Trooperfest pics: Leroy's Garage, Kidz Help Fone, Snaught, and Chaos Disorder and Panic

You can never quite tell when a gig will be a delightful experience. I've walked out on shows by some fairly big-name bands, who I'd been very keen to see, because I just wasn't enjoying the vibe, just wasn't in the mood. Last night - as I told the bassist from Leroy's Garage, on the way into an East Van venue which will remain nameless - I was going to a show expecting NOTHING, because it was a benefit for an ailing cat, Trooper, to help cover his vet bills - which you can still donate to help cover, here, if you like. I had an amazing time. I didn't even stick around for the headliners, the Fomites - it was just too hot in there! - but I promise, I'll catch them some other time; and I'd see any of the bands I saw last night again.

Openers Leroy's Garage are brand new but were incredibly fun - tuneful and playful and energetic, a great live show. There's nothing on their bandcamp yet but, I mean, they covered the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party" and played a song about "Hot Dog Water." I didn't get a decent photo of their guitarist but I shot vid of their opener, which seemed from the setlist to be called "Marionettes." 

The venue was bearable at that point, heatwise, but it still emptied out between bands into a typical DTES street scene where the visual draw was a pitbull gnawing on some antlers. Very friendly dog. I grew up in the days of Curious George, when people were afraid of pitbulls, but no one was afraid of this beautiful fella. 

...then we all filed back in for Kidz Help Fone, who amusingly have a concert announced on Songkick. Every bit as high-energy and fun live as Leroy's Garage, with a guitarist who broke a couple of strings during the night (and so played a couple of guitars - it didn't just change colour from red to pink) and a singer with stuff written on her in various places, including something on the right buttock of her jeans which didn't really end up readable in the pics but that eventually proved to read "Fuck the Liberals," I think; it took me so long - I swear I was not staring at her ass, folks - to read it ("...fuck who?" I hadda know!) that the message, when discerned, ended up being a bit underwhelming, like, "Oh, fuck the liberals, how unoriginal." But sure, fuck'em! 

Shot some vid of them, too. 

Liked that the vibe of the room was about as non-gawky, non-macho as I've seen at a gig. I'm figuring I was the oldest person in the venue, in fact, unless my friend Adam is older than me (I think I have a couple years on him but I forget). The scene of his youth was Toronto, and mine, to the extent that I could get out to shows, was here, but both he and I came away with a feeling of optimism for the kids of tomorrow, at how well-behaved, non-macho, non-sexist, pro-social, positive and inclusive they were, way better'n than our generation ever seemed, in our eyes. 

But maybe that's how old folks always feel about kids? You get misty-eyed or something. It sure isn't how I feel about Boomers. 

Next band up was Snaught, whose name would suggest vastly less musical chops than they delivered. A bit of mathiness to them, a bit of progginess. They're related in part to a band I keep wanting to catch, called Gadfly, but I'm not sure how. If the two earlier bands had impressed me with their energy and commitment, Snaught caught me off guard with their musicianship and complex songs, which I caught two of, I think: "Candlesnuffer" and "BFD." (They also covered some Guitar Wolf!). 

Plenty of enthusiastic moshing during each set, punctuated by a between-song pilgrimage to the sidewalk. Pet the pitbull, smoke'm if you got'em, then back inside. 

Final band I saw before making my escape was Chaos Disorder and Panic. The singer is the human companion of Trooper ("owner" does not seem to capture the cat/ human relationship, in my experience). I'd thought of the band as a political grindcore band, previously, but they mentioned Power Violence last night, which - at least based on my limited exposure to the genre - seemed to make sense. Actually it sounded like they said "Squamish Power Violence," but that's a genre I don't know! I liked that the singer advised people, when they were outside, to "treat the people of the neighbourhood with compassion, dignity and respect" before launching into "Homes Not Games," written in the runup to the Olympics but sadly still very relevant. 

Anyhow, sorry again to the Fomites. I like your band name and will catch you another time! By this point, midway through Chaos Disorder and Panic's set, sweat was pouring down my face and I was well past exhausted, even tho' all I'd done was stand around and take pictures. Had way more fun that I'd expected - hope the night put a dent in those vet bills! 

Keep on Trooping, Trooper. (Donate to his recovery here).