Nearly Famous Music Festival - Night #3, Part 1

It's Saturday night, and there are WAY too many great shows to check out. First off, the great SNFU is playing at The Red Room. Every punk rockin' bone in my body wants me to be there. BUT, I have a good feeling our friends at Abort Magazine will be covering the show quite nicely, so my services are probably better used elsewhere. Still, I wanted to get a feeling of the vibe, so I decided to check out one of the opening acts.


Left Spine Down is a smörgåsbord of punk, metal, industrial and techno that once seen, will change your perception of the musical possibilities that are out there. Frontman Kaine is a vocal force to be reckoned with. His presence on the stage (12-inch spiked hair and all) burns an instant memory in the celluloid of your brain. I saw these guys on a latenight Shaw Cable program about a year ago, and I was instantly hooked. Never mind that the lineup includes ex-Black Halo Denyss McKnight, and Jeremy Inkel from Front Line Assembly. Never mind that the new record boasts the production and mastering team of Shaun Thingvold (Skinny Puppy) and Chris Peterson (Noize Unit, Front Line Assembly). Never mind the accolades. Just check out this band if you are into heavy, cerebral, cyber-punk infused music that will blow your 5 senses out the back of your head.


www.leftspinedown.com









Next I decided to move on to the Media Club, where I knew I would find an eclectic mix. Upon arrival, I immediately bacame interested in the goings-on up front.

I would describe Mink Valley as an art/punk/indie band along the lines of The Pixies or "the noise my wet converse make when I stumble into the drug store looking for ear plugs." (from the band's myspace page). This kind of strange creativity is pretty rare in a world crowded with pop/rock and MTV reality tv. I for one, enjoyed Mink Valley about as much as a tall glass of Lime-Ade on a sweaty August day. It just felt right, you know?

I had a little chat with bassist/vocalist Tanya Bennett & snapped this photo!




Again, these guys are like one of those great minimalist paintings of a can of soup or something. Fickle minds might dismiss them as 'weird' or 'foolish', but I for one, couldn't avert my attention from this group of pop/garage-rockers. More, please!
www.myspace.com/murderinnminkvalley


I decided to stay put at The Media Club for the rest of the night, so stay tuned for Part 2, my account of:
Yesterday's Forgotten
Marble Rye
Nat Jay