Amplifier worship

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Within a mere four-day stretch, I probably saw what will probably hold up as my two favourite shows of the year. Last Tuesday, July 8, Tel Aviv, Israel’s Monotonix returned to town for a show at la Sala Rossa, after laying waste to le Divan Orange a couple of months back. Giving the July 8 show some serious weight were Toronto’s thrash-punk kings Brutal Knights—no strangers to Montreal, they laid down one of their most blistering sets yet, despite singer Nick Flanagan’s yelp brought on by a bout of laryngitis. No chumps, Brutal Knights beat Monotonix to the punch and set up on the floor, and within the first few seconds of down-stroked punk rock bliss, had a pit going that would make Huntington Beach circa ’82 proud. In fact, BK were so fucking good with their perfectly stripped down blitz that Montotonix had some pretty big Chuck Taylors to fill, but they lived up to their reputation by pulling out all stops—playing on top of ladders, moving the drum set all over the room and of course playing drums on top of the audience (YouTube it). Their energy, imagination and chaos easily outshone their lack of ability in the riff department, but in the end, this was Brutal Knights’ night.

STRIPPED DOWN BLITZ: Brutal Knights

Last Saturday, la Sala Rossa was the place to be for the crushing weight of Torche and the mind-expanding heavy psych of Japan’s Boris, who finally made their Montreal debut and did not disappoint. Despite the pop leanings on their current record Meanderthal, Torche live hits like a nail gun. Opening with a doom-laden Pink Floyd cover, the band blistered through a set concentrating mainly on the awesome Meanderthal. Drummer Rick Smith’s brutal wallop on the extended set-closer jam “Tarpit Carnivore,” from their EP In Return, was easily the highlight. The volume coming from three stacks of amplifiers at 11, matched with one of the hardest-hitting drummers since Melvins’ Dale Crover, did get to be a bit much after awhile, but Torche kept it short and sweet, and proved that there is indeed pleasure in pain.

With a wall of amps and a massive gong that completely obscured the back wall of the Sala stage, Boris started with the calm and collected “Flower Sun Rain” but quickly switched into high gear, sticking mostly to their shoegaze/psych-friendly Smile record with highlights being “Buzz In,” “Statement” and “My Neighbor Satan,” before capping off the night with the heavy-as-fuck, 20-minute dirge/ballad “Untitled.” Extra kudos to recent second guitarist Michio Kurihara, who plays the perfect foil to the riff-slinging Wata. Further proof that metal is the most innovative and progressive genre in rock right now.

If any of you were lucky enough to make either of these two shows, and would like to stay on the heavy tip, you have to make it to la Sala Rossa to check out the volume beatdown of Dutch Oven with punk/blues duo Ashtray Heart and Schooner this Saturday.

MY ATTITUDE IS MOSH…JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM