The Life Of An Opening Act-Part 2

I got to the show early. The opportunity to see Danko Jones in my hometown for next to nothing at a smaller venue could not be passed up.

This gave me the opportunity to speak to both opening bands. The first is a band from my hometown called The Wormwood Scrubs. They are really friendly, and have a wide mix of sounds from punk, to 60’s surfer rock, and a little hint of Brit Pop. They are a KW band, but the lead singer and drummer, Steven and Shaun Foy were born in Liverpool, England. The British accent gives the local band a unique flavour, and the rest of the band, Brandon Sanders(bass), JE Dawe(lead guitar) are tight, and sound great. During the interview I ask what bands influenced them. The Clash, Green Day, Rancid and NOFX were all mentioned. Personally, I get a positive vibe from the band, that most punk bands do not have. I asked them about if any upcoming songs will have that anger or angst often associated with punk. Brandon stated “What do we have to be angry about?” Perhaps positivity is the new punk, grunge or whatever genre is next. I was informed the band will be releasing some material soon that is heavier and I look forward to this. One song from their setlist that is not on the cd I bought that night is Too Late To Go Home. It kind of reminds me of Rollover DJ by Jet, and I really dug it. They performed a 9 song set, with 5 songs on the cd I bought, and 4 songs, possibly on an upcoming album. To sum up the talent of the band, lets put it this way. The first time I heard Take It Back by The Temperance Movement, I thought it was The Wormwood Scrubs. High praise indeed. I have yet to review the Temperance Movement, but suffice to say they are incredibly awesome. I am happy that there is at least 1 local band that has a bright future.

https://www.facebook.com/thewormwoodscrubs

The bands Facebook page has videos of live and recorded performances. I suggest you check them out.

The next band is Say Yes. This is a new Canadian Supergroup of sorts, featuring Jordan Hastings(Alexisonfire)-drums, Adam Michael(formerly of Saint Alvia Cartel)-guitar and vocals, and Michael Zane-bass and vocals. The band states they were influenced by Black Sabbath, and they would classify themselves as a stoner rock band. This talk was before I had heard their set, and afterwards I was shocked. They had some sludge to their songs later in  the set, but not your typical stoner rock sound. It was a mashup. Possibly because one member came from a harder rock band, one from punk, and one from a combination of many styles. Unique would be my description, but in a good way. The raw emotion of the punk upbringing I feel helps with this uniqueness.

I asked Say Yes if they could cover a band, what band would it be. They said Van Morrison. Then they laughed their asses off. There is an inside joke about how they would always be asked to play Brown Eyed Girl, and that they really would do Black Sabbath or Deep Purple. Don’t get me wrong, Sabbath is my favourite band, and Deep purple is right up there, but these guys shouldn’t be fit into the mold of thousands of bands out there that want to emulate Sabbath or Purple. After listening to their set, the cohesiveness came through, as did the excellent musicianship. The guitar sounds were sometimes ones I don’t think I’ve heard before. It is hard to explain. You’ll have to see them live to get what I mean. Another great Canadian band on the upswing.

https://www.facebook.com/sayyesofficial

I bought cd’s from both bands and they will be done in a future post. At this rate soon both of these bands will not be opening acts any longer.