtis

avadence and guilty:D

On Thursday night, I went down to the Underground to see two amazing bands. The first band I saw that night is called Futures Past. Futures Past is a rock band from Toronto. I have never seen them before. I heard from lots of people that they are a great band and I should listen to them. I totally agree. Singer Ricky Gupta had an insane voice. I really loved listening to him, his voice is really unique. The band had really great chemistry onstage. They all connected in a really cool way that made you want to just stand there and watch them intently. The guitar rifts that Jason Hoeg and Quinn Danielis were pulling off were really impressive. They all had stage presence that pulled you into the music. They played an amazing set! I'm so glad I saw it.

The next band I saw was Avadence. You might have remembered them from my post on the 40 Sons and Daughters show when I first saw them. When I saw them that day, I was like... wow.  When I saw them Thursday I was so excited for them to get on the stage. When they did my friends and I jumped around laughing. Avadence has very energetic music that makes you want to jump around. Bassist Victor Martisius is the most energetic crazy bassist I've seen. Jumping around the stage, swinging his guitar around. It was great to watch. Victor also gave me a shoutout for my awesome review:) That was pretty cool. Guitarist Mike Dojsack was repping a Lifestory Monolgue shirt, which proves he has amazing taste in music! All of these guys are expert musicians. Avadence, the next big thing! Watch out!!

The headlining band is Guilty. I'm sure you have all heard of them. If not from shows, but from my various blogs. Guilty is a band that never stays the same. They keep building on the skills they already had from show to show. Thursday night, they played two new songs. Apparently they are nameless, but they were fantastic. Hearing them made me so excited for the new record. It should be out sometime in early 2008. Brad Vanderwoerd wowed me once again just like he does every show. They played my favourite songs, Departure and Six Feet Underwater. Guilty has a pack of loyal fans that will support them all the time. When they get big I can say... yeah I knew them:) Adrian Kenderic is a bass playing machine. I was watching his fingers move up and down the guitar. It seems impossible to move your fingers that fast, but not for Adrian. Great show guys.Can't wait for the next one!

crush luther at the underground.

The day after the Avadence show, I went down to the Underground again to see a band called Crush Luther. I  also got to see a band called Grand:PM. I've heard so many great things about this band. I was really anxious to see them in action. When I did I saw and heard what all the hype is about. The song Party in Your Basement got the crowd going. People were dancing around singing and smiling. They have a techno feel, but also a really rock sound. They had a tiny piano keyboard thing. The singer would play off that. It sounded really cool. The piano is what gave the music a techno feel. Grand:PM doesn't sound like any band I've heard.  They have their own sound. They are obviously really popular since there were so many people watching them. I'm really excited to see them again.

Next up was Euphorias Depression. Euphorias Depression is one guy with an amazing voice and an acoustic guitar. His name is Marcio Novelli and if you watch him even for a few minutes, you will fall in love with his voice. He had a big group of fans there to support him. One time he held a note for like 15 seconds without playing his guitar. It takes skill to sing without any music behind you and sound like that. After about 5 seconds of this, the whole crowd burst out into loud cheers and yells. He played 4 new songs. He said because he hasn't played Hamilton in a long time and he loved us!:) He sounds just like how he does on the cd, if not better. I only know of a few singers in this area that are like that. If you missed this set I would be sad.

Next was headlining band Crush Luther. I've only seen Crush Luther one other time at the Summer Dayze Rockfest. At Summer Dayze I thought they played the best of all bands that day. They played just like that last night too. They played When We Were Golden, an amazing song that shows off the singing ability of Luther Mallory. This song starts off bells on the drumkit. I love this way of starting a song. The crowd wasn't as big as it should be but the attitude made up for it. The band would joke around with the crowd having conversations with us and making us laugh. While they were playing, everybody up at  the front were dancing with HUGE smiles on their face. Throughout the set, there would always be at least five people with cameras concentrating trying to take artsy photographs. That must have been kind of cool to have five cameras taking pictures of you. They played my favourites City Girl and The Cools. They both got great reactions from the crowd. Great set! Can't wait to see you guys again

Show Number 1

Now, I wasn't actually at this show obviously. I went to the band's myspace (www.myspace.com/40snd) and got information from their blog about the show. I just re-wrote it for you readers.

