Throwback Thursday (Misery Signals)

Posters from the Misery Signals shows I have been too.

Misery Signals in Edmonton Aug.15th 2014

Last Friday I went to the Misery Signals show at the Starlite Room here in Edmonton. This Misery Signals show, my thirteenth time seeing them, was in celebration of the tenth anniversary tour (dubbed Malice X) of their debut album "Of Malice and the Magnum Heart" with all the original members Jesse Zaraska (vocals), Kyle Johnson (bass), Ryan Morgan (guitar), Stu Ross (guitar) and Branden Morgan (drums).

As I got to the venue and waited in the line up to get in. You could feel the energy and excitement for this show. With Jesse and Stu being from the area there were a lot of friends out for the show, and not only that, this American-Canadian hardcore band had a huge following here in Edmonton. On this hot and muggy evening as you got closer to the entrance of the Starlite Room, and anyone who knows the venue, it's a long line up between two building to get in, you could feel the heat and see the steam already coming out of the venue. I was sweating before I even got in. Once in the venue, it was like a sauna, as the place was packed and getting more crowded by the minute. I missed the first band but did catch the second band.

The second band was a band called This Is War from Edmonton. These guys were alright, they were a straight up metal band with two vocalists trading off on vocals throughout there songs.

This Is War.

Next up was band out of Los Angeles called All Hail The Yeti. This band featured drummer Ryan "Junior" Kittlitz whom hails from Edmonton and has played in many bands one of them being Compromise which is the band that was lead by Jesse Zaraska. All Hail The Yeti reminded me of Pantera in their "Great Southern Trendkill" era. So a southern metal feel. They too were alright, but not knowing their songs at all, a lot of it comes across as screaming. I think I may be getting too old for this metalcore stuff. I also found Ryan's drum sound was lost in the mix. You could see he was a flailing away on the drums, but the sound just didn't seem right. All and all, not a bad band.

All Hail The Yeti.

Now it was time for the band everyone was waiting for, the reunion of Misery Signals with all original members. By this time the Starlite Room was filled to capacity and feeling like a fucking sauna. Misery Signals did their debut album "Of Malice and the Magnum Heart" in its entirety. The band sounded tight, especially with this only being their third show of the nine show tour. Jesse Zaraska sounded good on vocals considering it had been sometime since he has done a full show with the band. What did bother me a bit, was that Jesse handed the vocals over to the crowd quite often through out the show. While it was cool that the crowd in front of the stage knew all the words to all the songs, I would have preferred to actually hear Jesse do the singing. Their hour long set was intense but affectionate with Jesse thanking everyone for coming out to the show several times, and the crowd singing Happy Birthday to Jesse at one point with Jesse's birthday being the following day. It's not everyday you go to a hard core show and hear the crowd breakout into the Birthday song. Another really touching part of the show was when Misery Signals did the song "The Day Summer Ended In June" which is the song dedicated to the two members (Jordan Wodehouse and Daniel Langlois) of Jesses's old band Compromise that were lost in a vehicle accident years ago while on tour in Alabama. You could see more then a few people with tears in there eyes during this sing-along, very touching. The band closed out the set with a 7 Angels 7 Plagues song "Silent Deaths, Crowded Lives". For those that might not know 7a7p is how Misery Signals came to be, as Jesse did vocals for the band for a few gigs after the original singer quit. This was after the demise of Compromise of course too. After those 7a7p gigs, the members of that band asked Jesse if he wanted to start a new project which came to be Misery Signals.

Anyways, this was an amazing show, and it was good to run in to some old friends at the show and to talk briefly with Jesse after the show, and thanks for the hug Jesse, your a stand up guy, it's awesome knowing you and being able to call you a friend. Good times!!!

The pictures I took at this show sucked, as the lighting at the venue isn't the best and with the venue being packed it was hard to get a decent photo, and I had a good buzz on.

Misery Signals.

Jesse Zaraska has just put out a book which is well worth looking in to.
My autographed copy of the book.

Some fan footage from the Edmonton show.

Interstellar Rodeo Fest Day 3 July 28th 2014

Day three of Interstellar Rodeo was held on Monday, as Friday's events were cancelled due to shitty weather. While they had to switch up the original line-up that was scheduled for Friday, it was nice to see that the organizers of this festival were able to pull it off. Friday's acts Sinner, Trampled By Turtles and Blackie and The Rodeo Kings weren't able to play Monday. Corb Lund was able to come back for the Monday show and Tom Wilson of Blackie, was able to stick around for Monday's show. The organizers were able to book Great Lake Swimmers and Hey Rosetta! as replacement acts.

Because of work on Monday, I missed openers Great Lake Swimmers. I did get there in time to catch Newfoundland band Hey Rosetta!, this was my second time seeing them play, and again, not really a fan.

Hey Rosetta!.

Next up was Tom Wilson, whom was supposed to play on Friday with his band Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, but because the other members in the band had prior commitments, Tom played solo on Monday. Tom Wilson used to play in 90's band Junkhouse, as well he plays in, as mentioned Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Lee Harvey Osmond.

I hadn't seen Tom Wilson in concert since his days in Junkhouse. I was looking forward to seeing Blackie, but the solo show he put on this night made up for that. Tom played an hour long set and put on one hell of a show. Playing some old Junkhouse tunes, some Blackie songs and even some Lee Harvey Osmond songs, and, even doing a Lou Reed song. A strong set by a great musician. A great opener for Corb Lund.

Tom Wilson.

