Title: Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones
Artist: Cancer Bats
Label: Distort
Released: 13 April 2010 Canada
In one word: Menacing

Okay, so a certain editor of Music Vice happens to be a rather vocal supporter of this band, so I’d best tread carefully here.  This is the first time I’ve actually heard Cancer Bats – as opposed to “heard of”, which I indeed have, many a time – so I come to this album unsure what to expect, but at least expecting something far above the norm.  My conclusion?  I LIKE this: but I don’t LOVE it.  Yet I can understand what may lead others to praise this as one of the better “hardcore punk meets metal” type bands to come down the turnpike in recent years:  They definitely Rock, and that’s with a capital fuckin’ R, and they most definitely sound pissed-off and then some!  If you’re looking for a band that is raw, visceral, and relatively free from pretension then you could do MUCH worse than to check this out.

Personal highlight of the album:   Without a doubt, the rather excellent (if not exactly “superior”) cover of Beastie Boys classic “Sabotage”.  Maybe a Cancer Bats cover album would impress me more?  It’s not that I’m UNimpressed, just a little underwhelmed after the huge hype that I’ve heard surrounding this band for so long.  Perhaps I’m just getting a little too old to be SCREAMED at for almost an entire album?  That seems to be a recurring theme with me these days…hard an’ heavy an’ uncompromising are all good things, but whatever happened to MELODIC vocals?!  Okay, in all fairness there’s a smattering of them on this album, but they’re mighty few and far between…

To me the words “hardcore punk” will always be more synonomous with classic, highly melodic punk acts such as Dead Kennedys and Black Flag.  Fuck…I AM OLD.

© Michael Bowser, Music Vice

Editor’s view:
Okay Michael, as you mentioned, I have been a vocal advocate of the ‘Bats and they were one of the first good, heavy bands that I discovered when I arrived in Toronto from the UK.  I’m not writing this to completely piss over your review… well OK, actually I am!

You don’t listen to Cancer Bats for melodic vocals. You listen to Cancer Bats for the snarling vocals which lash out over equally menacing riffs and beats. Screaming? Sure, perhaps the longest one being the held yell of “booooooooreeeeeeed” in “Fake Gold”, but this ain’t no lame-o screamo music and its pretty easy to pick up on the vocals. The words are spat and shouted by Liam Cormier because no other kind of delivery would suit the music or work to express the lyrics which are frequently carrying a message of grievance, defiance or just being pissed-off. Of course it’s not going to appeal to everyone, but it appeals to me, and more importantly to the teenage fans who can find something legit to identify with because, heck, there aren’t many good bullshit-free heavier bands around right now and if I was 10 years younger I’m sure I would like this music even more.

Cancer Bats are a relevant, vocal minority in their profession and they provide a voice that fits the times: See “Fake Gold” and “Sleep This Away” for just a couple of examples of the band speaking out about the tired, jaded, apathy of modern living, the scene, etc. “Raised Right” makes a similar kind of commentary and carries the sense of the band having both a backbone and a level-head on their shoulders – ethics with metal? Yes, kind of. The “Sabotage” cover is a nice bonus and fans will be glad to see it’s inclusion because it was well-received when played at live shows in 2009.

And sure, this isn’t the same hardcore punk that came and died in the early 80′s, nothing ever will be, but the influence of original hardcore can be heard, while in this current musical climate the Cancer Bats have an attitude and ethic which is most definitely ‘hardcore’ compared to most of their contemporaries. This is a very solid album that should find appeal to fans of the Gallows, Trash Talk, Rise Against, Alexisonfire or the Bronx.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Gig / Concert: The Bronx w/ Mariachi El Bronx, Cancer Bats, Violent Soho
Venue: The Mod Club, Toronto, ON, Canada
Date: 29 March 2010
Headiner: The Bronx
In One Word: Stonking

Wow, what a line-up. Headliners Los Angeles’ The Bronx with their Spanish alter-ego Mariachi El Bronx and Toronto’s best metal/hardcore two-for the Cancer Bats – you only need to glance at the tag cloud to the right of this review if you have forgotten how keenly we’ve been following and championing these bands in recent years. Needless to say, it promised to be a stonking show and did not disappoint one bit.

