This show was significant in that it marked the return of Vacant Music to the Lindsay scene. Founded by Wayne Kennedy but nowadays run more by Zac Murray, Vacant were responsible for almost single handedly saving the Lindsay music scene after it died sometime in 2007/2008. They put mostly put on punk shows with bands from all over southern Ontario but also booked bands representing almost every genre. This March they held a so-called ‘Last Show’ in Lindsay because apparently after that they were only going to hold shows in Oshawa, but everyone pretty much knew that wasn’t going to hold true for long. They still will do shows in Oshawa after this one but also a few in Lindsay.
Anyways, let’s talk about tonight. The first two bands to play both embraced the uncommon concept of two dedicated vocalists and, similarly, both had one too many. In bands that have made their name by having two vocalists, such as The Blood Brothers and Set Your Goals, the singers generally have two totally different voices and spread vocal duties evenly. In the first band to play, Pontypool’s Construct (formerly Burning The Skyline), one of the vocalists (Mark) was completely unnecessary. His only contribution was occasional off-key singing that didn’t fit in with their pseudo-metalcore songs at all. He probably only sang 10% of the time. I’d recommend dropping him and fine-tuning their songs more before playing again. This was one of the band’s first shows so I can excuse the quality of their music, because they’re still maturing, but they did show some potential. Their other vocalist (Jordan) was good enough to stay with the band. After playing a few songs and everyone going outside the venue because the band said they were done, Construct played an encore with only 4 of their members (no bass and no second guitar), and it actually sounded better than their actual set. The second band was Ajax’s Ventura. Unlike Construct, both vocalists were represented in each song, but they had a different problem. Both vocalists sounded almost identical (in a live setting at least). Maybe eventually they’ll differentiate their vocal styles, but right now having two is unnecessary. Ventura played a style indebted to The Holly Springs Disaster and other southern hardcore bands, with more death metal-style growled vocals. They put on a good show (especially considering that this was their FIRST show), bringing a good amount of energy, even if the Lindsay crowd wasn’t feeling it most of the time. Musically, they were probably my favourite of the night.
Next up were the comparative grizzled veterans of Absence of Fear. Their particular brand of metalcore featured something the bands preceding them lacked, guitar solos. Unlike some bands which just insert solos so the guitarist can show off (more on that later), Absence of Fear’s solos contribute greatly to their music. They also brought energy to the room, and closed their set with a favourite cover of local bands, ‘Up In Smoke’ by The Holly Springs Disaster. Almost everyone in the room knew the song, and the ‘I AM ROCK & ROLL’ part caused about the only crowd participation of the night (other than moshing of course). I would say that Absence of Fear put on the best show of the night, but that’s probably also because they’ve been playing together the longest.
Last, but not least was The Dystopian Theory. Their drummer was the only female band member of the night, and she was good. The entire band was technically proficient. But here lies the aforementioned guitar solo problem. Unlike Absence of Fear, it seems like the solos in The Dystopian Theory’s songs were just randomly inserted to let the guitarist show off. At one point, between songs, the guitarist just played a random 2 minute guitar solo for no apparent reason, much to the non-appreciation of everyone in the room who wasn’t in/with the band and the canine population of Lindsay. Anyways, their actual songs may have been good (but not as good as Ventura’s or Absence of Fear’s), but they weren’t really audible because the sound was pretty terrible for their set. I don’t think that was really their fault, but still it kind of ruined their set, as did their screamer’s inappropriate use of Aviator sunglasses.
Anyways, this was a typical Vacant Music show, just with less punk than usual, and a few less people, but that was because the Lindsay Fair was on this weekend.
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