Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hooray!

As of yesterday, May 26, I have been a vegetarian for one month. My conviction to this new lifesytle has not wavered. If anything, it's only gotten stronger. The more I read about the reasons not to eat meat, the more peaceful I am with my decision. At first it was based on 2 factors. Nutrition and ethics. I totally forgot about the environmental!! The amount of  water and air pollution generated by the meat industry is astronomical! And the wasted resources! So much feed is given to animals raised for meat. If that land was used for crops for humans, world hunger would be a non-issue. As it is,the VAST majority of wheat, corn, soy etc is feed to livestock. Livestock destined for the plates of the world's elite.

I could go on and on but you either get it or you don't.

I'm pretty much just wasting time right now anyway.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

3 Inches of Blood, Goatwhore and Barn Burner @ Time to Laugh, Kingston,ON May 11, 2010

What a fucking Tuesday night! I usually go to meditation class (don't judge) on Tuesdays but this was a show I wasn't going to miss. Besides, metal therapy is just as good for mental instability. Right? I missed most of the opening locals. Completely missed Meathook and only caught 10 mins or so of October Blood. Nothing memorable but they looked like they believed in their tunes and they were having fun. That's good enough for me. But I still can't remember what they sounded like.
Of the touring bands, Montreal's Barn Burner were first to slay the masses. I wrote a small review of their set from last time there were in town but I can't remember what I wrote and at the time I had no idea who they were. Since then I've spun their disc (Bangers) a bunch of times and I was fully prepared for the awesomeness. Fast, rippin, driving, stoner/rock/punk. Party music for sure. The crowd didn't really start to get into it til the last 2 songs. "Holy Smokes" and "Brohemoth". Even though some of the crowd were bangin' along, I still felt like I was the only one that really knew the songs. Yay me! I was amused (in a good way) by the stage banter. These guys know how to have fun. My favourite was when he likened the checkered floor of the venue to a chess board and beckoned us to "bring forth your rooks and your bishops to do battle on the chess board of metal!" Right on, Dude. I forgot to mention the minimalist drum kit. Less than 10 pieces. Kudos.

Goatwhore. This is why I paid my 15 bucks. (BB was a very welcomed free bonus) I think this is the most "metal" band I've seen in Kingston. No other labels (ex. Trad Metal = 3IOB) or anything. They fuckin' destroyed the place. Pure blasphemous aggression. Vocalist Ben Falgoust towered over the gathered heathens as he spewed forth the filth from their latest, Carving Out the Eyes of God. They also added in some older tunes. I know I'd heard them before but I wasn't familiar with them. They kicked just as much ass. Enough so that I may have to dig up the older stuff and immerse myself in some additional darkness. It was a very engaging performance. We were all throwin' the horns and pumpin' fists in unison. If only we had forearm gauntlets too.  As much as I enjoy it myself, I'm glad the mic wasn't thrust into some random fanboy's face to scream a few words. Because, honestly, everyone in that building would sound like shit compared to Falgoust. He is one of the best growlers out there. And fucking amazing live. Maybe the best I've seen. I have to rank Goatwhore in the Top 5 acts I've seen in Kingston. Maybe even Top 3. Those rankings will surely change when High on Fire and Skeletonwitch come to town in July. Move over Cattle Decap!

Oh right. 3 Inches of Blood. Um, same show different date. I left halfway through. The setlist even sounded eerily familiar. There was a lot of people having a lot of fun though. I think they drew a different crowd than Goatwhore. I'm sure there was some crossover but they are 2 very different styles. I saw more than a few father-son combos. People were having fun and that's what the whole thing is all about. I had my fun during Goatwhore's set. I checked out about halfway through the 3IOB set. I had a pending bangover to tend to and I wanted to get home before the Blackhawks game was over.