First though, I think I might be having words with our Australia-based writers to ask why I ain’t heard a squeak about Brisbane’s Violent Soho till tonight. I missed the start of their set, but Violent Soho only needed 10 minutes or so to make a good impression, with an engrossing set of grunge rock. Were it not for the Aussie accents heard during a bit of stage banter between songs, you would have been easily forgiven for thinking this was an American band, perhaps even from Seattle itself. Violent Soho are an actively gigging example that the influence of grunge music is an undying legacy and one which can still be borrowed from closely to create music that is more than just a straight rehash. “Son Of Sam” and “Jesus Stole My Girlfriend” are two songs with titles that may seem somehow familiar to you, being similar to the names of two popular covers of The Vaselines that Nirvana recorded, and the similarities do not end there with this band sounding a lot like Nirvana. If the NME catch wind of Violent Soho then it’ll surely be milliseconds before they proclaim them as “the new Nirvana”.

Grunge ain’t dead it’s just coming up for air, and if bands like Violent Soho become part of a third wave grunge movement then I for one will be happy. It’s fortunate that they’re currently touring North America with a band who are one of the best examples of modern hardcore done right, (The Bronx), and maybe that tour experience will prove to be an inspiration to them. An even bigger support to the band though must be their 2009 signing to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace records, through which the band have released their self-titled debut in North America.

After a quick enough turnaround Mariachi El Bronx took to the stage and proceeded to raise smiles on the patrons in the Mod Club with a jovial set. Mariachi El Bronx have a very different stage presence to The Bronx. It was a much more casual vibe which makes sense given the music, the instruments and the traditional mariachi attire…not to mention that the band needed to keep plenty in the locker to play a whole other set later on. The musicianship was good, with the trumpeter and violinist having some particularly impressive moments in the limelight during “My Brother The Gun” and “Holy”.

Mariachi El Bronx

The introduction to “Despretador” which Matt Caughtran announced by saying “this one goes out to all the online predators in the house” is one of the funniest intros I’ve heard in a while, and of course apt to the song. However, the real story of Mariachi’s set came when Caughtran announced that two winners from a competition by 102.1 The Edge were to come on stage – it’s been a long while since I’ve ever bothered to listen to that station with that playlist but since when did The Edge ever play The Bronx? The mystery was solved when it became clear that this was nothing to do with a competition and was a bluff – a guy called Mike had invented the scenario as an opportunity to get down on knee on stage to propose to his girl Renee. She said yes and the Mod Club erupted with cheers and applause. What a touching moment! First time I’ve ever seen that at a gig.

Whenever anyone back home in UK or outside of Canada asks me about bands here in the Great White North one of the first names I always drop is Cancer Bats, and their set tonight only reinforced my opinion of the band. With their next album Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones set to release in a fortnight, Cancer Bats gave fans a sneak peak of what they can expect to hear from that by playing a couple of new songs. The latter of these new songs, “Scared To Death”, made a bigger initial impression on me. “Scared To Death” has a throbbing, chugging riff by guitarist Scott Middleton, the riff is the spine of the song, the beating engine, powering you on a ghost train journey to thrash heaven, population: you. Scared To Death was followed by the distinct squeals of “Sorceress”, (a track with a fitting ‘train-wreck’ lyric to go with that previous spot of waxing-lyrical), before they finished with “Lucifer’s Rocking Chair”, another song from 2008’s Hail Destroyer.

And so to The Bronx, who predictably enough played an ass-kicking set, or as Matt Caughtran put it at one point as he dove through the audience, “tore the Mod Club a new arsehole”. With their Mariachi outfits hung up for the night, The Bronx stepped things up a few notches and played a set comprising the best moments of their three albums too date.

It’s been over a year since I last saw The Bronx live and whilst the set list was familiar it was still great to see the band again, though I envy anyone who was seeing the band for the first-time because as the old adage goes, the first time is always the best. While there were few surprises by the performance of The Bronx, that’s a good thing and testament to their qualities as one of the best live bands you could ever hope to see right now. The only real surprise of the set was the guest appearance by Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham for the penultimate song of the night, but even that wasn’t a big shock given the similar cameo appearance he recently made with Dinosaur Jr. Abraham wasn’t the only non-Bronx member to take to the stage, because for fleeting moments at least one of Violent Soho took to the stage to stage dive, while I also spotted Dom Muldoon from Sixteen Layers do the same, as towards the end many inhibitions were lost and a free-for-all was encouraged.

