CKY + Early Man + Hail The Villain + Fall From Grace @ Le National

By Brian Hastie - Drive Home: Countdown To Armageddon - 06/15/2009

News that the latest Montreal appearance from CKY had been upgraded from Les Saints to Le National was good news to my ears. The band's brand of octave-pedal-abusing guitar heroics seemed at odds with the too-cool-for-school vibe that Saints often gives off, due to the venue's usual musical guests. Le National felt like a more appropriate venue to witness a band whose devoted fanbase are the very definition of hardcore and who would be sure to bring the venue to life via various mosh and dance moves, as they had in 2005 when they came to town touring behind An Answer Can Be Found. As I entered the venue right before any of the bands took the stage, I noted the fact that the venue was already 3/4ths full, which was a good sign of things to come.

Fall From Grace performed a set peppered with by-the-numbers alternative rock that would probably do well on the radio if signed by a major, nestled in-between Nickelback and Buckcherry. The crowd seemed indifferent as the band lacked the balls-to-the-wall mentality that the rest of the bands on the bill had, showing musical restraint where a straight-up hard-rocking approach would've been better suited.

Hail The Villain, on the other hand, managed to kick things into gear; picking up the slack and playing a set of fast-paced, up-tempo numbers with huge choruses and breakneck-speed solos. The crowd seemed more into the band as they joined in on the various audience participation bits singer Bryan Crouch initiated.

Early Man performed their role of direct support admirably, playing fast and loose rock-and-roll mixed in with bits reminiscent of the Bay Area thrash scene circa 1983. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Conte's warbling voice definitely had people comparing him to a young Ozzy Osbourne, slightly nasal and high-pitched, his phrasing and cadence similar to the Ozzman's. The crowd, obviously enthused by the fact that the headliners were soon to take the stage, cheered gleefully at every opportunity given. Thankfully the band did not overstay their welcome and managed to play a hearty 30 minute set that sufficiently warmed the crowd up for CKY.
    
Kicking things off with single "Escape From Hellview", the band stuck to familiar territory, building a large portion of their set from songs off of 2002's Infiltrate/Destroy Rebuild. They managed to play 7/10ths of the record throughout the band's 15-song set, bookending it with I/D/R stand-out "Sporatic Movement".

That point brings me to the biggest gripe of the evening: CKY's rather odd setlist choices. Their decision to spend half of their show playing tracks from a 7 year-old album (as well as none from its equally well-received successor) is one that left many fans surprised. Sure, CKY's known as a group of ragtag individuals that rarely play by the conventional rules, but giving the crowd 4 songs (that have been played to death on prior tours) from their debut Volume 1 ("Rio Bravo", "Disengage The Simulator", "Promiscuous Daughter" and "96 Quite Bitter Things") and 2 ("Hellions On Parade" and "Imaginary Threats") from their newest album is an odd choice. Carver City rivals any of the band's prior output and a chance to see how the more experimental approach that Chad Ginsberg and company took on the record translated into a live setting would've been great to see. The complete omission of An Answer Can Be Found is also a mystery, one the band did not even bring up.

A large portion of the audience did not care, naturally, as they enjoyed the band’s entire catalogue equally, but having seen the band perform these songs before felt like a bit of a missed opportunity to showcase new material. Don't get me wrong, it was a great evening filled with many fine moments, marred only by that one tiny gripe I listed above.

The band themselves were in fine form, engaging in their usual in-between song banter and baiting the audience with potential song choices before launching into other ones. The band's ability to rock harder live than on record is uncontested and they kept things fluid, only stopping to quickly change guitars before launching into another song. CKY managed to once again put on a great rock show that was appreciated by all, but the evening also managed to display a band that was perhaps too scared to venture into new, uncharged territory.

Tune into Countdown to Armageddon with Brian every Thursday from 4PM - 6PM