BB put on an electric show. Their matching leopard print unitards were as coordinated as the stage antics sprinkled throughout their set. Bella, BB’s singer / guitarist, writhed on the ground, ripping into a guitar solo, while bassist Meg (formerly of Wishkicker) stood directly over her. At another point, Bella and Meg started running around in circles around each other, before ending one of their songs with simultaneous high kicks that created an X between the two rockers, right as the final note hit. Their awesome stage presence parallels the power of their rowdy anthems. Between songs, Meg confessed, “We know you came for Woolworm and Sheer Mag because we did too!”
Woolworm had just returned from a cross-Canada tour promoting the release of their new album, Deserve to Die, on Mint Records. I’d been listening to the album since I interviewed singer Giles Roy for last month’s issue of Discorder, and it was a thrill getting to see those songs played live. “We wrote this song earlier today and we’d like to play it for you,” Giles fibbed before they began playing the album’s second track, “Seer.”
With every hit of the crash cymbal, drummer Nick Tolliday’s face was revealed from behind the cymbal, until it settled to obstruct my view again. I have to give credit to the rhythm section: the audience was nodding along to every beat of the bass drum or every note of Heather Black’s bass. I couldn’t help but yell along, “Useless! Useless! Useless!” during their eponymous song from a few years back. Giles’ confidence behind the microphone extended into his stage banter, as the crowd chuckled after almost everything he had to say. “Time’s up, you bozos,” Giles chided to his bandmates as they tuned their guitars. Overall, it was a strong set — I just wish they played “Useless” twice.
If you’d never heard or seen Sheer Mag before, you might be intimidated or expect the band to tear into brutal hardcore punk (like I did). Instead, their guitar riffs sounded straight out of ‘70s arena rock, while Tina Halladay’s raspy and infectious melodies sang out over top. During their extra funky, “Need to Feel Your Love,” the crowd seriously grooved along. At the end of the night, three amazing bands played three amazing sets, and a show can’t get much better than that.