A great night and how lucky the new fiances Mike and Renee are to have such a brilliant gig to remember their proposal by. Best of luck guys.

© Brian Banks, Music Vice

Photos of The Bronx, Cancer Bats, Mariachi El Bronx and Violent Soho

Related links:
The Bronx – Official Site
Cancer Bats – Official Site
Violent Soho – Myspace

Music Vice’s gig guide for January, 2010. These are the shows we think you should check out – some of which you might find us at too!

Shows To Go To is a new monthly preview which we’ve began to coincide with our new site design that we officially launch tomorrow night, 18 January, 2010. Look out for more Shows To Go To in February.

Australia

Big Day Out

Rise Against are part of Big Day Out 2010

Aren’t those Australians lucky? While all us poor souls in the Northern Hemisphere are freezing our butts off, Down Under the sun will be shining at the first major music festival of the year. Headliners at Big Day Out this year include Muse, Lily Allen, Kasabian, The Mars Volta and Rise Against. And yeah, we’ll be there too!

Dates:
Auckland, January 15
Gold Coast, January 17
Sydney, January 22
Sydney, January 23
Melbourne, January 26
Adelaide, January 29
Perth, January 31

Full info and tickets at: www.bigdayout.com

Canada/US

Anti-Flag ‘The Economy Sucks, Let’s Party’ Tour with Aiden, Cancer Bats and guests

Catch Cancer Bats on tour in the US with Anti-Flag

Anti-Flag are on tour across America from January 12 to February 6 with Aiden and Cancer Bats. If that line-up wasn’t enticing enough already for you then look out for special guests including Trash Talk who join the tour from January 19 to January 27 – we’ve heard lots of good stuff about Trash Talk, definitely worth checking out. Dates at: MySpace.com/Antiflag

REDUCED FEE tickets available at: https://tixx1.artistarena.com/anti-flag
USERNAME: anti
PASSWORD: flag

Dinosaur Jr.
Did you think that great fuzz and distortion-fuelled music was extinct? Go see Dinosaur Jr. for the best kind of evidence that it’s still alive and roaring like a T-Rex!

Milford, CT, January 15
Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY, January 16
Music Hall of Williamsburg, NY, January 17
Brooklyn Bowl, NY, January 18
Castaways, Ithaca, NY, January 19
The Ale House, Kingston, ON, January 20
Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, January 21
Capitol Music Hall, Ottawa, ON, January 22
More info and ticket links: www.dinosaurjr.com/tour.htm

Tegan And Sara
Canada’s most famous musical twins kick-off the new decade with a January tour in Canada!
6 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum
7 – Kelowna, British Columbia – Community Theatre
8, 9 – Calgary, Alberta – South Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
11, 12 – Edmonton, Alberta – North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
13 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – TCU Place
14, 15 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Burton Cummings Theatre
18 – Montreal, Quebec – Place des Arts
19 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
20 – Toronto, Ontario – Kool Haus
22, 23 – Ottawa, Ontario – Bronson Centre
25 – Quebec City, Quebec – Imperial Du Quebec
26 – Fredericton, New Brunswick – Fredericton Playhouse
27 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Halifax Metro Centre
More info at: www.teganandsara.com Ticket links: Live Nation, GEG

United Kingdom

The Prodigy
Shake off your New Year hangover by catching The Prodigy, who are ripping up the UK with a January tour.
Dates and ticket info at: MySpace.com/TheProdigy

Jamie T
For something a lot less aggressive, a bit less manic but overall equally as cool, catch Jamie T, with UK dates throughout January and extending into early February. These are the rescheduled dates originally planned for Autumn 2009 – original tickets are still valid for the new dates.

