Then came the real highlight of the day: the illustrious return of
Hugh Dillon. After The Headstones broke up amid rumours of drug
and alcohol problems, many figured Mr. Dillon was down for the
count. Happily, a slim, trim, and sober Hugh Dillon is back with all new
material and a new band called The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir.
Dillon and his band played a set of entirely new material, yet still man-
aged to keep the crowd absolutely rapt. When he hit the stage, Dillon
quickly showed his skills as a hilarious frontman. Between songs, he

  

 

Photos by T. Hargreaves

continually cracked up the crowd with one funny statement after the
next. This was the first band of the day to truly capture the attention
of the audience. I caught up with Dillon and queried him on the
progress of the band. “We’ve been demoing our new material with Paul
Langois of The Tragically Hip producing,” says Dillon. If the record-
ed songs are as good as the live show, Dillon is back on his way to the
top.

ars 8 EePENMERy —

Bif Naked hit the stage next, much to the pleasure of all the little
girls in the audience. Her set was heavy on the hits, spliced with new
songs from her forthcoming new album. Bif’s set was energetic, but if
you’ve seen her once, you’ve seen her a thousand times. Bif could use
a few new tricks to keep the viewer’s attention. She’s getting a little long
in the tooth to still be pandering to the girly punk image. It seems as if
Bif is still regurgitating the same formulaic three-chord rock and 16-
year-old angst poetry. It might hold the attention span for a
three-minute video, but it hardly entertains for an entire set.

Last, but not least, came The Tea Party. This was the surprise band
of the day. P’ve seen them a few times over the years and have never
been overly impressed. This time around, they took the rock up a
notch. They hit the stage with high energy and a massive sound.
Guitars ripped through the venue, much to the crowd’s pleasure. For a
band with a wide discography, they launched into several surprise cov-
ers right off the bat. A smoking version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo
Child” got things going, while Tool’s “Sober” kept things interesting.
The other highlight of the set was a rocking rendition of their song,
“Fire In The Head.”

When all was said and done, it was a great experience. The anticipa-
tion of Wake West 2005 begins.

 

 

 

MONKEYS DO IT, YOU SHOULD TOO!

    

 

 

 

 

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CG Write for us. Now. I mean it.

 

 

SJ