Still scratching my head over London landing a stop on the Mastodon/Clutch/Graveyard tour while Toronto has to settle for a Graveyard side date. That said, the latter would be the band I most wanted to see of those three, so I saved me some cash and a trip westward by catching ’em at The Garrison instead.
The local openers were well selected, with Low Orbit kicking things off and Biblical holding second billing. As their spacey name might suggest, Low Orbit worships the 90’s desert rock scene, with shades of Kyuss, Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu. The guitar tone was spot on and there were drum fills aplenty, although I couldn’t hear much bass in my face from where I was standing…especially disappointing from the band that brought us “International Bass Station.”
Biblical was definitely painting with the right sonic palette for the evening, but in stark contrast to the headliners, who know how to write an impactful 3-4 minute tune, their numbers seemed to drag on a little too long. Not entirely sure if those were the extended live versions, but the title track of their latest record does clock in at 11-and-a-half minutes. Twas also the first time I’ve seen ’em as a quintet, with not one, not two, but three guitarists. And they still had more bass in the mix than the opening band!
Graveyard put on a solidly understated performance, packing 15 tracks into 75 minutes or so, including a three-song encore that featured a brand-new tune. Mind you, they didn’t take the stage until 11:45, and I was almost out on my feet by then…but I definitely wasn’t gonna sleep on some quality Swedish riffage!