January dates:
Tue 19 Nottingham – Rock City
Wed 20 Birmingham – 02 Academy
Fri 22 Sheffield – 02 Academy
Sat 23 Manchester – Academy
Mon 25 Leeds – 02 Academy
Wed 27 Glasgow – Barrowlands
Thu 28 Newcastle – Northumberland Uni
Sat 30 Preston – 53 Degrees
Sun 31 Norwich – UEA
More info at: www.myspace.com/jamietwimbledon

Scene Music Festival 2009, St. Catharines, Ontario
Festival review and photos by Music Vice editor Brian Banks – 30 June, 2009

Gig/Concert: Scene Music Festival 2009
Venue: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Date: 28 June, 2009
Headliners: Every Time I Die, Cancer Bats
In one word: Ballistic

This year’s S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival in St. Catharines gave me a serious case of deja vu, being a carbon copy of ’08 in terms of the format, venues and, yeah, the weather. The only real difference was the line-up, with the standard of bands appearing at this year’s Scene festival being of a higher calibre. My experience at Scene last year had felt like merely a teaser, as I was only able to attend for a few hours, and that meant I missed out on all the big name bands – no such worries for this year, as I was in St. Catharines until the wee hours of the night, soaking up what has now overnight become one of my favourite festivals in the gig calendar.

The buzz began with Polar Bear Club at the main stage in Market Square. PBC were even better than I remembered, which wasn’t a huge surprise having first seen them live at the arse end of 2008 at a show in Toronto that I was rather apathetic about. Seeing the band here and now, in the light of the day and the height of the summer, Polar Bear Club are a bigger and badder animal. Six months of rehearsing and gigging has no doubt made their performances tighter, and the Rochester hardcore/punk band also seem to have a few new songs under their belt; or at least older ones that now made a bigger impression on me a second time around, Another Night In The Rock being one that I’ll pinpoint. Man on the mic Jimmy Stadt was once again bearish (yeah, that’s a real adjective), as he snarled out the vocals which are often the rough side of the sandpaper, with the instruments proving the backing melodies which are often less abrasive and grating – the rough with the not so rough. An excellent way to kick off the day.

“Thankfully The Snips are not a ska band, or at least The Snips are not Reel Big Fish – so the trumpet wasn’t coming in at the end of every bar.“

Over at the outside stage behind Mansion House, a strong crowd gathered in anticipation for The Snips. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this band; the name was telling me it must be some kind of punk band, but then the warning bells went off when I noticed a trumpet sitting on stage. Fearing that The Snips might be a ska band, I planned my exit in advance, with the gap in a safety barrier or the porthole window in the neighbouring car park both looking like viable options for an emergency exit. Thankfully The Snips are not a ska band, or at least The Snips are not Reel Big Fish – so the trumpet wasn’t coming in at the end of every bar. The trumpet played more of a cameo role for the most part, as its player – who had an uncanny resemblance to Shia Lebeouf – had other duties like backing vocals and guitar. So that was a relief.

At first I was enthused by The Snips, who came out all guns blazing, with some meaty chug-a-long riffs providing ample Duracell power for The Snips cocktail of punk, pop and metal. After five or six songs though my interest had waned, especially as the trumpet was becoming more prominent, and it was time to move on.

Away from the bigger venues and bigger crowds, I came across People You Know who played to a crowd of a dozen, including Cancer Bats guitarist Scott Middleton. This all girl group from Toronto had the odds stacked against them, what with being stuck at the back of 73, which was pretty much the temperature in C inside this veritable bakers oven of a venue which was in dire need of some A/C. People You Know had a very raw indie sound which had drawn me inside, with punchy hooks, simple progressions and beats. There was a wicked vibe to PYK’s intimate little gig – well worth getting a little hot and sweaty for.

The next couple of hours are from about 5-7 p.m. are a fuzzy blur – I caught snippets of about half a dozen bands, all of which have been blown from my memory by Hell Yeah Fuck Yeah. Hell Yeah Fuck Yeah know how to make an impression. Or “Heck Yeah Frig Yeah” as frontman AL911 jested, as their show began a couple hours before the watershed. But nah, don’t be mistaken; Hell Yeah Fuck Yeah didn’t have any qualms at all about using bad language, or being offensive. AL911 taunted passers by who walked along James Street past the open-windowed front of White Haut where HYFY were playing;

“You guys are nazis! Anybody not inside here is a fucking white supremacist! Fuck you! Keep walking, keep walking!…”

Probably the best example of self-promotion through reverse pyschology – because after all, nobody wants to be labelled a nazi.

