Streetlight Manifesto @ The Kool Haus, September 26

Last night I saw one of my favourite bands ever, Streetlight Manifesto at the Kool Haus. Streetlight Manifesto is a 7 piece ska-punk band formed in New Jersey by songwriter/lead singer/guitarist, Tomas Kalnoky. Although Streetlight is considered a ska band, they are definitely more than just that, they are a combination of ska, punk, rock, reggae, classical, world, and more.

There were 3 opening bands. The first band was a pop punk band called Broadway Calls. I've heard some of there songs before and they sound pretty good, but I didn't get there in time to see them last night; I'm going to make sure that I see them when they open for the Gaslight Anthem in October.

The 2nd band was Outernational. This band was definitely something else. They are a 5 piece band out of New York City. Their music is a mix of reggae, rock, a bit of ska and punk, with a hint of gypsy. Sounds like a funny mix eh? Well it works, every song was catchy and had everybody bopping their heads. What was also cool about them was they said they live in New York, but they aren't Americans, they are "internationalists" meaning that they consider the entire world their home. I bought their cd after their ep after the show, and who do I find it is the producer? My hero, Tom Morello. No wonder I liked them so much.

The 3rd opener were local physcobilly heroes The Creepshow. The Creepshow consists of a drummer, an organist, a standing bass player and is fronted by lead singer/guitarist Sarah "Sin" Blackwood. They have been on the scene for a few years now, and their fan base keeps growing and growing. They were recently signed to one of the biggest punk labels ever, Hellcat Records. This was my 3rd time seeing them, and every time I see them they keep getting better and better. They played for 45 minutes and everybody was into it, and quite a few people were singing the lyrics too.

Finally, after two months that seemed like two years of waiting, Streetlight Manifesto took the stage. I knew this was the show where everybody was gonna give it there all, because this is the last slew of streetlight dates before they take a break for at least a year. At 10:30, the lights went out, and the 7 members walked on stage. I remember having a rush of adrenaline as soon as the brass players hit the first note. The crowd was mixed into two areas. There was the mosh pit which was in the front by the stage and everybody would squish forward, and there was the skank pit where everybody was dancing near the back. I was mostly in front in the pit, but I was in the skanking pit a bit too. I've seen and been in pits like this tons of times before, but this time it just felt so special. Even though this was my third time seeing them, and like my 50th mosh pit, it felt like it was the first time I've been to a concert and that felt so good. Everybody knew the words for most of the songs and everyone connected like a community.

A Wilhelm Sceam @ The Reverb, September 25

On Friday, I started my weekend by seeing Massachusetts punk band, A Wilhelm Scream at The Reverb. This was my 2nd time seeing them. I saw them opening for Streetlight Manifesto in January, who happens to have played the day after this show (I will write about that show in my next blog).

We got to The Reverb in time to see the opener, The Artist life, a local pop punk band. They were great and I knew most of their songs, but it wasn't anything special for me considering this was my 5th time seeing them.

When The Artist Life finished, A Wilhelm Scream was up next. By the time they got on stage, there was about 350 people there, which isn't terrible for a sketchy venue such as The Reverb. The show was filled with stage diving, guitar solos, and 10 people circle pits. I was squished against the stage along with 40 other people; this way I was merely centimetre's away from the guitarist, so I could touch his guitar if I wanted too. They played for an hour or so, and then played one more song for the encore. By the end of the show I was soaked in sweat, which usually is a sign of a great show.

Born Ruffians @ The Opera House, September 19

Last Saturday night, I saw local indie band, Born Ruffians play an almost sold out show at the Opera House. When we got there, it was packed. The crowd was a mix of both genders, mostly young adults no older than 25.

There were two openers, the first one is a band called Meligrove Band, who I have known for a long time. Unfortunately, I arrived right after their set but I have a feeling I will be seeing them soon. The 2nd band was an experimental folk band from Ottawa called The Acorn. Before this show was announced I 'd never heard of them, but I'm definitely glad I had the chance to see them. They covered the front of the stage with Christmas lights, which I thought was a clever idea. The band was made up of 5 members: a lead singer/guitarist, a bassist, a lead guitarist (who also played the ukulele), a drummer, and another drummer who sometimes played guitar, and for one song switched guitar for bass. The music was a lot like Fleet Foxes, but I thought they had more energy and they weren't as acoustic. For the whole set, I didn't lose interest at all, which is usually rare when I'm seeing a new band. All I can say is these guys are going to be huge, and I suggest you check them out. Here's the link to their myspace page : www.myspace.com/theacorn.

For those of you who haven't heard of Born Ruffians, they are a three piece experimental indie band from Toronto. They have a quite a following here and they are known all throughout North America. They played for about an hour and a half, half of which was almost their entire new album which they are recording at this very moment. At the beginning of their set the crowd seemed pleased but they were still. When they played one of their most popular songs Hummingbird, the crowd was pushing and moving, which makes a concert that more intense. By the end of the show, the band was so excited with the crowds reaction they went as far as saying that this was the best show they had ever played. I had a great time; I really liked the new songs and I can't wait to see them when their new album drops.

Perez Hilton Tour (Semi-Precious Weapns) @ The Opera House, September 17

On Thursday night I went to the Perez Hilton Tour at the Opera House, thinking that I was going to see pop punk singer Ida Maria, but the show turned out to be nothing like what I expected ( in a good and bad way).

This concert was a part of "The Perez Hilton" tour which is to consist of Co-headliners Ida Maria and Ladyhawke and opener Semi-Precious Weapons. When I got to the show, they gave me a 5 dollar refund because for some reason, Ida Maria wasn't able to play. This totally sucked, but whatever, I was already there so I decided to stay for Semi Precious Weapons (I couldn't stay for Ladyhawke). When waiting for the bands there was a screen playing R&B and Dance videos, which I wasn't too happy with, but I lived through it.

Semi-Precious Weapons put on a rather weird but entertaining performance. They all dressed up in wigs and funny costumes and the lead singer even wore a dress (I'm guessing he is a future tranvestite, considering that he kept talking about an "operation"). Their music was a mix of glam-punk and garage music. They were bouncing around the stage playing like it was their last show ever. I actually really liked it, and it made the disappointment of Ida Maria not showing up not as bad.

The Killers @ Molson Amp, Sept 6th

Last night I went to see my last show of the summer, The Killers. I saw them in January at the ACC, however this show was much more appealing to me because I bought lawn tickets for only 20 bucks, Molson Amp is way more intimate than the ACC, and Wolfmother, Australia's rock legends opened.

When We got to the show I noticed how there was a a row of empty seats in one of the sections. so instead of sitting far back in the muddy lawn I just sat in the seats, and nobody kicked me out. Soon after I claimed the seat, Wolfmother took the stage. This was exciting because they recently came back from their nine-month hiatus. They played a 40 minute set of intense 70's like rock n roll which included hits Joker and the Thief and Woman. The crowd liked them, but I was blown away. Even far from the stage, I felt the energy of the band, which is usually difficult for an opening band.

The Killers got on stage at 9:15. They opened up with the 2 hits from their new album, Human and Spaceman. The stage had palm trees scattered all over and there were 5 vertical screens in the background, which had a different video projected on them for every song. I thought it was really cool, and they didn't have that when I saw them in January. Lead singer Brandon Flowers ran around the stage and sometimes played synthesizers, which was cool. A great show, a great night, and a great way to end the summer!