Hollerado Calls T.O. Home, Pack A.D. Rocks Hard, Wildlife Wows
As I approached the Opera House for the sold-out Hollerado show I was met with a line that wrapped around the block to see the country’s premier party-rockers. I decided to defer standing outside in the frigid evening in favour of waiting the line out at the newly opened Goods & Provisions for a pint and a snack; it was a tasty decision. The down-side of my decision is that I missed most of Wildlife’s set which, judging by the raucous crowd, was a great one. They finished their set with a tune called “Killing For Fun”, a slower tune with a culminating crescendo full of tight harmonies and solid hooks. I was also impressed to see lead-singer Dean Povinsky rocking hard with a soft-cast on his leg, shows the dedication these guys must have. Wildlife released their debut LP Strike Hard Young Diamond to positive reviews in 2010, and based on the calls for encore after they left the stage there will be more albums to come.
Next up was the Pack A.D., a guitar-drum duo hailing from the rockin’ rocky mountains. Although Vancouver is where they call home, looking at their tour schedule you would think that they are more at home on the road. Looking at the amount of shows they have played in the last 5 years, you would also have to surmise that they are probably one of the hardest working bands in Canada. Thus it is fitting they were sharing the bill with Hollerado, who would be another band one would mention in the same breath as “hardest working”. The Pack A.D. is also a band close to my heart as I came across them in 2007 as a student in Kingston, Ontario and put them in my Pro’s column when I decided to spend a couple of years in Vancouver. They took the Opera House stage and got right to business; “That was a song we play, here is another” drummer Maya Miller said as they finished their first song and jumped right into the next. Their new LP Unpersons dominated the first part of their set, getting the heads of kids with X’s on their hand bopping to the beat. They played an ode to their home province “BC’s on Fire” before jumping into some of their older, more bluesy, material with Becky Black throwing on the slide and bending out some guitar notes. Maya Miller, the savvy marketer, gave the crowd some good instructions as they closed their set; “We are the Pack A.D., if you like us tell your friends. If you don’t like us, don’t tell anyone!” As they left the stage it was easy to see that they had recruited some new fans, as the X’ed hands were clapping enthusiastically.
Next was the main-event of the evening, what all the kids had come to see; the hard-rocking, hard-working, and hard-partying Hollerado. The crowd was willing to go crazy over any sign of the band taking the stage, the first instance being the hoisting of the “Hollerado” backdrop. Judging by the amount of hype-girls, cardboard cut-outs of themselves and Hollywood-icons, and a crew of cameramen filming the event for what is sure to be a concert DVD/documentary, it is easy to see that Hollerado’s concert-production budget has gotten bigger over the last couple of years. Despite all of these extras, Hollerado is loved by their fans because of their ability to pump out some top-notch pop gems. That is exactly what Hollerado did as they took the stage in their trademark grey sweatshirts, playing “Juliette” off the top with the hype-girls showering the crowd in confetti; much more confetti, glow-sticks, and glow in the dark beach-balls were to follow.
Menno Versteeg announced to the crowd that they now call Toronto home as most of the band had relocated here, adding that Mayor Rob Ford refused to meet them on their “Meet the Mayor Tour”; Versteeg then dedicated a new song to the mayor, “it’s kind of about Freddy Mercury” he added. The crowd picked up the slack for our inhospitable mayor in welcoming Hollerado, showering them with cheers upon the announcement of their re-location. Versteeg prefaced another new song with a humourous story from his childhood that involved a Big Mac and the back of a snobby French-woman’s neck. Both new tunes lived up to Hollerado’s ear-worm status upon first listen, a good sign that their future releases will stand-up to their debut.
More confetti, glow-sticks, and sing-alongs dominated the rest of Hollerado’s set closing it out with a cover of Queen’s “Flat Bottom Girls”, taking the time to thank their fans; “Without all of you, none of us would have jobs, so thank you so much for your support.” They were quickly called back out to the stage by rabid applause, finishing off with their hit “Do the Doot”; Versteeg getting a crowd member to play his guitar while he crowd-surfed.
If you were to take away all the frills, bells and whistles, Hollerado still stands up as one of the most-fun bands to see live. Luckily for us, it looks like they are posed to do this for a long time to come.