AL911 really is a psycho on the microphone. He put on a gripping performance – gripping in the sense that it’s like he’s got you by the balls, and you better not walk away or you might just lose those family jewels. Till the noise stops, AL911 is the alpha male and your the fucking omegas at the bottom of the food chain, so its your duty to feel privileged enough to stand there and enthralled. It not as if you’d want to walk away anyway, because the music is pure dynamite in a can. Loud, trash, crass, class.

One guy in a Casualties leather studded and spiked jacket made a pitiful attempt to become part of the HYFY party – after circling three times like a wolf, he walked away shunned. There’d be no mosh pit or circle pit here; just a crowd that were partly bemused and partly scared shitless into being in a statuesque but appreciative state. However, AL911 did meet his match, as he picked the alpha female in the audience to dance with for a song about “other peoples girlfriends” – he grabbed a girl in a blue dress, spun her round once with an awkward pirouette, then she turned walked away giving with a dirty look, very clearly unimpressed.

Hell Yeah Fuck Yeah were awesome, but they’d turn out to be the lengthy side-note to the Cancer Bats, whose show over on the main stage eclipsed every other performance at the festival. The Cancer Bats were on amazing form. The skies opened just as their set began at 8:00 p.m. and the rain bucketed down, quickly creating puddles on the stage, and ultimately meaning that the Cancer Bats would close the main stage and not the festival headliners Every Time I Die, who got rained off to an alternative venue. This was some kind of divine justice, because Cancer Bats gave the kind of performance that deserved to close the main stage at any festival – a well-timed downpour seems to bring the best out of bands and festival crowds, but this was something really special.

The Cancer Bats were sublime. This was kind of show I’ve been waiting to see from the band, and their performance at Scene ’09 will be etched in my mind for many years. Liam Cornier was totally ballistic – his energy levels were off the chart, and the connection with the crowd was ultimate, with the singer and his crowd feeding off of each other and becoming more and more intense. Particularly brilliant moments included Lucifers Rocking Chair, during which the moshing was perhaps at its most delightfully violent, while a cover of Beastie Boy’s Sabotage was a surprise treat to a deserving SCENE crowd who have turned up to support the Cancers Bats at the festival for a few years in a row.

“This was some kind of divine justice, because Cancer Bats gave the kind of performance that deserved to close the main stage at any festival…Liam Cormier was totally ballistic – his energy levels were off the chart, and the connection with the crowd was ultimate.“

As the Cancer Bats set came to an end, the lights went out on the main stage, creating pandemonium as hundreds of fans ran to L3 to catch Every Time I Die there. I decided against being a sardine inside that venue to see ETID, and instead ended up seeing some other bands, of which I will give an honourable mention to Distance Between Stars. DBS’s music stopped me in my tracks as I walked by Mansion House and I listened to them for ten minutes or so, while a kind girl also very generously gestured to me to take her spot near the window to let me take a few photos. I then walked away as DBS’s set came to an end, but as I heard an encore kicking off I found myself jogging back to hear some more of their sprightly female-led rock. I’m sure I’ll check them out properly at some point in the future.

Later I had a rather scary moment as I witnessed a hundred or so teenage girls freak out for Marianas Trench who are seemingly the latest pin-up boys of pop-punk. Seriously, it was like Beatle mania, and the band had to make a Hollywood exit from Big Bucks which involved them sleeking off from the stage and then a garage door being pulled down by security guards to separate the band members from the screaming girls – a very bizarre (read: lame) incident. So that was quite disturbing, but lets forget about that – the story of Scene ’09 was the barnstorming show put on by the Cancer Bats.

We can only hope that the Cancer Bats are back at Scene once again in 2010, because without them things just wouldn’t be the same. The rain would be welcome back too.

© Brian Banks

Extra photos from S.C.E.N.E. 2009

I am rather fond of shooting ‘Bats in black and white… – Brian