For those who rocked,
I salute you

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

I finally made it down to Katacombes’ new digs at the corner of St-Laurent and Ontario on Wednesday, Aug. 5, to catch the devastating doom and heavy-decibel psych of Atlanta’s Zoroaster. The 400-person-capacity room is great for sightlines, with a giant mezzanine peering down onto the dancefloor and the tiny stage tucked into the corner. With drummer Dan Scanlan perched on the lip of the stage, every possible back wall space was taken up by vintage amps switched on full blast. Easily one of the loudest shows I’ve been to in years, Zoroaster melted faces with a set list consisting of the entire Voice of Saturn record. The highlight was easily their 10-minute set closer of heavily effected, blackened vocals over a high-frequency power drone that recalled early Swans and Earth more than their trademark Sabbath/Sleep sludge.

Last Friday, Théâtre Plaza was the only place to be, marking the halfway point of the three-day Wooly Weekend festival. I made it just in time to check out the Motor City sounds of San Francisco’s the Flakes as they blazed through a garage punk set that included a killer version of Alice Cooper’s “Long Way to Go.” The real reason I was there, though, was to catch headliners Question Mark & the Mysterians, and truthfully, the experience was a little bittersweet. Things started looking up when, taking the stage after a James Brown-style rave-up, Question Mark, at the tender age of 67, did the pony just like it was ’64 again. After twisting it to classics like “Girl, You Captivate Me” and “You’re Telling Me Lies,” things got seriously L7 with extended guitar histrionics from Bobby Balderrama and lukewarm renditions of R&B standards “Stand By Me” and “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” thus reducing the band’s initial energy to casino sweat-act levels. Due to the set time of 2:30 a.m., a lack of their classic garage material and synth basslines, the room quickly cleared out with the band finally squeezing in “96 Tears” and “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” with the house lights on. Much love and respect to organizers Teenbeat Takeover, but for me, Question Mark’s scene was straight up weirdsville, man.

Being no chump, I was definitely not going to miss the chance to see AC/DC, who squeezed ’em in at the Big O on Saturday, Aug. 8. Yet again, Angus Young and co. defied logic and absolutely killed it throughout their 130-minute set. Opening with “Rock ’n’ Roll Train,” these legends knew what people were paying for and only included four songs off their recent Black Ice, stuffing the set list with crowd favourites including an absolutely ripping version of “Let There Be Rock” that tipped the scales at 20 minutes. Young, of course, was the star of the show with relentless headbanging and solos that would’ve levelled a man half his age. You couldn’t wish playing such cavernous confines on even rock’s richest royalty, but these legends worked the room throughout with expertise. If there is a better live rock ’n’ roll band that has stomped the pines since 1973, I have definitely yet to see them. Truly a band fuelled on blood and sweat that remains as inspired as ever. God love ’em.

DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP…
JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM