I was lucky enough to get to be at this gig. I walked in at 8 and the first band was to get on stage for 9. This isn’t so strange, but the fact that the Bovine was packed from the opening of the doors, I knew this was going to be a special evening. I also noticed a lot of Polka dot Cadaver t-shirts in the bar. It is a little uncommon to see so many T-shirts of the band inside a club, just saying… So I waited and the first band up was Crimson Asphalt. They were certainly happy to be there because of this line-up. They opened the evening with a song about ODIN. If you weren’t into Anthony Hopkins, then go outside and have a smoke. This is a mid-tempo aggressive band that was filled with some sludgy metal. They immediately went into their song- Throat Punch. That is when I noticed the singer. I know most of them can sound the same with that guttural energy. Being a Sepultura fan, I couldn’t help but hear a similarity between this singer and Max Cavalera from Sepultura and Soulfly and Crimson Asphalt. I began to gel with their sound as they went for a frontal Punk attack that left you in pain and pleasure. They even have a warm and fuzzy song about the shitty town of Welland. It actually is a sing along song. I think what endeared me to this band was the fact that the last two words of every song ends with- F**K You! Their terminally sick sounds will leave you on the toilet passed out and your cat will hate you in the morning. If they don’t work out, they can always change their name to Crimson Ass Fault and sell hemorrhoid cream.
Here are some images of Crimson Asphalt:
Tangents came on and destroyed the stage with their aggressive stomping and literally in your face performance by the singer and the guitar player with his live jagged toenails ready to scratch your eyes out! They created moment that reminded me of Pantera tries to intertwine with Dillinger’s Escape Plan. Their sound is thin and vicious, that throws rabbit punches to your kidneys and then stomps on it all over the stage. It feels like you are getting beat in the head by a jagged can of tomato soup. These guys can work up a real sweat!
Here are some images of Tangents:
Well what can I say about Polkadot Cadaver? They came, they conquered while penetrating Canada at all times. Their style of music truly bends all types of musical genres. I know we hear that all the time with other bands, but these guys are the real deal when it comes to coming up with original twists and turns to their music.
Let’s say you go to one of their shows, you may possible hear moments of bands like Faith No More, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, King Diamond, and a whole lot of the truly deep punk sounds out there. They also have moments of sounding militant as well as throwing in some ska music and add some classic alternative sounds with Bossa Nova and progressive metal. This is a great class of aggressive musical history in one show.
One of my hopes is they come back to Toronto around Halloween: Now that will be an amazing evening to celebrate the spookiness and spidery feelings that a band like Polkadot Cadaver can create. With songs called-“Last Call in Jonestown”, “Impure Thoughts”, “Acid Memoirs” and Get Possessed” do you need another reason to miss this band?
A couple of highlights for me was when they actually did a ballad-like tune called Chloroform Girl. The singer walked into the crowd and all the women gathered around and had a sing- a- long to this. What a fun moment for everyone there. Nearing the end of their set, they did a song called Bloodsucker that was absolutely a killer tune with tons of built in creepiness. I was waiting for someone’s neck to be bitten. Oh well maybe at the Halloween show…Haha…
I could tell by the energy of the band and audience, that Polkadot Cadaver loves coming to Toronto. I don’t blame them, I can see by their reaction this is a town very dedicated to this bunch of misfits that will not go away for a very long time. People of Toronto, all I am going to say is, this is the kind of show you are missing almost every night. Isn’t it time you started to pay attention to Blast Toronto to see what amazing band is playing next. I hope to see this band again but on a larger stage! This is truly an original band that needs to be experienced live!
Here are some images of Polkadot Cadaver: