TOP TEN SHOWS OF 2011

[officespace]

No order:
RVIVR/Woolworm/Hari Legs
Punch/Loma
Vacant State record release
Set Foot at the Troyler
Defiance, Ohio
Lemuria/Siren Songs/Big Eyes in Kelowna
Siren Songs at the Mansion
The Mountain Goats
Out of Sight first show
Falling Down at El Cheapo

-Both of us

[SmokePigs]

Chronological order:
War Hero's second last show @ Chateau Noir
Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ the Vogue Theatre
Doom/Deathraid/Massgrave @ Chop Suey
D-Clone/Double Negative/Veins/Vile Gash/Crazy Spirit @ Emo's Willa
Autopsy/Citizens Arrest/Extortion (Fuck Extortion though)/Innumberable Forms/Iron Lung/Hatred Surge @ Emo's Willa
Doom/Kriegshog (Last show)/Isterismo/+more @ Emo's Willa
Fastcore Fest in the middle of the woods
Arcahgathus/Violent Gorge/Skeleton/+more @ the Zoo Zhop
Grindlandia @ Carpetland
Siren Songs/Big Eyes @ Talk's Cheap

Other shit worth mentioning:
Atmosphere @ the Vogue Theatre
Capitalist Casualties @ Emo's Willa
Unlearn's last show @ the Alf House
Brain Fever/Open Relationship/Hundy Thou/Six Brew Bantha/Goldenaxe/Selfish Beings/Humanity? @ the Sportsplex

[keith.]

grave maker/naysayer/we are leaving wounds @ the legion
set foot/narrow veiw/no eul @ troyler
sbb/ahna @ ratschack
brain fever/no eul/sbb/watcher/gutless @ kays
ghostthroats 2011 @ some alberta community hall
villager/bash bros @ the ramp
iskra/lots of others @ little fern
grindlandia @ kays
brain oil/mass grave @ red door
siren songs/big eyes @ talks cheap

[keep_it_real]

definitely went to less hardcore shows this year than usual, and way more rap shows. what can i say, most of my friends who used to go to hardcore shows with me don't live as close anymore

top 10 that i can remember:

direct control/omegas/rival mob/knife fight (FUCK, was so shocked that knife fight was the "special guest" since i'd been waiting to see them for years and missed my chance the night before. i think i saw omegas three times this year, and they killed it every time. the banter about no warning and fucked up was pretty hilarious, and im pretty sure got alot of pc nerds butthurt.)

sheer terror (paul bearer still has it! for a bunch of old dudes, they rocked. not much else to say. i think mother of mercy played too, they were pretty meh)

boston strangler/no tolerance (nice to see one of the best current edge bands in a tiny garage. the free kinder eggs and tic tacs made it an even better time. i awkwardly pulled down my pants to show chris colohan my lfd tattoo and he thought i was trying to show him my dick. life rules)

big krit/smoke dza (krit is for sure one of the best live rappers, period. go see him, you will enjoy yourself and may possibly take off your shirt and wave it in the air like a helicopter)

foundation/harms way (i've seen foundation a handful of times since 2007 and they've progressively got better and better each time. i'm not huge into the 90s sound but they pull it off VERY well. harms way are also pretty rad, although i kinda prefer their earlier stuff but the latter is PUNISHING live. too bad they attract too many mosh warriors.)

iron lung/slaughter strike/gas chamber (iron lung are one of those token bands you can always enjoy. you can always expect funny banter, and riffage for days. i was pretty bummed that slaughter strike broke up so prematurely as they truly represented the best death metal sound to come out of toronto in ages (er...well since rammer maybe?)

bad skin (it was nice to see friends get back together and play. i wish they'd get back together again soon, but it'll probably be years.)

action bronson (fucking GREAT presense. dude is a beast, both physically and lyrically. i can only assume next time i see him, it won't be in a 150 cap place and will be much much bigger.)

rick ross (this was just a couple nights ago. good times catching a really fat guy NOT get out of breath while shuffling around on a huge stage. bringing in an oz of blunts was very much overkill, even with a group of 12 people, we ALL had one burning and got tons of dirty looks and waved hands as they walked by. then the fire alarm went off. oh well. show over)

terror/cruel hand (i ALWAYS am down for some vogel time. despite playing nearly an identical set list from the last time i saw them, i really can't say anything bad about terror in 2011. it's cool to see their work ethic paying off as usual, and even better to catch them playing on a tour package that didn't have a bunch of chud chugga metalcore bands. i even had a short convo with the man himself about living in syracuse and keeping the faith)

*i think that's it, but knowing my memory i'll remember more in the next few days.

