Day Two of Riot Fest Toronto was a polar opposite in weather in comparison to the previous day. Think sunny skies, grade school smiles and throw back songs that instantly catapulted us into our childhood bedrooms making mix tapes for mates on a school night.
Jazz Cartier started us off and kept us cool in the 6. Cartier is a long listed nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize and his album ‘Marauding in Paradise’ is introspective as it is cool. A must have to update your tired IPod. Kudos to Riot Fest for curating a well rounded hip hop stage. The EDM stage was also extremely popular with the kids. Each stage felt cohesive and a natural fit for the performers that followed one another.
Babes in Toyland were in fighting spirit when they played the afternoon slot of Day 2 at Riot Fest. They reminded us of what it meant to be a riot girl and in true form stole the last of my hearing.
During our break between bands we made time to ride the Ferris Wheel and take in the views of the Fest from way above. As an adult getting on a Ferris Wheel it may seem like no big deal. But it was. Full anxiety attack aside, it was worth it. It was gobs smacking seeing the amount of people at the festival and how busy each of the stages were. The sun, melted into the clouds, the smell of hot yummy eats and laughter below made for an even more gleeful afternoon.
That said the queues to buy tickets for the rides ran long. Next year it would be neat to be able to use our wristbands to ride the amusement park rides without fuss.
There was also not a lot of signage around detailing the band’s performance schedule. Some muttering from concert goers was overheard. For those of us not using the Riot fest App – perhaps it’s time to make a switch from paper?
As the evening went on – some of us who don’t drink could have used a hot beverage or two. Hmmm, perhaps next year a hot tea/coffee truck would be a nice addition to the food truck area.
Tyler, the Creator who never minces his words as evident in his songs called out a ‘bro-filled’ audience for being incredibly awkward. His discomfort impacted his performance but the young inebriated crowd were not all that bothered.
The Wu-Tang Clan was on point and delivered a robust and fresh (like it was still the 90’s) performance. The audience was hype to their rhymes. Wu-Tang delivered the goods with C.R.E.A.M. a crowd favourite.
The Prodigy took hold of the audience and ‘breathed’ a whole new life into them for the last few hours of the festival. People were tired but still ready for an all out rave care of this British band who slayed us with their light and sound show. Their performance was truly electric and gifted everyone with take away memories of two amazing days with Riot Fest at Downsview Park.
As usual we look forward to next summer with Riot Fest on our home turf.
Day One of Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo contained heightened emotional moments, cheeky smiles, hilarious in crowd conversations with random strangers, blatant audience shenanigans and tears (or was that rain drops?).
As usual Union Events does a great job organizing Riot Fest Toronto on our Canadian home turf. The lines run smoothly, the site is organized and the space is a plentiful to roam, discover new music and ultimately take in a fete we have been waiting all year for.
But then the rain came and boy did it come down hard. At one point as we stood awaiting Gwar, we felt this experience was penance of some sort. Then Gwar disappointed a few hundred wet fans by stating they were unable to perform due to the poor conditions.
The show went on.
Riot Fest Toronto again brought us the grandfathers of Canadian punk rock and boy did they deliver. D.O.A. is close to legendary as The Ramones, The Buzzcocks and Public Image Limited. Their set was full on, political, endearing and the gentlemen were probably in better physical shape than the young’ uns watching them in the crowd. The sweetest part was observing Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth taking in D.O.A.’s set from stage right. It’s not every day you see an ex-Sonic Youth front man paying homage to Canuck punk rock royalty.
The Dead Milk Men always ever so cheeky enticed the fans with their humour and nostalgic renditions of songs from our youth – ‘Punk Rock Girl’ made us all feel really old at the same time.
Sans Josh Homme, Eagles of Death Metal from Palm Desert California proved that we Canadians can get down and dirty when probed. Albeit a shorter set due to the rain – there was still an abundance of bras thrown onto the stage for Jesse to inhale as he took all of us on a wonderful high.
Weezer created a gorgeous ambiance later in the day playing their album ‘Pinkerton’ in its entirety. ‘Island in the Sun’ was a wonderful reminder that when we feeling like bashing our heads onto our desks at work on Monday – there are only a few songs that can save us.
The Thurston Moore Band was certainly no Sonic Youth but certainly demonstrated the remnants of its iconic heyday. The dreaminess, electricity and pure verve were alive and well. But staring at Steve Shelley’s drum kit clearly holding the Sonic Youth seal was heartbreaking.
The night ended with Alexisonfire. Instantly it felt like 20,000 were crammed into one space. It was a chaotic juggernaut alright. Teenage girls were crying, grown men stood still and even the security guards had given up. Clearly Dallas and the boys have moved on in their professional careers – but last night we saw all the markings of what made them truly unique on Dine Alone records. Punk rock with melancholic sensibilities. Alexisonfire will crush you while also holding your heart up when you need them the most. It seemed like the audience was deeply triggered last night while remembering that one song from Alexisonfire that got them through.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival had a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma, better known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, was born in Los Angeles, California to a Nigerian father and a mother of African-American and Canadian descent.
Born in Ladera Heights, he rose to prominence as the leader and co-founder of the alternative hip hop collective Odd Future, and has rapped on and produced songs for nearly every Odd Future release. Okonma also creates all the artwork for the group’s releases and said in an interview with radio presenter DJ Semtex, that he designs all the group’s clothing and other merchandise as well. After releasing his debut album Goblin under XL Recordings, in April 2011, he signed a joint venture deal for him and his label Odd Future Records, with RED Distribution and Sony Music Entertainment. Following that he released his second studio album Wolf, which was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 selling 90,000 copies in its first week.
Jazz Cartier
Jazz Cartier is the stage name of Jaye Adams, a Canadian rapper. His debut album Marauding in Paradise was released in April 2015, and was a longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.
Cartier had worked on an early version of Marauding in Paradise as early as 2011, but was not satisfied with the album. After moving back to Toronto, he began working with record producer Michael Lantz, and released his first single “Set Fire” in 2014. Performing in Toronto-area music venues, he quickly attracted attention — his track “Switch” was regularly played at Toronto Raptors games by team DJ 4Korners, and at a show in March 2015 he was introduced by fellow Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall.
Check out Tyler, The Creator and Jazz Cartier at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
The Joy Formidable
Childhood friends and then couple Ritzy Bryan and bassist Rhydian Dafydd originally played together as part of Manchester band Tricky Nixon, which later reformed into Sidecar Kisses. After Sidecar Kisses split up in 2007, they regrouped, returning to their Welsh home town of Mold, and formed The Joy Formidable with Justin Stahley on drums. In July 2008, they released their first official single, “Austere”. It was followed by a Christmas single, “My Beerdrunk Soul Is Sadder than a Hundred Dead Christmas Trees”, issued as a 2008 digital download, and the “Cradle” double 7″ in 2009. In January 2009, their self-released debut EP, A Balloon Called Moaning, was issued in the UK.
In 2009, they replaced Stahley with Matthew James Thomas. That April, they teamed with a new label started by Passion Pit’s Ayad Al Adhamy, Black Bell Records, to release A Balloon Called Moaning in the U.S, earning favourable reviews from NME, The Guardian, The Times, Spin and Pitchfork.
In 2010, the band signed to Canvasback Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic, and began work on their debut album ,The Big Roar which was recorded in London. Dafydd said that “(it) covers a lot of emotional range. It’s captured the battle between the eternal optimist and the manic depressive”. The album was produced by The Joy Formidable with help from engineer Neak Menter. The band traveled to Los Angeles to mix it with producer Rich Costey, who had worked with bands such as Mew, Muse, Foo Fighters and Glasvegas.
The Big Roar was released on 24 January 2011 and included early singles “Austere”, “Cradle” and “Whirring” as well as two further singles, “I Don’t Want to See You Like This” and “A Heavy Abacus” (“Whirring” was later sampled by The Lonely Island on “YOLO”). In November 2011, their song “Endtapes” was featured on the The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn film soundtrack.
Most of the writing for Wolf’s Law was done on the road during the 12-month tour in support of their previous record, The Big Roar. Commenting on the writing process for the album, Bryan explained that the songs for the album were approached with vocals and one accompaniment (either guitar or piano) before being built upon, stating, “It’s all about the lyrics, the voice and the melody”. The vocals and guitars were recorded in January 2012 in Maine, while drums and additional orchestral and choir pieces for the record were scored and recorded by the band in February 2012 in London. Mixing duties for the record were handled by Andy Wallace while the records production was completed by the band. The album title referred to Wolff’s law, a scientific theory by Julius Wolff which posits that bones may become stronger in response to stress as a form of adaptation. According to Bryan, this related to one of the major themes of the album, which is “relationships on the mend and feeling reinvigorated”; she continued that the album felt like the band reconnecting with them emotionally and spiritually.
For Record Store Day on 20 April 2013, the Joy Formidable released a limited-edition 12″ single featuring Wolf’s Law outtake “A Minute’s Silence” backed by a live cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Badlands”.
On 16 July 2013, the band released the EP Silent Treatment. The four-song EP included William Orbit’s remix of the title track and the new song “All This Promise.”
Fidlar
FIDLAR is a skate punk/garage punk band from Los Angeles, California. The band is currently signed to Mom + Pop Music in the US, Wichita Recordings in the UK and Dine Alone Records in Canada.
The band’s name is an acronym for ‘Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk’, a skate mantra gleaned from singer Zac Carper’s former roommates, or ‘Forget It Dad, Lifes All Right’. Originally, FIDLAR went under the name ‘Fuck The Clock’, as referenced in their song ‘Cheap Beer’. Founding members, Carper and Elvis Kuehn met while working at a recording studio in which Carper was employed as an engineer and Kuehn was an intern. The two started recording songs when the studio was empty and posting the finished products online. Three years after recording their first songs they stepped on stage together with The Black Lips and went on tour with The Hives.
Check out The Joy Formidable and Fidlar at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Don’t forget my Riot Fest Ticket Giveaway ends today!
What are the rules when entering the Thirty Four Flavours and Riot Fest & Expo Toronto 2015 Ticket Giveaway?
Please sign up to Thirty Four Flavours Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thirtyfourflavours, Twitter https://twitter.com/34flavours, or email subscription to enter the draw. When you have signed up please send me a Facebook message, a tweet or email (thirtyfourflavours@gmail.com) telling me which Riot Fest & Expo Toronto band you are interested in catching September 19th and 20th in Toronto. Easy peasy! I will announce the winner on Sunday August 31, 2015.
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme, who are the only permanent members of the band, though Homme rarely plays live shows because of commitments to other bands. There are also a wide range of other musicians that play under the Eagles of Death Metal moniker, both on the albums and in live shows, frequently under humorous aliases.
Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal is not a death metal band. Hughes stated that a friend was introducing Josh Homme to the death metal genre. When he played a song by the Polish band Vader and made a claim that the song was within the death metal genre, Homme then referred to Vader as “The Eagles of Death Metal”. After hearing this phrase, he wondered what a cross between the Eagles and a death metal band would sound like. In a 2003 interview Homme described the sound of the band as a combination of “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals.”
Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin is an alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada fronted by guitar player and singer Care Failure (born Caroline Kawa). They played the “Next Big Thing” Stage at Edgefest in 2006, have toured across Eastern Canada several times on their own as well as opening for Buckcherry on their Canadian tour. Die Mannequin also opened for Guns N’ Roses on the Canadian dates of their 2006 North American Tour, and supported Sum 41 on their Strength in Numbers tour during the fall of 2007. They have toured Europe on several occasions, alone and as opening act for the European Danko Jones tour in 2008. They are also playing one of the legs of the Jägermeister tour with Bloodlights and Oceansize.
In the fall of 2009, Die Mannequin opened for Marilyn Manson on the full Canadian leg of his “The High End of Low” tour in addition to a cross Canada tour featuring opening act Raggedy Angry.