As promised, I now have an update on the first show of the 40 Sons and Daughters east coast tour. As you know already, they played in a club in Halifax, Nova Scotia called The Sea Horse Tavern. This club reminded the band of clubs back home, but apparently it was much cleaner. Now, since they are playing in a different part of the country, the taste of music is going to be much different. The crowd at that show had more of a folk rock taste of music, which you all know is totally opposite of what 40 Sons and Daughters sound like. They played the way they always do though. 40 Sons and Daughters doesn't change for anybody!

During the set, screams and cheers were heard from the crowd. This made the band feel amazingly great seeing as they are so far from home. I bet after more shows they are going to build up quite a strong fan base in Eastern Canada. I am really happy to hear the response was so great. According to the bands blog, the people out there are extremely supportive and kind.

On Thursday, the band is playing in PEI, on Friday somewhere in Nova Scotia, and New Glasgow on Saturday. Keep checking back to this blog or the band's blog to see pictures, updates and more. Check back here Sunday to see the review of the Guilty, Distance Between Stars and More of Less show on Saturday at the Waterdown YMCA.

quick tour update + casbah show

As I told you in my last post, 40 Sons and Daughters are on an East Coast tour for about a month. On the 14th they played their first gig at the Sea Horse in Nova Scotia. I don't have any details on this show but I heard it went amazingly well. The band played with a band called Sleep to Dream. As soon as I know details I will write about them for all you lovely readers.

 

On Friday night, I went to the Casbah to see Distance Between Stars, Life Story:Monologue, and Cain and Abel. First band I'm going to talk about is Life Story:Monologue. This band is so original, so unlike any band that I have ever heard before. I have seen them one other time at the Underground and I loved them there too. Their stage presence is so intense. There energy plus the lights they have add up to a totally epic performance. The songs arent just ear candy, they all tell a story. You have to really listen hard to find the meaning underneath the words. Bassist Jay Reid was really passionate. Head banging and jumping on the speakers, singing to the crowd. What every band needs is passion. This band has more passion in their music and performance to equal to 3 bands. Watching key board player Zac TenWesteneind was incredible.  I have never seen a keyboard player rock out that much or jump that high before. I am definitely excited to hear this band again! Check out their myspace.

Next band is Hamilton rock band Distance Between Stars. I've seen this band twice before. They have lots of energy and are always jumping around. Guitarist Thomas Brow is incredibly talented. He moved so easily from a complicated guitar rif into a slower keyboard passage. It takes skill to be able to switch instruments like that. Singer Gabi Bielenik is great. She has such cool style too. She is herself. She didn't decide to become more 'rock n roll' just because she is in a band. That shows shes a true individual. You can tell this also with her skills as a singer. Huge range and great dynamic control. In the few times I've seen this band, they improve each time. The only other band I've seen do that was 40 Sons and Daughters. Great show guys!

The next band I'm going to talk about is Cain and Abel. I've seen them twice I think. I don't know much about them. When I saw them what stood out for me most was their singer, Peter van Helvoort. He has a really unique voice, I really enjoyed it. Cain and Abel is a really poppy fun band to listen to and to dance around to. They would be great in a stadium show setting. I can totally imagine thousands of people dancing their hearts out to this amazing music. The four guys have a great attitude on stage too. They laughed and joked with each other on stage and with a few people in the crowd. It's really important when the band is having an amazing time onstage.

 

welcome back underground!!!

On Saturday night I went to the Underground again for the first time since about June I think. It was closed for renovations and is back up and running, and as fun as it was before. It was an amazing night of great music.

The first band I'm going to talk about is Avadance. Avadance is a pop punk band from Brantford. For their set, they put in so much intense energy. Some bands are just great to watch onstage because of the energy, and this band really puts out. Bassist Victor Martisius was jumping around with a huge smile on his face throughout the whole set. It's always cool to see bands having so much fun playing together. The highlight of the set for me had to be the song Set the Record Straight. It started with cool, even drums and moved into an energetic guitar rif. It's the type of song you want to dance around to and clap your hands. Lead singer Jamie Mittendorf has a really great voice. He has a really wide range and is in pitch all the time. For a lot of singers you won't see that very often. I'm very happy that I got to see this band! I'm really excited to see them again soon! I suggest you check them out, www.myspace.com/avadance.

The next band is Loaded. Loaded is a hard rock band from Hamilton. This is the first time I ever saw them, and I loved the set. They reminded me a bit of another great band, Crash Kelly. I might be the only person who feels this way though. Singer Joe Janicas has a really different style of voice. A really unique sound to it. Loaded seems to be very bass driven. The bass sticks out in all the songs. The bassist, Brad Robinson, has insane skills with the rifs he was pulling off. They covered a Guns N Roses song which caused the crowd to smile and head bang and sing along. In my opinion they have a really old school feel that makes the band unique. Check them out!

Next up was my favourite band of all time, 40 Sons and Daughters. They are leaving for an East Coast tour really soon. When they get back at the end of October they should have a show soon after. As always, I was beyond excited for them to get on. When they finally did the crowd was insane. They started with A Waste You Call A Land. I think this is a great way to start the show off. Has the whole crowd head banging in perfect unison. The crowd that night went all out. Moshpits, head banging, screaming in each others faces. 40 Sons and Daughters have a way of controlling every crowd they play for. They really showed that skill that night. They also played a totally epic song, My Illusion. Some lyrics in the song " I wake up to hear you scream, about every little thing, you draw frustration endlessly" got the crowd going. At that time Mike Repic sings with no band behind him. He stopped singing and the crowd yelled out the lyrics as loud as they could. It was amazing, I had so much fun!! Another unforgettable show that I will be thinking about for a while. Everybody make sure you check back. I will be posting various posts on the tour giving you updates and maybe some pictures. Also check back for my review of the Distance Between Stars show this Friday at the Casbah. Have a great week!

 

Upcoming shows.

These are some upcoming shows in the month of September.

September 7th: Holiday at the Burlington YMCA with Everlea and Circuit for the Blackout

September 8th: 40 Sons and Daughters at the Underground with Avadence and Loaded

September 8th: The Social Theory at The Hamilton YMCA with Bombing Neverland

September 11th: High Voltage at the Casbah

September 14th: Distance Between Stars at the Casbah with Cain and Abel

September 22nd: Guilty at the Waterdown YMCA with Distance Between Stars

September 29th: High Voltage at the Legendary Red Rooster (Burlington) with Saigon Hookers

September 29th: The Social Theory at the Underground

some happy news!!

I'm sure some of you heard of the developments made at the Underground. It is now NOT closing, and there will be all-ages shows still.

Here is all the information you need to know:
Currently under renovations and reopened for September 5th, 2007.

Featured nights will be
THURSDAYS - 19+ Live Rock Music
FRIDAYS - 19+ Live Rock Music
SATURDAYS - All Ages with 19+ area

Coming soon.

BATTLE BAND WEDNESDAYS - All ages with 19+ area
Every Wednesday will feature 2-3 bands battling it out onstage for a cash prize

SUNDAYS - Chill out or dance it up to drum and bass ... all day long. featured DJs each Sunday. Starts 9 am and goes all day and all night

FOR MORE INFO.
Check out www.SYMPHONYOFSOUND.com

As you can see, there will not be as many all-ages shows. But the issue was they weren't making enough money on alcohol sales, so now that problem is solved. I feel that one or two all-ages shows per week is enough and I'm positive it made everybody really happy. Just wanted to let you all know!

See you at some shows!:)