Wakestock, 2006
Idle Sons
It was good to see Idle Sons live and in person again, I must admit that the David and Goliath-like tale of their ascension to the rock charts has had me rooting for them. They hit the iCoke stage and immediately set into a set culled from their hit album Sixteen Seasons.
They started with “Maggots”, which is a hard rocking guitar anthem that really got the show off well by hitting the ground running. The drums and bass were solid, although guitarist Mike Kelly seemed to be going a little over the top; but one couldn’t deny the great deal of energy that the Sons were putting out and they proved handily that they came to Wakestock to put on a show. As the band hit their stride, a few very vocal fans in the front row began yelling “Slurpy” in reference to the Sons original nom de plu.
After “Maggots”, the band moved on to “Waiting Around” with its solid guitar riffs and a driving rhythm that goes through peaks and valleys as the beat goes low before building back up again. A steady, driving intensity starts off the song “Better Days” with solid beats and a wave of flourish from Kelly’s guitar. After a trio of hard hitting numbers, Idle Sons took it down a notch with “Before the Fall”, a throbbing bass line and lighter than normal drum work creating a sound that seemed a little more organic and less forced.
Technical problems brought the show screeching to a halt before it was due, but everything up until that point was very well done. These gentlemen are fine musicians whom I expect to have a bright and lengthy future making music.
Constantines
Wakestock marked the second time in as many weeks that I had seen the Constantines in concert and maybe it was the shortness of the set, but I think the band had a better energy when they were playing on the Hillside stage. Of course, that was a Guelph show and anybody that’s been in Guelph long enough to remember when the Constantines formed are a little protective of the band and their music because they were there first and I think the guys appreciate that too.
The band started rather unceremoniously and got right into their first song “Draw Us Lines”, which if memory serves was the same song that started their set at Hillside. With great bass and excellent urgency, the back-rockin’ beats began drawing a crowd as the sporting events began wrapping up, even though the commentators from a nearby wakeboarding demonstration mislabeled them as the Idle Sons. Now I’m not saying that the Constantines should take that in a bad way, but seriously, they’re two very different bands.
Regardless of any misidentification, the Constantines continued to rock on with standards like “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)” and “Working Full Time”, which demonstrate the signature style of the band with their frantic energy and wicked instrumentals; keyboardist Will Kidman looked drenched and it wasn’t like it was an overly hot day. Vocalist Steve Lambke is a marvel at letting his voice play on the musical lines even with no accompaniment; this guy knows how to carry a tune.
The Constantines did at least one cover, they toyed with some country beats that gave Wakestock a country fair jamboree feeling and kept a constant focus on giving the ever growing crowd a good show. Being the last band on the iCoke stage for the day they were allowed to give their finale an added dose of flourish as they raised their hands at the end of “Arizona” and let the sound drift away only to hit the song harder just as the music was about to be completely gone - showmen, to the last
Social Code
Wandering over to the Telus stage I saw a group of five guys playing hackey sack just off to the left hand side; apparently board sports weren’t everything Wakestock had to offer.
Up next was the Edmonton punk rock outfit Social Code and rock they certainly did with some excellent acoustics and a clean sound that tells you that they mean business. Lead singer Travis Nesbitt stormed out, grabbed his mike and proceeded to speed back and forth and around the stage like some kind of Mexican jumping bean; probably part of the reason he was always grabbing at his belt to ensure he wasn’t about to moon the fans.
With a bass-quake (this term is patent-pending) of sound, Social Code launched into their cover of “Whisper to a Scream”, which, granted, has been done before, but the Code gave the song a kind of scream-o bombastic vibe that gives the tune just enough edge to squeak by with a passing grade. Fortunately, the rest of the repertoire provided for some outstanding hard listening music; much of what they played was off their 2004 album A Year at the Movies. Songs like “As Good As it Gets” and “No One to Save” proved that Social Code is a band that doesn’t have to be loud to be heard, but it helps.
After about the fifth song in, Nesbitt seemed to calm down enough to deliver more acoustic melodies with numbers like “Perfect Grave” and “Miss You”; the bass got peeled back to become more of a response to the guitar and drums rather than the leading sound. The Code gave the sizable crowd a taste of things to come with “He Said She Said”, which will more than likely end up on their next album; it was an excellent little ditty that encapsulates everything Simple Plan wants to be (or rather, thinks it is).
To wrap up, the band played “Beautiful”, one of their hit singles and one that brought the show full circle with exploding bass and lyrics hat were all but peeled off Nesbitt’s throat.
Boys Night Out
More like Burlington’s night out between BNO and the previously mentioned Idle Sons; the GTA seems to be the place you want to be if you have delusions of rocking out. Boys Night Out has no need for delusions though, for they put on what was easily one of the best hardcore punk shows I’ve seen in a while.
In between Social Code and Boys Night Out, there was a motocross demonstration that the fans really didn’t put any heart into; they wanted BNO and they wanted them eventually. And then the show began, a bizarre kind of pantomime rumble broke out at the foot of the stage, the air was suddenly alight with the smell of weed and the band hit it off hard with an up tempo beat and a fast paced set that took no prisoners. BNO played tracks both old and new with there ready for an extreme sports video sound that was highly appropriate for the occasion.
Beyond being hard rocking guys, the band members of Boys Night Out are showmen; lead singer Connor made a big production of taking off his shirt to reveal the “I love sluts” t-shirt he was wearing underneath. The sound of BNO is definitely grounded in Connor’s unique vocal styling; he’s backed up by hard rhythms with an extreme (pardon me, X-treme) bass, punctuated by a gung-ho attitude, yet laid back spirit. There were moments where I couldn’t help but use by pen and pad as an ad hoc drum set.
BNO went back and forth through their repertoire delivering some old tunes as well as some new. You could sort of tell the old stuff apart, even without Connor’s bombastic introductions; the golden oldies lacked subtlety and nuance, but it was loud so the crowd didn’t seem to mind. Still, the music was intense, tightly delivered and the band projected well throughout their entire set, nothing held back - nothing spared.
No Use For A Name
Before the band that had been name dropped all night came out on stage to perform the final show of the evening, there was another concert tradition that demanded to be observed: the t-shirt giveaway. And thanks to the difficult to load, air propelled t-shirt cannon; the sight of several people scrambling for a free shirt was made all the more magical.
But then it was time for Friday’s main act and the younguns gathered at the foot of the stage to hear a band that had formed and been playing music since before most of them were born. (Yes, for the record, I’m an 87 year old man. Happy?) No Use For A Name have been doing their thing for two decades now, they were playing to skate punks in California when Green Day and the Offspring were still mastering the chord progression, and as the sun set on Centre Island, they began to jam.
With nothing else going on, only the dedicated were here to take in this incredible stage act that looks as young as they sound. Expert drumming, excellent harmony and a ragging beat is what NUFAN delivered and it was more than enough to keep you alert and banging away on your air drums. Playing from both ends of their career catalog, but especially with classics like “Invincible”, “The Answer Is Still No” and “The Daily Grind”, NUFAN exhibited the throbbing bass and frantic guitar and drums that create that classic California punk motif that these guys helped create.
There were times that the band seemed overly focused on the (lack of) beer situation, but these were just brief pauses as they continued to lay out that classic punk sound on into their lengthy final set. The crowd kept getting larger as time went on, I’m guessing that maybe a lot of people just weren’t ready to go yet, but truth be told I was.
I was more than a little sure that I was going to stick out like a sore thumb at Wakestock for I know about as much about extreme sports as I do about particle physics. But the welcoming environment created by everyone involved with this event assures that no one feels out of place for very long – even music reviewers.
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