Check out Eagles of Death Metal and Die Mannequin at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Don’t forget to enter my Riot Fest Ticket Giveaway!
What are the rules when entering the Thirty Four Flavours and Riot Fest & Expo Toronto 2015 Ticket Giveaway?
Please sign up to Thirty Four Flavours Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thirtyfourflavours, Twitter https://twitter.com/34flavours, or email subscription to enter the draw. When you have signed up please send me a Facebook message, a tweet or email (thirtyfourflavours@gmail.com) telling me which Riot Fest & Expo Toronto band you are interested in catching September 19th and 20th in Toronto. Easy peasy! I will announce the winner on Sunday August 30, 2015.
Echo and the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band’s drummer.
Their 1980 debut album, Crocodiles, met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 20. Their second album, Heaven Up Here (1981), again found favour with the critics and reached number 10 in the UK Album chart. The band’s cult status was followed by mainstream success in the mid-1980s, as they scored a UK Top 10 hit with “The Cutter”, and the attendant album, Porcupine (1983), reached number 2 in the UK. Their next release, Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band’s UK chart success, and has since been regarded as their landmark release, spawning the hit singles “The Killing Moon”, “Silver” and “Seven Seas”. One more studio album, Echo & the Bunnymen (1987), was released before McCulloch left the band to pursue a solo career in 1988.
The following year, in 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the band re-emerged with a new line-up. Original members Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson were joined by Noel Burke as lead singer, Damon Reece on drums and Jake Brockman on keyboards. This new incarnation of the band released Reverberation in 1990, but the disappointing critical and commercial reaction it received culminated with a complete split in 1993.
After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen with the UK Top 10 hit “Nothing Lasts Forever”. An album of new material, Evergreen, was greeted enthusiastically by critics and the band made a successful return to the live arena. Though Pattinson left the group for a second time, McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to issue new material as Echo & the Bunnymen, including the albums What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001), Siberia (2005), The Fountain (2009) and Meteorites (2014).
In 2012 Ian McCulloch released his fourth solo LP, Pro Patria Mori and a live album Holy Ghosts in 2013. In 2013 Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson formed a group called “Poltergeist” and released an album called Your Mind Is A Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder) in June 2013.
Wildlife
The heart is a funny thing. It’s strong, vulnerable, vital, but unlike most of the important things in our lives, it’s not protected by bricks or Kevlar. Unless you have a Kevlar heart… and if so, where did you get it? Can I have one? For the rest of us, we put ourselves out into the world blind and unguarded; we love, we live and sometimes we get hit (possibly hard). When we mess-up or get messed-up, our hearts help us use those mess-ups to learn, to light the way, and get a bit closer to a less messed-up truth.
Wildlife has always kind of been about a similar kind of thinking. We’re all in this together, so lets get movin’, always forward, never back, don’t dwell on the past, let’s build on our mistakes, try new things and stop pretending you know everything cause you don’t and that’s annoying. AND That’s pretty much what our entire first record was about! Strike Hard, Young Diamond (our first record) was a study of letting go, an observation of youth, what it means to be young, reckless, naïve and all of the incredible things that can come out of happy accidents. We used themes of adventure, exploration and vitality to explain jumping into the dark, deep water not knowing or caring where you came up for air.
I guess it only makes sense that our new record is about realization. It probably asks more questions than gives answers. The one answer it does give is really nothing new, but it has a lot of meaning to me either way, which is why we call it “…On The Heart”. We view it as an essay, a love letter, a tribute to the heart itself. Everything it does for us, to us, how it helps us and hurts us. How it heals us, holds us up and pushes us forward. It keeps us going, keeps us living and gives us a place to be free. Don’t stop believin’? Follow your dreams? Sure. But it seems to me that the heart is too complex to be summed up in a catchphrase. I think it would be fair to say that this new album was created to try to make a little sense of that complex, mysterious, vital muscle. Maybe with a couple catchphrases thrown in for good measure.
Check out Echo and the Bunnymen and Wildlife at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Here is the fourth of ten Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo Spotlight’s we talk The Prodigy and Indian Handcrafts.
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group from Braintree, Essex, formed by Liam Howlett in 1990. The current members include Liam Howlett (keyboardist and composer), Keith Flint (dancer and vocalist) and Maxim (MC and vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill (dancer and occasional live keyboardist) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as was a female dancer and vocalist called Sharky who left the group during their early period.
Along with The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide. The group has won numerous music awards throughout their career, including two Brit Awards—winning Best British Dance Act twice, three MTV Video Music Awards, two Kerrang! Awards, five MTV Europe Music Awards, and have twice been nominated for Grammy Awards.
The group’s brand of music makes use of various styles ranging from rave, hardcore techno, electro-industrial, jungle and breakbeat in the early 1990s to big beat and electronic rock with punk vocal elements in later times.[citation needed] The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s and have since achieved popularity and worldwide renown. They have been called “the premiere dance act for the alternative masses” and “the Godfathers of Rave”.
Indian Handcrafts
“The last one was our 70s album, this is our 80s album,” jokes Indian Handcrafts drummer/vocalist Brandyn James Aikins. Although it’s an offhand generalization, there’s a good deal of accuracy to the jest. Whereas the Canadian duo’s 2012 Sargent House debut Civil Disobedience for Losers was full of 70s style heavy groove within its drop-tuned riff-rollicking, Creeps has more sheen and steel. Or, while the previous album was more of a shag carpet lined party van, Creeps is a souped-up time-traveling Delorean.
Throughout, Creeps pits elements of early Metallica’s dingy denim thrash, Judas Priest’s shiny leather turbo metal, Queens of the Stone Age’s flannel-flying rock and even Creatures Of The Night-era KISS’ glossy hard pop alongside the band’s signature amalgam of futuristic alt-rock and a cross section of blistering punk-sludge hallucinations. The drum sounds are huge, the ridiculously incredible guitar tones will have guitar geeks geeking out for years to come. And, the dual vocals often compellingly sound as though they were simultaneously softly sung and violently screamed.
The songs for Creeps came about quickly after the band had spent considerable time on tour, the two of them riding in a van for hours on end. “On tour you’re listening to everything all the time, going from Celtic Frost to Faster Pussycat,” says guitarist/vocalist Daniel Brandon Allen. “It tends to work its way into the writing.” The effects of that mindset opened them up to the musical twists and turns of the new album.
“It’s anthemic at times,” Allen says. “Hopefully listener friendly. It’s kind of a mixed bag.”
The mixed bag starts off with the one-two punch of lightning-riding, doom riff shuffling “Down At the Docks” and infectious, storming track “It’s Late Queeny.” A finger-tapped, overdrive ravaged guitar lead kicks off the swinging “Murderers For Hire” with Aikins’ and Allen’s vocals sounding more demonic than the PMRC given carte blanche censorship rights. Elsewhere, the straight up power metal of “Maelstrom” affirms the hypothesis, “is a two-man Iron Maiden possible?” The 7-minute tune packs in as many great riffs as some bands do in a career, while the vocals spin a woeful seafaring yarn. “Snake Mountain” is a raging NWOBHM style chug-fest that somehow also hearkens to late-80s Dischord melodic hardcore. And, hard rock fans are sure to latch onto the shimmering melody and – gasp! – vocal harmonies of “The Divider” even while 90s Helmet fans would claim the open-tuned minor chord riff for their own alternative nation.
For Creeps the band once again teamed up with previous album engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), surreptitiously sneaking away from their Barrie, Ontario home for 10 days’ recording at Kasai’s new Sun Valley, CA studio Sound of Sirens. There the pair focused intently on distilling their ideas down to a 9-song, 44-minute can of whip ass labelled simply, Creeps.
Creeps will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 2nd, 2015 via Sargent House.
Check out The Prodigy and Indian Handcrafts at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Here is the third of ten Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo Spotlight’s we talk Babes in Toyland and Courage My Love.
Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland are an American punk rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland (lead vocals and guitar), with Lori Barbero (drums) and Michelle Leon (bass), who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992.
Between 1989 and 1995, Babes in Toyland released three studio albums; Spanking Machine (1990), the commercially successful Fontanelle (1992), and Nemesisters (1995), before becoming inactive in 1997 and eventually disbanding in 2001. While the band was inspirational to some performers in the riot grrrl movement in the Pacific Northwest, Babes in Toyland never associated themselves with the movement.
In August 2014, Babes In Toyland announced that they would be reuniting, touring and possibly recording again. As of February 2015, the band has booked several shows.
Courage My Love
What is courage? When you’re a young rock ‘n’ roll band—courage is throwing yourself into your music fully and completely. It’s stepping onto a stage and just given’r. It’s touring new places far from home, and opening up, scars and all, to your fans. Courage is saying what you really think. It’s being unafraid of change, of becoming who you really are.
Courage My Love is all of these things.
The Kitchener, Canada band consists of twin sisters Mercedes Arn-Horn (vocals, guitar) and Phoenix Arn-Horn (drums. vocals) with their friend Brandon Lockwood (bass).
Call them a power trio, pop-punk, alternative metal. As you wish. They grew up on it all. But while you are jumping around and banging your head with abandon, don’t miss the message: They have no appetite for destruction. They do not seek to destroy. No, Courage My Love is here to uplift, inspire.
Becoming, the band’s new EP, produced by Chris Perry in Toronto, is eight tracks bled out of Courage My Love during a period of exciting changes. “Our first EP For Now came out when we were 17,” explains Mercedes. “When you’re our age, a lot can happen in two years.” Yes, many good things. Like a JUNO Award nomination for ‘Breakthrough Group of the Year’, heavy video rotation on MuchMusic/MusiquePlus, more than 6.1 million YouTube views, being named as one of Alternative Press Magazine’s ’100 Bands You Need To Know’ and being asked to be on the full Vans Warped Tour 2014 (42 dates). “Before we went on tour we’d never been away from home,” says the guitarist. “You meet all these new people, and you learn about yourselves. We’ve all grown a lot. That was the inspiration for Becoming.”
Opening track “Skin and Bone” captures the fear and longing of leaving something behind. “We’re too old to die young,” they sing over thunderous beats, the heart of the matter. Hard- knocking first single “You Don’t Know How” cranks it up, intense and defiant: “Find out I’m strong enough on my own now.” By the time the EP closes with the haunting ballad “Dark Wood, Dark Water,” about finding the one thing that pulls you out of the darkness, Courage My Love’s mission is clear: rock out, be happy, stay true.
For this next generation of musicians, that means truly embracing social media. With their popular self-produced mock-reality TV show “The Unreal Lives of Courage My Love”, podcasts and viral videos, Courage My Love not only connect with fans, they reveal more of their true selves. It’s all part of what they do best. “This whole band is about being yourself,” says Phoenix. “You don’t need to play by the book to be successful. Being a girl isn’t that big of a deal in music anymore. You don’t need to have a certain look. Break the rules, stand apart.”
Check out Babes in Toyland and Courage My Love at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Check out the daily schedule line up!
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Thank you to Riot Fest & Expo Toronto and Union Events with gifting Thirty Four Flavours with 1 pair of General Admission Passes to one of my lucky readers. This year’s lineup is even bigger and better than last year – so it’s worth getting your groove on and enter Thirty Four Flavours Ticket Giveaway quickly!
Riot Fest & Expo Toronto 2015 is coming at us fast and furious on September 19th and 20th at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
What are the rules when entering the Thirty Four Flavours and Riot Fest & Expo Toronto 2015 Ticket Giveaway?
Please sign up to Thirty Four Flavours Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thirtyfourflavours, Twitter https://twitter.com/34flavours, or email subscription to enter the draw. When you have signed up please send me a Facebook message, a tweet or email (thirtyfourflavours@gmail.com) telling me which Riot Fest & Expo Toronto band you are interested in catching September 19th and 20th in Toronto. Easy peasy! I will announce the winner on Sunday August 30, 2015.
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo is coming at us fast and furious on September 19 and 20 at Downsview Park. Weezer, The Prodigy, Bleachers, Cancer Bats, Courage My Love, and Ritual join a diverse array of bands previously announced. To top it off, Weezer will play both days of the festival, performing their eponymous debut (known as the Blue Album) one day and Pinkerton on the other. For fans a little tight on budget – Riot Fest brings back its layaway program, with the option to pay ticket costs in several installments during the lead up to the fest.
Here is the second of 10 Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo Spotlight’s we talk Weezer and DOA.
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992 consisting of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals). The line-up has changed three times since its formation in 1992. Weezer has sold 9.2 million albums in the US and over 17 million worldwide.
After signing to Geffen Records in 1993, Weezer released their debut self-titled album, also known as The Blue Album, in 1994. Backed by successful music videos for the singles “Buddy Holly”, “Undone – The Sweater Song” and “Say It Ain’t So”, The Blue Album became a triple-platinum success and received positive reviews. Weezer’s second album, Pinkerton (1996), featuring a darker, more abrasive sound, was a commercial failure and initially received mixed reviews, but went on to achieve cult status and critical acclaim years later. Both The Blue Album and Pinkerton are now frequently cited among the best albums of the 1990s. Following Pinkerton, bassist Matt Sharp left the band and Weezer went on hiatus.
In 2001, Weezer returned with another self-titled album, also known as The Green Album, with new bassist Mikey Welsh. Promoted by the singles “Hash Pipe” and “Island in the Sun”, The Green Album was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. After the album’s release, Welsh left the band and was replaced by current bassist Scott Shriner. Weezer’s fourth album, Maladroit, was released in May 2002 to mostly positive reviews, but did not match the sales of The Green Album.
Weezer’s fifth album, Make Believe, was released in May 2005; despite mixed reviews, its single “Beverly Hills” became Weezer’s first single to top the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the first to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. In June 2008, Weezer’s third self-titled album, also known as The Red Album, featuring “TR-808s, synths, Southern rap, and baroque counterpoint”, was released to mild reviews.[3] Its lead single, “Pork and Beans”, became the band’s third song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart, backed by a successful YouTube music video.
Weezer’s seventh album, Raditude (2009) and eighth album Hurley (2010), featuring more “modern pop production”[4] and songs co-written with other artists, achieved further mixed reviews and moderate sales. Their ninth album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End, was released in October 2014, and received Weezer’s most positive reviews since Pinkerton.
DOA
D.O.A. is a hard-core punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the “founders” of hard-core punk, along with Black Flag, The Germs, Negative Trend, and Middle Class. Their second album Hard-core ’81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to the second wave of the American punk sound as hard-core. Singer/guitarist Joey “Shithead” Keithley is the only founding member to have stayed in the band throughout its entire history. However, original bassist Randy Rampage has been active in the band in recent years and has played on one of the band’s last three albums, although he is not in the current lineup. D.O.A. has often released music on Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles Records, and they have released an album with Jello Biafra titled Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors.
D.O.A. has always maintained an uncompromising leftist political stance. The band is known for its outspoken political opinions and has a history of performing for many causes and benefits. Its slogan is “Talk minus Action equals Zero.” The band has been active on many issues, including anti-racism, anti-globalization, freedom of speech, and the environment.
Founder Joe Keithley now spends a great deal of time working with his record company Sudden Death Records which has branched off into many areas of music.
Check out Weezer and DOA at Toronto’s Riot Fest & Expo!
In previous years, Riot Fest and their partners at Union Events have cultivated lineups that have featured reunions and rare appearances—and 2015 is no exception. Bands such as Drive Like Jehu and Thrice will be making reunion appearances at Riot Fest & Expo. Moreover, rare appearances by Alexisonfire, Echo & The Bunnymen and Motörhead give 2015’s edition its unique feel.
Outside of the announced bands, this year’s festival will also include a circus tent featuring the Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, a miniature golf course, a video arcade hall, and a wide array of food and drink options.
Link to purchase Riot Fest & Expo Toronto tickets:
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