[keith.]

man im stoked to see actual hardcore shows in toronto

[keep_it_real]

there's been "actual" hardcore shows going on for ages man, really since 01/02 there's been always something worth checking out. i will admit the days of going to see fucked up play with other hardcore bands is no longer a reality, but there's still a huge amount of activity here.

i definitely missed a handful of really good shows, but i have no regrets. at this point in life, i've already seen most of the bands i've wanted to.

it did bum me out that i missed every single "where we screw is secret" show this past summer (the BEST guerilla venue/setup period.)

i do really want to make it to MDF or Chaos in Tejas but i also am pretty poor and plane tickets are expensive. i also aim to head to victoria hopefully in the summertime, i gotta see no eulogy play and take in the scenery.

[keith.]

ha well i just mean im excited to be in a city where it seems like more bands will stop for tours. i want to see shows, always. more shows. and if theyre actual hardcore shows then im super down. i hear Agitator are gonna play some fest called Heart Fest when i move so im stoked for that

[keep_it_real]

heart fest is in gatineau, quebec i'm pretty sure. it's a good five or so hours away from t.o.

yeah honestly there's tons of shows that i didn't bother going to this past year, we're talking bitter end, hardside, and many other HAAAAAAADDCOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE bands. it's funny b/c at these shows most of the locals aren't around but there's piles of kids from niagara and the surrounding gta.

lemme know when you move and i'll take you out to a show. i'm a nice guy.

[keith.]

fuck. well i still might go to that depending on the rest of the line up ha.
i am a nice guy as well. lets open that pit up.

[canon.docre]

it did bum me out that i missed every single "where we screw is secret" show this past summer (the BEST guerilla venue/setup period.)

wat?

[cadaver]

I fucking forgot Converge, cos it was so recent. That trip was as sketchy as it was amazing.

[grind/bro]

i don't think i can "top ten" shows

[giles]

WOOLWORM WITH RVIVR AT CHATEAU NOIR
WOOLWORM WITH OUT OF SIGHT AT RED GATE
WOOLWORM WITH FORESTRY AT SUGAR
WOOLWORM WITH WEEZER IN SQUAMISH
WOOLWORM WITH FRIENDO AT ZOO SHOP
WOOLWORM WITH SIREN SONGS AT ALF HOUSE
WOOLWORM WITH JELLY BOIZ IN THE EMILY CARR PARKING GARAGE
WOOLWORM WITH THEE AH'S AT RED CAT
WOOLWORM WITH HEAVY CHAINS LAST WEEK
WOOLWORM WITH BIG EYES NEXT WEEK

[giles]

THANK YOU GOODNIGHT

[Noelle CDP]

In no particular order, accept chronological:

Jan. 28th Warhero, Osk, Six Brew Bantha, AHNA, Young Oppression at Chateau Noir. Warhero was my favorite powerviolence band and also the band that exposed me to powerviolence and grindcore. This almost felt like the end of an era this is also one of my favorite Chateau Noir shows.

2. March 30th at Bullys w/ Chaos, Disorder And Panic, The Killed Spirits, Jelly Boyz and The Kettle Black. I was in such a bad mood when I got this show cause a cop stole my wallet on the skytrain then another cop harassing and tried to give me a ticket cause I didn't have my transfer(which was in my wallet that the other cop stole). By the end of the show I was in a pretty good mood. We all sang each others songs, hung out and ate cookies with good friends and it was a great atmosphere with good music. This was unfortunately Bullys Last show...I miss that place.

3. April 11th. The Rebel Spell, The Restarts, System Shit and Wauzted(I don't know if I spelled that right.) at Chateau Noir. All The Rebel Spell/Restarts shows were great but this one was my favorite. Quite possibly the craziest house show i've been that wasn't out in the Valley somewhere. Both Rebel Spell and Restarts played wicked great sets with all kinds of energy. The crowd was awesome over 100 jam packed in the living room, the entrance, up the stairs and in the kitchen completely stoked on having fun. Half the house became one big mosh pit that I crowd surfed around. This is my other favorite Chateau Noir show.

May 13th: End Program, Cambridge, Impeders Of Progress and The Old Sins at Funky Winkerbeans. 3 of my favorite bands who also happen to be great people that put on really fun shows. Old Sins are fun too. I also saw alot of good friends I hadn't seen in a long time.

