HOUSE 77 Xmas EDITION

PAUL'S POST ALEXISONFIRE/MONEEN SHOW REPORT:

It started with silence. Then came Death from Above - a band made up of two musicians: a bassist, and a drummer. The bassist was from Scarghetto...the drummer from Erin Mills...if it weren't for them being white, I'd say that Hendrix has gone and cloned himself. Though the music was more along the lines of "rupture your eardrums" instead of "sooth the soul." Overall they were uh....different...but nothing too impressive.

Moving along, Warsaw Pack was the next band to the stage. They surprised me, I had heard they were a political rap group, which immediately scared me. But it turns out they were something of a mix between Rage Against the Machine and Zero 7...a great mix of funk, rockabily, and really intelligent rap. I enjoyed them a lot, to say the least. Reminded me of the ever awesome Red Pill Theory.

Skipping the next band to hit the stage, Alexisonfire closed the show (gee, I wonder if this means Paul really liked Moneen?) I have to admit, I like the album, and I thought I'd be impressed, but they really surprised me - they were FAR better than I had expected. Their timing, energy, sense of humour (which I will elaborate on in a sec) and overall attitude was fantastic. They played their music to the point that I decided it's best to hear them live to appreciate the raw power of their tunes. Now, as for the sense of humour...they finished their starting set with Little Girls Pointing and Laughing, an awesome tune to say the least...but now...they went off stage...well...sort of. The singer started complaining about having lost his shoes while crowd surfing...and then Dallas the guitarist came out and started bitching about it. And then yadda yadda...I can't remember it all, but meanwhile, seriously, half the Kool Haus emptied...and missed two more songs, because after like...15 minutes of hilarious ranting, they did an encore. I loved them, they definitely did a good job!

Moneen.
From Brampton, near enough to my hometown for me to be proud. Had an energy I've not seen since either Finch or Greenday. Played such favs as Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?, Tonight I'm Gone, Start Angry End Mad, and an AMAZING rendition of The Passing of America. That song absolutely blew me away, they absolutely killed it. I can't really describe what made them so good, maybe it was Chris Hughes' ridiculous dreads flying everywhere...Kenny Bridges' dancing all over the stage...or just that the band totally fucking rocks together live...hard to say. Might even be because I am happy to see a local band at the Kool Haus, actually making it somewhere. I wish the best to them!

As for me, I've been awake some 18 hours. I AM FUCKING TIRED. Fuck you exams, I am done. Fuck you Mississauga Transit, I made it home alive.

Gooo Moneen!