Review by: Justin Fisher
November 12, 2024
On Saturday, November 9th, Bulldog Event Center was graced by a diverse array of genres and bands, with 66 Aces coming from out of town to play with some young blood and veterans in Winnipeg's scene.
The collective, Yellow Choklit, opened the night by playing a powerful set of Beatles and 2000s-inspired indie and psychedelic rock. They are fronted by jangly guitars, to-the-point and honest lyrics, all backed by loud but simple drums. Similarly to Canadian band Sloan, the bassist and guitarist would switch instruments at points in their set, leading to a unique live show experience. They are for fans of bands such as The Apples in Stereo, The Flaming Lips and Ween.
Distodius lit up the room with a fiery performance of attitude-filled hard rock driven by pounding riffs and growling bass lines. Their set included various heavy tracks and ballads, highlights including "Trial by Fire" and their brand new single "5 or 6 AM." Distodius is for music fans of Sansregret, Spectre, Quiet Riot, and Ozzy Osborne.
Punk rock act 66 Aces (members of Spy 66) trekked down from Saskatoon to play a blazing fast and energetic set, thanks in part to frontman Acey Lonsberry's stage presence, who'd run into the crowd while riffing and singing. Highlights of their set included old Spy 66 tracks, Aces music from their 2020 EP, and a fantastic cover of Motorhead's Ace of Spades, which had the crowd shouting along and left them wanting more. Check out 66 Aces (ACES on streaming) and Spy 66 if you are a fan of Canadian punk rockers SNFU, Mung, Dayglo Abortions and DOA.
The night ended with grunge-gazers Elseweyr performing their debut set, a loud and emotional callback to 90s and 2000s alternative music. Drummer Ziggy (Bassist in [404]) provides the band with a backbone to the angst-ridden vocals and noisy guitars reminiscent of bands such as Hum. They had the whole audience jumping along and moshing during heavier tracks such as "Glass." The peak of their set came within the final three songs in which they played "Catharsis," a more laid-back track keeping with the theme of their heavy songs. Vocalist Braden says that "Catharsis" is about release, which is what Trevor's tapping riff feels like. "Teal" was introduced as the first song the band ever wrote, sounding very polished for a new band. After a brief few minutes off stage with the crowd chanting for one more song, they returned with "27" to wrap up their set.
Photos by Kay Arnal Creative
Elseweyr is for Hum, Blur, Teenage Wrist, Failure and Nirvana fans. Despite the cold weather forecast for the weekend, nostalgic energy was in the air as Winnipeg's scene showed up to watch four great bands play their songs on a genre-spanning evening.
Find more of Justin Fishers' work at Suburban Home UMFM 101.5, Your home for everything melodic punk and emo, with a sprinkle of whatever mixed in. Wednesday, 1:00pm–2:00pm.
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