Remember the days when you used to be able to find out which concerts were coming up by taking a stroll through downtown? I do. Shortly after I moved to Toronto, I saw a poster for a gig called “Gates of Hell Fest” with Anvil, Razor, Piledriver, Nuclear Assault… Good times.
Nowadays, the major arteries are owned by the dance clubs, who keep people on payroll to plaster all available lamposts with large, glossy posters. Construction sites, once a posterers’ dream, are covered with chain-link fence and signs stating “Post No Bills.”
Alas, some bands are still fluent in the lost art of flyering, particularly in the punk scene. Rehab for Quitters immediately comes to mind, and the 3Tards‘ flyers were ubiquitous back in the day, especially on Queen Street. But metal bands and promoters in this city are particularly lazy when it comes to putting up posters, with just a few exceptions. I don’t need to name any names, but I’m sure we all know a promoter or two who relied solely on Myspace and that now-defunct magazine’s message board to spread the word about his events…
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve gotten used to relying on the internet to find and compile upcoming concert listings for THTGIR. Myspace is pretty good for this, and I usually discover a gig or two perusing Rotate This’ list of tickets they’re selling. Some concert venues succeed at keeping their listings up to date; kudos to Lee’s Palace and the Horseshoe for including set times, although their gig listings are only updated once a month.
Sneaky Dee’s used to be pretty good at posting its listings, at least under previous management. Now that its concert staff have moved on to The Garrison, the site has fallen into disrepair, with the promise of “new website coming this month” remaining broken amongst gig listings from last November. Their Myspace situation is even worse. Last Login: 08/07/2006. Two thousand and freakin’ six!
Even their Facebook page doesn’t have any new gigs posted since back in November. However, if you scroll down, way down, you’ll see one event listed on the left-hand side: Barn Burner, Fog of Leprosy, and presumably some other bands. I wouldn’t know, cuz you hafta log into Facebook to see the event, and I don’t have a Facebook account. (Fuck Facebook!) Had it not been for Barn Burner listing their tour dates on their own Myspace page, I never would have known about this concert…
That being said, I can think of no better way to celebrate a Montreal Canadiens victory than with one of Montreal’s finest heavy rockin’ bands. Provided that the Habs win, that is. If not, Imma head straight home and watch some Olympic highlites on DVD (or something…)
“Let’s go Canadiens, let’s go! Calisse, tabarnak, let’s go!”
Peace,
Greg
P.S.: Smokin’ Green tonite will feature a lengthy tribute to the late, great Ronnie James Dio, and potentially some Pennsylvania doom bands. Be sure to tune in from 1 till 3 am at 88.1 fm on yer radio, channel 947 on yer TV or www.ckln.fm on yer computer!
