By: TJ LiebgottDecember 14, 2009
Toronto’s Mod Club Theatre played host to an evening of hardcore with bands Thursday, Dillinger Escape Plan, Fake Problems and Endless Hallway.
Opening band Endless Hallway went beyond your standard hardcore band combining hardcore with 70’s rock with aspects of glam. Within a few songs it was clear that this band’s influences went beyond your standard Alternative Press band. The highlight was an amazing cover of Nine Inch Nail’s "Last" that would have impressed any Trent Reznor fan. The best way to describe Endless Hallway is it’s the kind of scenster rock that you would hear blasting from a pickup truck.
For more information on Endless Hallway check out: www.myspace.com/endlesshallway
Fake Problems’ only real problem as a band was they may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even though Thursday had nothing but praise for the band, Fake Problems was lost on the audience. The relationship between band and fans became so hostile that at one point in-between songs the tension boiled over with the crowd screaming things like "less talk, more rock" and "shut the fuck up." Fake Problems’ fun, bouncy rhythms fell flat to the crowd anticipating the energy of Dillinger Escape Plan and the aggressive view point of Thursday.
For more information on Fake Problems check out: www.myspace.com/fakeproblems
For someone like me who has never seen Dillinger Escape Plan, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. DEP was a tour de force breaking into one chaotic song after another. Musically they just didn’t do it for me, but their live energy is uncontested. The only real break this band took was to hock their merchandise, telling the audience that the only way to preserve good music is to "steal stuff that sucks and pay for stuff that’s cool." For more information on Dillinger Escape Plan check out: www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
For the few fans that saw Thursday at Taste of Chaos this year, it was good to see the band play a show on their own terms. Some of the crowd left after DEP, but most stayed to catch Thursday. Promoting songs of their new album Common Existence, Thursday played new tracks and gems for their die-hard fans. Perhaps the loudest reception was for "Paris In Flames." After the end of their energetic set, Thursday played a pitiful one-song encore that left rabid fans wanting more.
For more information on Thursday check out: www.myspace.com/thursday