Some footage I shot at the show.



Headliner of the night was Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans. Nice to see Corb and the band make it back to Edmonton for the Monday night performance, without them committing to the Monday show, I am thinking the Interstellar would have only been a two day event. But Corb made it back after doing a show in Montana the night before.

The city of Edmonton even declared Monday July 28th Corb Lund day. This was my tenth time seeing Corb Lund in concert, and yet again another awesome show put on by Corb and his band. They had a great turnout for the show, considering it was a Monday night, but the weather was beautiful and who wouldn't wanna see Corb Lund play an outdoor show in his old hometown. Corb Lund is currently pushing his newest album called "Counterfeit Blues" which was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee at the famous Sun Studios. It a lot like a best of album, with him and his band recording live from the floor and mostly tunes from his albums "Five Dollar Bill" and "Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer". At the show on this night though, he played tunes from almost all his album's, including some old ones from Modern Pain, even doing a Stompin' Tom cover of The Hockey Song. A great show. And it was really cool to run into a few old friends at the show, made it even more special. Good times!!!

A big shout out has to go to the organizers of this awesome festival for pulling off the Monday show, and to Corb Lund for going out of his way to play the make-up show. Keep up the good work Six Shooter Records.

Corb Lund and The Hurtin' Albertans.

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.

Interstellar Rodeo Fest Day 2 July 27th 2014

Day two of the Interstellar Rodeo Fest was the day I was really looking forward to, with a great line-up and beautiful weather, this was shaping up to be a good day. The bands I was looking forward to seeing included The Hold Steady, Jason Isbell and Gord Downie, The Sadies & The Conquering Sun.

Again Janis, Erin and I got there early so that we could catch the first band. First band of the day was locals Jeff Stuart & The Hearts. This was the second time I have seen them play live. While they were alright, I didn't think they were anything special, and from the response from the crowd, neither did anyone else. Next to no one on the dance floor for them.

Jeff Stuart & The Hearts.

Next up was a band from Brooklyn, New York called The Lone Bellow. I had never heard of the band before, but wow, they sure won the crowd over with their performance. Lead singer Zach Williams has an awesome voice and the harmonies between mandolin player Kanere Pipkin and the other guitar player Brian Elmquist were bang on. Surprise band of the weekend for me.

The Lone Bellow.

Some footage I took at the show of The Lone Bellow.


One of the bands I was really looking forward to was The Hold Steady, another band from Brooklyn, New York. This was my second time seeing them live. The Hold Steady are on the road promoting their latest release "Teeth Dreams" which is a vast improvement from their last album "Heaven Is Whenever". I found the band to have a heavier sound this time around without keyboard player Franz Nicolay. The second guitarist Steve Selvidge added to the sound in a great way. Lead singer Craig Finn was his usual self, weird and entertaining, and his voice sounding good. Their hour long set was excellent.

The Hold Steady.

The Bahamas were the next band. They are a Canadian band from Toronto led by Alfie Jurvanen. I really knew nothing about this band, and can honestly say, I probably won't again. They were alright, but not my thing. I went for a few beers during their set.

Bahamas.

Next up was a piano player from London, England by the name of Henri Herbert. His claim to fame is a clip of his getting seven million hits on you tube, click here to see the clip. His boogie woogie piano playing was pretty damn good actually. I guess he also plays in a band called the Jim Jones Revue.

Henri Herbert.

After Henri it was a seven piece soul band from Birmingham, Alabama called St. Paul and The Broken Bones. These guys were a kick ass soul band. My only problem was that I was aching for some rock n' roll. I enjoyed their set, as did the rest of the audience, but I am sure I could have enjoyed them a whole lot more if I had been the right mood for soul music, and I just wasn't at this time. Good band nonetheless.

St. Paul and The Broken Bones.

Finally up was the artist that made me really want tickets to this festival. Jason Isbell from Alabama who used to play in the Drive-By Truckers between 2001-2007. His latest album called Southeastern was one of my favorite albums of 2013, so I was super excited about seeing him in concert. The show started a little shaky with technical difficulties causing issues. Once they got that all settled it was an unbelievable hour long set by Jason Isbell and his back-up band the 400 Unit. Jason is one of the best song writers out there these days. A great set by a great artist and band. Hope to see him again soon.

Jason Isbell's Interstellar set list.

Flying Over Water
Stockholm
Different Days
Live Oak
Alabama Pines
Outfit (Drive-By Truckers song)
Decoration Day (Drive-By Truckers song)
Elephant
Super 8

Jason Isbell.

T-shirt.

Closer for the night was Gord Downie, The Sadies and The Conquering Sun, which is a collaboration of The Sadies and the Tragically Hip front man Gord Downie. They released there first album together earlier this year. I was also excited about seeing this performance as I am a huge Sadies fan and have always been a fan of the Hip and especially Gord Downie.

Gord was his usual quirky self, fighting with his microphone stand and just being his weird self. And The Sadies, well they just rocked the shit out of the music, verging on almost punk rock at times. I think the crowd was taken a back by the performance, maybe the crowd was thinking they would hear some Hip songs, which of course wasn't going to happen. It seemed the crowd thinned out quite a bit, but part of that could be because it was a Sunday night and people had to work the following day. But I am thinking more on the performance. I loved it, I thought it was amazing, they played basically the whole album. The Sadies are an a amazing band and showed it yet once again in their live show.

Gord Downie, The Sadies and The Conquering Sun.

A great day of music, weather, and good friends. Good times!!!