Vol. 7 : C’MON – Toronto ON
This bar in Newfoundland is also called "the Ship!"
I don’t know if it’s legally required to write the name of this band in all upper-case letters but it should be. In case you didn’t pick up on it from the above video they rock like absolute crazy whether it’s in the studio or on the stage. Let’s start with some selective bios:
- That guy with all the crazy hair who looks like he might live in a shopping cart is Ian Blurton. Known as Sir Blurton to acolytes. He was the front-man for Change of Heart who you may heard of and he spun off the Blurtonia album from there then a few years later he formed C’MON and generously started to tour the country shredding faces blowing minds and probably spawning the country’s next generation of great rock talents by impregnating hundreds of women in front rows with his massive stinging guitar licks. He also produced records and among countless other credits including my favourite Tricky Woo 10-inch he was at the helm for the Weakerthans’ Left and Leaving which I consider to be one of the best Canadian albums of all time.
- The girl slamming through bass lines with authority? Her name’s Katie Lynn Campbell and she used to play with Nashville Pussy one of the greasiest metal bands in recent history (I mean that in a good way.)
- The drummer.. OK I have no idea who he is. But he is awesome.
One more thing to consider: they are playing at the Ship and Anchor on Wednesday night. Sled Island shows at the Ship are special for a number of reasons: (1) they are always packed with people who are hammered (2) they are always excellent (3) they tend to feature bands like C’MON and SNFU that whip crowds into a frenzy with relative ease (4) they are FREE.
In the first year of the festival C’MON played an extremely late extremely rowdy show at the Ship. I remember walking several blocks (on a school night no less) to check it out and I probably wouldn’t have made it inside were it not for the generous trickery of some good-natured bouncer who figured I was there to hear the band and not just to get smashed (although those things aren’t mutually exclusive!) I also remember being floored by the show which involved several forays deep into the crowd by both Blurton and Katie. Sure everyone remembers Tim Harrington’s crowd-engaging antics later that week at the Mac Hall Les Savy Fav show and I certainly wouldn’t try to convince you that C’MON is a more entertaining experience but I would take their music hands down any day (or night) of the week.
The good news? Thursday’s a holiday. See you there people.
UPDATE: Holy cow you guys BONUS! The Pack A.D. are also playing that Wednesday show at the Ship. Even crazier: they have TWO MORE free shows slated for Canada Day featuring a bunch of other must-see bands including Bison B.C. Hard Drugs Mark Sultan etc. How sweet it is!
Shows: FREE SHOW Wednesday @ the Ship & Anchor (1 am) Friday @ the Republik (9 pm)
Previous entries in the Sled Island 2010 Preview Series:
Vol. 1 : The Dutchess & The Duke
Vol. 2 : Thomas Function (not actually playing but still worth checking out!!)
