Hippy hippy shakedown

>> Flower children beware, Bloodstock is at hand

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Alright, rid your head of hippie jive like brown acid, macramé, Wavy Gravy and porta-potties. The first annual Bloodstock is here to put the final nails in the Woodstock generation’s coffin. In fact, to get where they’re really coming from, you will have to go back a bit farther. Dig it, daddy-o, Bloodstock has more to do with the garage rock and psyched-out rockabilly of the late ’50s and early ’60s than it does with painted schoolbusses and Captain Trips. This one-night festival is going to be greased down and ripping it up with a roster of Montreal bands who know what rock ’n’ roll is really all about.

“I just really wanted to get people to come out and see bands that they would normally not go and see,” says organizer Bloodshot Bill. “All the bands will be playing short sets and if you like them, they’ll have flyers for their upcoming shows and stuff.”

Although most of the bands playing Bloodstock will be hip to the roots-rock thang, Bill promises that the night will explore all facets of a top-notch, hip-shakin’, reverb-drenched good ol’ time. “All the bands playing are bands that I really like. There is Holy Moly from Chateauguay, who used to be Child 44. They almost sound like Led Zeppelin and live, they’re all over the place. Glim Wits and the Derelicts are a country/rockabilly kind of thing. Slim Sandy and his Shady Rhythm Cats is with Peter Sandmark from the Crazy Rhythm Daddies—he describes it as boppin’ hillbilly blues. Rich and the Broke are like, a garage-rock kind of thing. Cooper Thompson plays pop with blues and country mixed in. Rosekill play high-energy rock ’n’ roll, the Guilloteens play with maximum twang and there will be surprise guests as well.”

Bloodshot Bill will not only be hosting the event but also shaking the floorboards with his own wild hybrid of psychobilly and punk. If you have ever been lucky enough to see this high-octane, diet-pill-fuelled greaser in action, you know he’s playing for keeps. The line between punk and rockabilly is blurred as Bill rattles your bones with some of the wildest moves and vocal sounds this side of Hasil Adkins and Lux Interior. “I guess rockabilly and punk definitely share that energy, and you are seeing a lot more punk rockers getting into rockabilly now. It makes sense when you consider that the Sex Pistols did Eddie Cochran covers.”

Will Bill be accompanied by the trashy beats of one Domenic Castelli? Doing his one man band? Discarding clothing to adoring fans? Imitating the sounds of barnyard animals to the delight of frothy, frenzied masses? Who knows, because Bill is on the Q.T. with his own pre-show hype, but he does let this doozy slip. “To be honest, we whipped this thing together really quick. I kept runnning into people one night and just asked if they wanted to play. But it’s cheap and the bands are awesome, so people should show up early and catch everything. It’s like a three-day festival condensed into three hours.” :

At Petit Campus on Monday, May 20, 8pm, $4