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Everywhere | go the kids wanna rock:
The Lone Wolf's New Music West notebook

 

The Organ

Tyler “The Lone Wolf” Bradford
Culture Editor

New Music West
May 8-12

Wednesday May 8
Fox Fest2
GM Place

FoxFest2 opened New Music West on
Wednesday night with a majority of bands
that get regular airplay on CFOX. While the
five main-stage acts were not really part of
the New Music West flavour (or perhaps it
was the venue) the three side-stage acts all
seemed to play with the less-than-polished
desperation that is a trademark of bands
trying to make their mark.

5:30pm — Goldfinger

Opening the festivities was Goldfinger, a
veteran pop-tinged 3 chord power punk
band that has been around the scene for a
long time, so long in fact, I’m sure lead
singer John Feldman was playing guitar in
So Cal before headliners Sum 41 were in
high school. No matter, the band got the
young crowd frothing in a sea of pogoing
bodies to hits old and new alike.

Lone Wolf rating: 8/10

6:00pm — Gob

Local pop-punks Gob kept things kinetic
with a high energy set that featured hits, ‘No
Regrets’ and ‘Paint it Black’ and a guest
appearance by Sum 41 bass player Cone.
In a- weird moment, the lead singer encour-

aged the crowd to “Show me your metal!” in
reference to the devil horned symbol. I’m
sure if anyone who frequents the Cobalt
had been there they would have launched
him across the arena, but thankfully the
crowd was full of 13-20 year olds who
wouldn't know real metal if Dave Mustayne
dropped by their parents home for Sunday
dinner.
Lone Wolf rating: 8/10

6:30pm — Autopilot Off

After Gob, across the arena at the “B
Stage” were newcomers Autopilot Off, who
apparently have a big single on the Fox.
They were nothing special, just generic
pop-punk without any lasting hooks to war-
rant any more than these two sentences.

Lone Wolf rating: 5/10

6:50pm — Edwin and the Pressure

In what was the worst performance of the
entire 5-day festival, Edwin and his band,
the Pressure actually inspired the young
audience to toss soft drink cups at the
stage. Ever the rock star poseur, Edwin
offered to meet up with the hooligans
responsible after the show and shove his
fist down their throat. Real classy. On top of
his engaging crowd interaction, Edwin and
the Pressure proved themselves to be the
most banal, tinny sounding rock band per-
haps of all time.

Lone Wolf rating: 0/10

7:20pm — WDC

Recent local CFOX Seeds winners WDC
played an okay set of ni-grunge, complete
with a singer who sounded a little too much
like the late Layne Staley. In one of the fun-
nier moments of the night, he attempted to
crowd surf (a la Eddie Vedder) only to have
the crowd drop him.

Lone Wolf rating: 5/10

8:10pm — Sloan

After three straight bands that seemed to
put the crowd to sleep, “the beast from the
east’, Sloan took the main stage to get the
energy level back up. Rocking through a
setlist that included hits predominantly
drawn from their last three albums, includ-
ing ‘The Other Man’ and ‘The Good in
Everyone’ the boys from Halifax played a
strong, if not overly inspired set.

Lone Wolf rating: 8/10

9:00pm — The Full Nine

   

Back over at the side stage, local act The
Full Nine played a loud set of aggro-rock
that saw the mosh pit get a little ugly at
times. Sadly, while the band has the anger
to get a mosh pit going, their lyrics still
leave quite a bit to be desired, with their big
hit, ‘Do you wanna get high’, featuring the
repetition of that line roughly 50 times in
four minutes.

Lone Wolf rating: 4/10

9:30pm — Sum 41

After a quick non-musical appearance by
Chad Kroeger, headliners Sum 41’s intro
had all the theatrics of their metal heroes,
Iron Maiden, including a laser light show
and pyrotechnics. While their pop-metal is
sure making a dent in radio play, and their
live show is a highly energetic affair, their
childish attitudes and toilet humour were
only saved by their bubblegum flavoured
metal tunes, “In Too Deep” and “Fat Lip”, to
which you just can’t help singing along.

Lone Wolf rating: 8/10

Thursday, May 9

Walking down Granville Street on the first
night of the New Music West showcase, one
couldn’t help but feel the excitement in the
air, especially passing all the crazed Puffy
Ami Yumi fans lined up outside the Vogue.

7:30pm @ Luvafair — Crystal Pistol
After a late start Crystal Pistol scorched

 

Mint Records bash at Video-in