July 21st: Kleins 96, The Killed Spirits, Cambridge, Chaos, Disorder And Panic at Funky Winkerbeans. This was my Vancouver tour kickoff with a good collection of rad bands and people. In the summer I recorded an ep with The Killed Spirits so Matt and I even played a couple of songs together at the show too.

4. July 22nd At OAP Hall at Twin Rinks Chaos, Disorder And Panic/The Velvamatics western Canadian tour kickoff/ A Canadian Werewolf In... w/ Like Bears and Jordan Mcneil Bob. A Canadian Werewolf In... re-united and asked me to headline for them. A Canadian Werewolf In... and New World On Fire were my favorite local bands that got me into shows as kind of wise mentors. Also the first time I played my hometown in nearly 2 years. This was probably one of the biggest coolest things Chaos, Disorder And Panic has done.

5. July 29th and 30th Backwater Bash just outside of Peaceriver. W/ Chaos, Disorder And Panic and a bazillion other bands. 2 day punk festival in the woods about in 45 minutes outside of Peace River. 2 days of camping, bands rad community and fun and 3 days of camping and adventures.

6. Punch/Loma Prieta/Out Of Sight/Mouse Ear at Garbage Mountain. I don't remember date for this show and I think I might be missing a band, but it was a really killer show and all kinds of fun.

7. Sept. 3rd Iskra, No Eulogy, Six Brew Bantha, AHNA at Moon Tower. Killer line up, Iskra, Six Brew Bantha and No Eulogy are all usually a good time. Brutal heavy goodness. Really good mosh pits too.

8. Grindlandia at Carpet Land. This was also the weekend I moved so there was all kinds of controversy over whether or not I was going to be able to make it to the island or not. However, the fact I was excited that almost all my favorite grindcore, powerviolence and otherwise noisey favorites were all playing a show together that required a rad adventure I made it the schedule. Carpet Land was rad, the people were super friendly was all kinds of brutal fun, the after party at Wolf and Danny's was pretty rad too. Oh and the adventures were pretty good too. Picked up lots of records, tapes, and literature from Black Raven and Camas. I should mention I played with D//Compose and Lab Rat at The Foster Fun Haus the night before Grindlandia and all the shows they did in the lower mainland were awesome.

9. My annual birthday show w/ Chaos, Disorder And Panic, Devlin Forsythe, Monkeys In Drag, Desecrated Youth, Car 87, Sound City Hooligans and The Killed Spirits at The Witch House. It was one of the most stressful shows to organize because the day before show a pipe at the house broke flooding the basement with sewage and grey nasty water. It seemed like everytime I answered my phone somebody had a new big problem. Somehow everything worked out and it was one of the raddest birthdays i've had in a while.

10. December 9th at The Rebel Spell, Trade Your Children and The Fight United at Funky Winkerbeans. First off who doesn't like when one of their favorite bands plays a show right after their birthday. The Rebel Spell are always great fun and also some of the best people around. Trade Your Children i'd never heard of before but were pretty rad and The Fight United were alot of fun too. With all the old friends I hadn't seen in so long it might as well have been a family re-union.

Honorable mentions:

Seamus's going away party nov. 11th at the Foster Fun Haus.

Sept 28th at the Foster Fun Haus w/Chaos, Disorder And Panic, Monkeys In Drag, The Hippiecritz, The Dead Peasants Revolt and Hoopsnake.

Accoustic nightmare at Mary Lake in Campbell River w/ tons of artists august 21st. 2 day outdoor festival with camping, swimming, adventures bands all night long and fun.

Oct. 28th at the Foster Fun Haus w/ Corazon, Wolbachia, Burning Ghats.

August 26th at Chateau Noir w/ Obacha, OSK, Out Of Sight, Vile Intent and Cooked And Eaten.

[Rude Boy Puff]

Most Precious Blood at Rainfest with some other bands
NOFX at the Commadore with some shit bands

[officespace]

NOFX at the Commadore with some shit bands

Teenage Bottlerocket aren't a shit band.

-Warren

[Rude Boy Puff]

Was that the shitty fiddle playing bunch of fake Irish?

[officespace]

nope. Ramonescore pop punk

[LAxPB]

Descendents/H20/Face to Face - London
Figure Four/Comeback Kids feat Scott Wade to close out Rainfest
Putrid Brew/Rat Wheel house shows in both Vernon and Kelowna
Fucked Up Halloween Show - London
Wu Tang Clan on Canada Day in Dublin