28 Apr 2013

On Friday, April 26th, The Ward Skatepark hosted an all ages punk show with the lineup of local and nearby talent Noiz A Noiz, Kill Sid, and Maximum RNR. As we all know, Guelph is a hotbed of live music, and with other metal/punk events in the city that night (big name metal act Opeth was in town, and The Nasties were at Jimmy Jazz) it didn’t really come as a surprise that the skatepark show wasn’t that well attended. But, that certainly did not stop everyone who was there from having a great time.

This was my first time at The Ward Skatepark, and let me say that this is a very cool place – the bands were set up right in the park amongst the half-pipes and whatnot. I couldn’t think of a better atmosphere for a punk show.

Noiz A Noiz started off the night with a fun old school punk set that had the younger audience members thrashing around, and won the admiration of the older crowd who grew up listening to their style of play. These guys are pretty young and they already sound great – keep an eye on them, it’ll be interesting to see how they progress over the next few years. Kill Sid filled in the middle of the night by ripping through a set of dirty punk/metal hybrid tunes. It was only the band’s second show with their current lineup. They have a very raw sound, and I think we’ll see good things from these guys as they develop.

With the small crowd, the night quickly took on the feel of hanging out in your friend’s garage watching their band jam. And although there was a very noticeable age divide in the audience, by the time Maximum RNR hit the stage, everyone young and old was feeling pretty loose and was brought together by the music.

If you’ve never been to a Maximum RNR show, you are missing out! Their music sounds like the craziest house party you’ve ever been to in your life. A Maximum RNR show isn’t something you watch – it’s something you experience – and once you see them, you keep going back for more. The skatepark provided the perfect environment for the uninhibited wild thrashings of singer Diamond Brent Panther as he climbed, jumped, and slid his way through the show. The guys played a short but sweet set of some of their most popular songs. With lead guitarist Keith Carman now residing in Wellington County, I’m glad we can claim a local stake in this band. Your next opportunity to catch them will be at The Hive in Kitchener on June 1st, where they’ll play with The Nasties. Also take note that the band has a new album due out on June 18th called “Rough Side of the Dial” and is currently available for pre-order.

Although initially disappointed with the low turnout, I think it ultimately didn’t matter to the bands, or the fans – we were there – and we were certainly entertained from start to finish.

After the show, I hosted several band members back at my house for an impromptu after party, and a good time was had by all … until the wee hours of the morning. But that’s a whole other blog post that I’ll probably never be allowed to write about!