Heather Curtis

a start to a super fun show weekend:D

On friday I went down to the Underground to see Avadence, Guilty and Euphorias Depression. I had so much fun! First up was Avadence. As you may know, Avadence rocks my socks! They played all my favourites like When We Were Young, Set the Record Straight (that was dedicated to me!) and Flee The Scene. It was a shame there wasn't more people, it could have been a really energetic fun show. Victor Martisius barely stood still for the whole set. He was constantly swinging his guitar around and jumping. Having the band members be so out there and crazy makes the whole thing tons more fun:) Tim Camilleri is now one of my favourite drummers. Watching him you can tell how experienced he is! Support your local music scene people! Make sure to check them out next sunday at an afternoon show at the Casbah with The Social Theory and Summerside.

Next up was rock band Chasing Mercury from London Ontario. I have heard tons of good things about this band so I was super pumped to see them. Singer Robbie Mercury blew me away. After a few sets he says "sorry guys I'm really sick, I don't sound very good." My thought right away was ... huh that's his voice when he's sick?  He sounds better than tons of other singers I've heard when they are totally healthy. Guitarists Robbie, Jake and Ben's voices fit perfectly together as well. The only other band that can do it as well as them is Guilty. The three voices were perfectly in tune with each other and it sounded great. The energy was so high and the focus was so intense. Chasing Mercury is really energetic and down to earth while on stage. I think this is a band that I will be seeing lots of in the near future!! Check them out!

The next band was the one and only Guilty. I've seen them tons of times and I love their sets even more each time! Right before they were going to start Adrian Kenderic jumped out in a striped dress and bunny ears. It made the crowd laugh really hard. Guilty brought it all that night. Just like Chasing Mercury, they had completely perfect harmony without the music. Not many bands can do it that well. Drummer Josh Vanderlaan showed me why I love his drumming so much. I don't think he made a single mistake through the set. I love coming to the Underground and seeing bands like Guilty laying it all out there and working as hard as possible to entertain a bunch of kids. Guilty has the skill, the experience and the attitude to go far. Good luck you guys!!

Euphorias Depression took the stage next. Euphorias Depression is one guy named Marcio Novelli. All of his songs start off with enchanting guitar. As soon as you press play to listen to his cd, you will want to sit there and not move until the whole thing is done. His music and lyrics pulls you in and makes you relate to what he's saying. He connected with every person in there. After each song there would be like two minutes of screaming and applause. For one of his songs, I don't remember which one, he sung most of it without his guitar. He just pushed it over his shoulder and belted out the words. When he was singing, I had goosebumps on my arms. His music is beautiful to listen to. I finally got to hear Cerabration after months of wanting to hear it. I wasn't disapointed! He had a flawless set. Make sure you check him out next saturday at the Underground with Faber Drive!

my underground top 5s and 10s

As you guys can tell, the Underground is my favourite local venue. Read on to see my favourite underground memories!!! Sorry I don't remember the dates to all of them.

Top Ten Shows
1)40 Sons and Daughters Cd Release - March 24th 2007
2)Avadence and 40 Sons and Daughters - September 28 2007
3)Ten Second Epic, Mugshot, Holiday and Counterfit Seven - May 6 2007
4)Mugshot, Crush Luther - May 26 2007
5)High Voltage Cd Release - December 8 2006?
6)Sunday Night Cruise and Loaded - ??
7)Euphorias Depression and Crush Luther - ??
8)The Trews and Beautiful Nothing - March 23 2005
9)Beautiful Nothing, High Voltage, Porcelain Youth and Maddison - May 19?
10)Porcelain Youth and Brown Brigade - Feb 9 2007

Top 10 new bands(seeing them for the first time ever at one of the shows)
1)Beautiful Nothing
2)40 Sons and Daughters
3)The Risen
4)Avadence
5)Crush Luther
6)Loaded
7)Grade PM
8)Brown Brigade
9)More of Less
10)Lifestory:Monologue

Top 5 Favourite Crowds
1)December 23 2006 - Faceless Tomorrow, High Voltage, 40 Sons and Daughters, Porcelain Youth
2)March 23 2007 - 40 Sons and Daughters Cd Release
3)March 23 2006 - The Trews and Beautiful Nothing
4)March 6 2007 - Mugshot, Ten Second Epic, Holiday and Counterfit Seven
5)Febrary 9 2007 - Porcelain Youth and Brown Brigade

Favourite on stage chemistry by a band(seen at the Underground)
1)40 Sons and Daughters
2)Loaded
3)Avadence
4)Mugshot
5)Lifestory:Monologue

Top 5 Favourite drummers seen at the Underground
1)Josh Vanderlaan-Guilty
2)Christiano Andretta-40 Sons and Daughters
3)Gary Woodall-Loaded
4)Matt-Mugshot
5)Tim Camilleri-Avadence

Those are all the catagories I can think of for now. I might add more later!!

kick-ass bands... less than kick-ass crowd

On Sunday I went down to the Casbah to see Brown Brigade and Hail the Villain. The first band up was Brown Brigade. I've seen this band one other time at the Underground with Porcelain Youth. Lead singer Dave was guitarist of Sum 41 a little while back. He is back in the band biz but with harder-than-life metal band Brown Brigade. I don't get why he wasn't the singer of Sum 41. This guy's got skills. I didn't even know he could sing like that. In my opinion, the Mouth of Badness shows off what this band is really about. Heavy drums, complicated guitar rifts, and amazing bass playing. It made me a little upset that more people weren't there. Maybe the show wasn't advertised enough, but this band deserved a crowd, they work that hard. But, what separates a great band from a good band is being able to kick up the on- stage energy even when you barely have a crowd. Brown Brigade did this perfectly. I can't wait to see them again!!

Next up was Hail the Villain. I've seen Hail the Villain at the Underground and at Philthy McNasty's. Since the Philthy's show I bought the cd and I know basically all the words to every song. They played my favourite from the cd such as Mission Control and 16 Cradles. Hail the Villain, just like Brown Brigade, did a pro job in keeping the energy up. You never know who could be in the crowd ... a major promoter from a different club could be watching. I'm surprised Bryan Crouch's voice isn't messed up by now. He puts everything he's got into every single note. His voice is so intense and raw and full of emotion. Bassist Chad Taylor wowed me with his skills. Some guys have the stage presence of jumping around crazy and that's totally okay, but Chad has the more laid-back stage manner. Hail the Villain has the ability to play big stadium crowds!! Keep it up guys, you'll get there soon!!

i love the underground:]

Yesterday I went to downtown Hamilton to the very staple of music culture, the one and only Underground. Home of amazing bands from across the province and country who come to play for loyal fans. Last night was full of bands that made me go wow and made me sad when they were finished playing.

The first set of the night was a band called The Risen. The Risen is a hard rock band from Brantford Ontario. If you really listen to the lyrics, you will hear how much passion is behind every word. The lyrics are so well written and mature. Their best song called Our Human Condition is referring to how little we care about what's happening around us. About how we aren't engaging ourselves in the world and letting our life just pass us by. So many times during the set my friend and I would look at each other with our mouths open because of singer Jordan's voice. He would hold high notes for such a long time. Not a lot of singers can do that. These guys meshed so well onstage. It was great to watch. I loved this set. I hope they get brought back to the Underground really soon.

The next band up was The Imports. The Imports are an alternative rock band from Mississauga. They sound like your average rock band ... but with a twist. Singer Earl Abaljon has a really different voice. It's higher than most guys can sing. His voice is really magic to listen to. Another twist to this band is the keyboard. Nathan Dumancas kicked ass on keyboards. You can tell he's been playing for a really long time. Playing fast doesn't automatically make you a good player. What he was playing was pretty simple, but it was how he was playing it that made his playing so great. It's all about technique and how you look at the music. Nathan got both of those things down perfectly. Great set guys can't wait to see you again!

Next up is a band called Loaded. I've seen them only one other time at the Underground. Two seconds into the set I knew that I would love the music. Guitarist and singer Joe Janicas is the ultimate rock star. His afro was huge, and was always in his face. Halfway through his set he unbuttoned his shirt, which got quite a good response.  This band is so driven. They are so full of energy and it really comes across in their playing. Lead guitarist Ron Corsini was like the definition of cool. Leaning band and forth barely changing his expression. Any guy would wish to look that cool. This is a band I could see playing in an arena or stadium for 25,000 people and have them all under the Loaded spell. I feel that this band is going to go far. Keep it up guys! Good luck!

Next band up is Sunday Night Cruise. Two years ago, beginning of high school, I went down to the auditorium for yet another boring assembly. I didn't get what I expected. Instead Sunday Night Cruise was standing on the stage and played 3 or 4 songs for us. That seriously made my day complete. Seeing them finally two years later made my day complete once again. My favourite song of the night was Overnight Success. I was jumping around in the front singing along. One part they sing without the music. They say "lay down your guns, your hands in the open, this is the hour we sing for the broken". I think those are great lyrics. How all the voices go together show how experienced and talented this band is. So many bands try to sing without any music, and it doesn't always work out. The only part I didn't like was the lack of "The Terrorist". But that's okay, it's a really old song. I can't wait to see them again!!!

casbah show:]

On Friday night I went to the Casbah to see High Voltage. I also got to see a great band called Carrion! I've seen Carrion two other times. Once at the BR Rock show and another time at the Underground. I was really pumped to see this band do their thing once again. Now, Carrion is a really heavy band. Perfect for a big crowd at the Underground and lots of moshpits. I could totally imagine crazy moshpits going on throughout the set. That didn't happen though because there wasn't really much of a crowd. Although that didn't stop Carrion from playing a kick ass set. Singer Alex Re had so much energy throughout the part of the set I saw. They had a new bassist who was playing his first ever Carrion show. He fits in perfectly with the rest of the band. Great set guys!!

Next up was a band called The Dangers from Montreal. I've heard great things about them. They really brought it all. They are so heavy, so in your face. Lead guitarist Sammy was like a rock god. Tight jeans, leather jacket, black band tee, the rock star hair in his face. The rifs that he was pulling off were amazing. Filled with 16th notes and complicated scale patterns. I was watching him going.. wowww!!!  Singer George had a slight resemblence to Josh Alvernia of High Voltage with the way he looks. I actually it was him standing on stage with the wrong band. All of these guys bring something so unique and important to the overall performance. Without one of these guys, the band would not be the same. Hopefully they come back soon!

The last band of the night was the one and only High Voltage!! I LOVE this band!

High Voltage is unlike any band their age. Most bands their age(18-19?) play music that most kids listen to nowadays. High Voltage on the other hand, plays music THEY listen to and don't care if people don't like it. Why would they care, they have such a strong fan base of loyal supporters who will love the music no matter what they do. They have the same attitude and on stage presense as legends from the 80s. That's what makes them so unique from everybody else. It's just magic to watch these guys do their thing on stage. They just have to keep working and doing what they do next and they will definitely find themselves on huge tours across the country with legandery rockstars. Keep it up guys! You won't be disappointed with the outcome!

(Photos by Heather Curtis, jamilton.ca)