Spontaneous decisions always seem to end up being the best decisions made in the end and excited phone calls seem to get their way. I was hanging out at home the other night with a friend of mine when he got a phone call from another friend who excitedly mentioned that Fifty Watt Head was playing at one of the best entertainment venues in the Hammer, the Absinthe, and that we had to go. I had heard of them before, but have never actually heard them. Well, both guys were pretty insistent on going which meant that this was not going to be a decision I was going to regret by any means! We headed out and arrived at Absinthe just as the opening act was finishing.
| While waiting, I was having a chat with the friend that told us of said show who said “these guys are amazing.” I was defiantly looking forward to what was about to occur. Fiftywatthead has been around for over 8 years and counting. The band consists of four members, including Ben Guthrie on guitar, Kevin Patrick on drums, Bill Butt on Bass and J Drummond on vocals and guitar, this band is loud, hard, and intense. Absinthe was packed with fans both old and soon to be new. Every person I walked by was excitedly talking with their friend about the soon to be on stage band and the last show they saw. Fiftywatthead only makes it around once a year and last years show was so good I heard that people were disappointed that it ended when it did. When they come around the anticipated crowd gets larger each time. The show started out intensely loud and hard and remained that way throughout. This band gives it their all when they are up there performing for a full house of excited fans. They have a blast and keep an audience’s attention without fail at the bat of an eye. It is unfortunate indeed that I regretfully forgot to bring my camera along to capture the moment. Can not ask for everything I suppose! From beginning to end, I did not stop moving. My neck actually hurt the next day from the crazy head banging fun I was having. They put on an intensely loud and energizing performance; it was a heavy, and heart pounding rush of a show. One would think there would be a mosh pit judging on the style of the music; however the audience seemed to be in awe and simply enjoying every moment of heavy music that went by. The show was so loud that it even attracted patrons that were simply walking by. |  |
 | Fiftywatthead gathers sounds from many categories and picks at different sounds and samples to come up with that which makes them unique. That being said, this band can not possibly be categorized into one specific musical category, they have juicy and delicious flavour from a few musical genre’s inclusive of electronic, metal, and rock and roll. They know how to put on a show. The hard and deep throat vocals of Drummond combined with the beautiful and riveting guitar riffs of himself and Guthrie together, then bringing in the brilliant deep bass edge of Butt, and of course the unforgettably intense and energetic drum beats of Patrick, these are the sounds that describes and make the fans both old and new fall in love with the band, Fiftywatthead. The emotional attention they give to the music and audience members is what makes their performance both intense and brilliant. While watching them it almost seemed as though they were feeding off of the audience’s enjoyment. If the audience was having a blast and enjoying the music and it was showing, the band seemed to draw equal amounts of pleasure from it. The audience was so involved the other night, that the band did not miss a beat, did not stop for a second and the show in its entirety almost seemed as though it was one song entwined into another without a break. The new release is called Fogcutter and the creativity involved in each songs lyrics combined with the music is like a fantasy story being told. The songs are less like songs and more like short stories that one can close their eyes to and envision. One can conclude that the time involved in the making of this album was both a creative genius and picky process simply by the quality alone. When watching the band play some of the songs from the new album live, it is clear that the songs have meaning and a lot of emotional connection. The album is a collection of Fiftywatthead’s genius musical talent. |
Seeing this band live will make you want to see them over and over again. But my warning is be prepared for extremely loud and heavy music, otherwise you won’t enjoy it. I highly suggest that when and if opportunity knocks and you are a fan of metal, hard rock, or even electronic music this is a band you have to check out, it’s a decision that will be far from the dread of regret.