The Creepshow @ The Reverb, November 6th

Toronto Physcobilly punks, The Creepshow have just reached a fine point in their career, as they were just signed to one of the biggest punk labels in the world, Hellcat Records. The band roster of hellcat includes such acts like The Slackers, Tiger Army, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, and Rancid. Being on a lineup like that, The Creepshow knew that it was their time to shine, so they immediately packed up their organs and stand-up basses and went on a 5 week North American headlining tour. This tour included a stop halfway through the Canadian leg of the tour, in their home of Toronto, to get 400 kids packed in an upstairs nightclub dancing and moshing the night away.

The Canadian dates on the tour were a part of the Stomp Records Tour which also featured support acts, The Hypnophonics and The Dreadnoughts. The first band up was The Hynpnohonics, who opened up the show with some old school physcobilly with a hint of hardcore punk. The band has great energy and was entertaining, but they took the psyhobilly image a bit too far. All four members were dressed up in dress shirts and ties with unoriginal, but still cool, physcobilly haircuts. The lead singer was all over the place and and sang with a real hard punk voice which made them really interesting.

The 2nd opener were Irish punk rockers from Vancouver, The Dreadnoughts. I gave these guys a listen before the show, and I instantly fell in love with the song "Antarctica." Strictly Celtic sounding with the obvious likes of Flogging Molly and The Pogues, but also Gogol Bordello, which is a reference to the gypsier side of their sound. The lead singer/guitarist was an older guy somewhere in his mid 30s, and the rest of the band was probably in their mid 20s. Each member had rocked with his own style. The violinist was the crazy kid in the old school punk rags and moehawk, wildly executing either the fiddle or the accordion. Then there was the 6 foot 6 giant of a bass player having a blast, always smiling and involving the crowd by threatening that he will stage dive on them if they don't sing. Like said previously, he's quite a big guy, so they sang.

There was also the average punk drummer who takes his shirt off halfway through the set, and then there's the focused member in the band, the mandolin player, who goes by the name of "The Dread Pirate," referencing his dreadlocks. Last but not least, the lead singer and guitarist was obviously the leader of the band, and most likely the main songwriter. He was probably one of the oldest guys at the show, but also the most energetic.

The Creepshow was all ready to go for what was supposed to be "their last show in Toronto for a long time," but then at the end of the show they announced that they will playing a New Years Eve show. Liars. Anyway, as soon they went on, kids in leather jackets started bouncing off the walls, and from there on the night had officially started. Many underage kids were moshing and singing along, which one wouldn't expect at a physchobilly punk concert. The face of the band, Sarah "Sin" Blackwood played well but didn't pay attention to the kids screaming the lyrics with her, which is disappointing if a band has dedicated fans. You should appreciate them and at least look at them when they're right in front of you, instead of just checking for the crowd's overall reaction.

The drummer, Matt Pomade, is great. He isn't just playing normal stuff on the high hat, he's going all over the toms and the floor tom creating these very catchy beats that go really well with stand up bass. This was my fourth time seeing them, and the 2nd of their headline shows I've been to, and as far as fun goes, their live shows are great, but there's nothing new. They played all the same songs (even the same cover songs) as before, and when they did a "repeat after me" with the audience for their song Rue Morge Radio, it was the third time I saw them do that. The Creepshow make great punk music, and if you've never seen them before, do it because you will have a lot of fun.