CPC Gangbangs and the Hot Live Guys - June 4, 2008

Maybe I just feel like making observations when they're pessimistic. It seems to me that as Summer arrives, less people are attending shows and there seems to be less enthusiasm in general. I was surprised how few people decided to check out Montreal's CPC GANGBANGS. The theme for the evening seemed for the most part to be silent and observant. Maybe there was some hard partying going on in the nights leading up to June 4th, I dunno.

Well, unfortunately, the headliners proved not to quite have the firepower to decimate such a crowd. Perhaps this could be blamed on the muddy work of the soundman. I enjoyed some songs more than others and it seemed the band was having a bit of an off-night. I'd check them out again to determine just what it is that all those effects pedals do. At least they had their looks down; macho new wave hair-farming sleazes just back from Mardi Gras... with the exclusion of the bassist, who was more bent on an acid-washed crust/rockabilly hybrid mutation.

Some rock'n'roll salvation was supplied by THE HOT LIVE GUYS; the particular moment I am referring to is when lead guitarist Joe crashed on the floor to the side of the stage and thrashed around on his back while continuing to play. Some girl decided it was time for her potty break and she was almost, almost crippled by a barage of bicycle kicks. Joe, work on your aim. Fuck potty breaks.


THE HOT LIVE GUYS @ the Royal Albert Arms in Winnipeg, Manitoba




CPC GANGBANGS



The rest of Jason Penner's photographs from this show can be viewed here.

KEN mode - May 31, 2008

KEN mode released their new CD/3x7", Mennonite, on the last day of May. Winnipeg's loudest band, and they finally secured themselves a roadworthy bassist, so expect them to hit the road with greater frequency.


KEN MODE @ the Royal Albert Arms in Winnipeg, Manitoba



The rest of Jason Penner's photographs from this show can be viewed here.

the Insaniacs - April 18, 2008

The Royal Albert threw a joint party celebrating the INSANIACS 10th anniversary/one-night reunion, as well as Royal Albert mainstay Maladin's 10th year of terrorizing Winnipeg.

For a reunion performance, I thought the INSANIACS exceeded expectations and were in fine form, and it was a nice touch having original bassist Karla come on stage to play a few of the band's older songs. Johnny Nuclear is one of Winnipeg punk's great frontmen and apparently has a new band almost ready to go. The crowd was lively but not as retarded as I had anticipated.

The opening bands aren't my thing at all. QUAGMIRE have a loyal and rowdy following and scored points for covering TURBONEGRO but to me they don't come across as confrontational or as rocking as they seem to aspire to be. Maybe requesting that their singer stab me during their next set will do the trick.

KRAWTCH ROCKET features Winnipeg punk rock veterans and play the most god-awful cliche-diseased cock rock I have been subjected to in a long time. Fuck was that insufferable. Their singer Norm used to front mid-80's hardcore band THE UNWANTED and has resurrected the band recently with a new lineup. They're totally worth checking out. How someone could be involved in both of these opposed bands is anybody's guess.

THE AFTERLIFE opened the show and were the worst band I've seen since my youth. I don't even know what they are. Generic bar punk/rock with 4+ minute torture sessions of complete bullshit deprived of any songwriting. Their drummer wore a TYPE-O-NEGATIVE shirt and would randomly have outbursts of prolonged double-kick rolls. The singer/guitarist was apparently in Winnipeg's old punk band, DISCHARGE. (I haven't heard them; for all I know they might be just as bad.) I read this in a copy of Stylus that I found laying around in the Albert lobby, where I retreated to distance myself from the "music". The writer introduced the band with something to the effect of "Do you know when you go to see a band and they throw 15-minutes of improvisation at you... and it totally blows you away?" The band went on to describe themselves in the article as having MC5 and STOOGES influences. Fuck off you assholes.


THE INSANIACS @ the Royal Albert in Winnipeg, Canada















The rest of Jason Penner's photographs from this show can be viewed here.

the Gorgon, Search + Destroy and the Sweet Nothings - April 3, 2008

THE SWEET NOTHINGS @ the Royal Albert in Winnipeg, Canada




SEARCH + DESTROY @ the Royal Albert in Winnipeg, Canada




THE GORGON @ the Royal Albert in Winnipeg, Canada







The rest of Jason Penner's photographs from this show can be viewed here.

the Gorgon - December 2, 2008

the Gorgon's Corpse Whale CD release show @ the Royal Albert in Winnipeg, Canada