It was a (nearly) full house for The Pack AD‘s album release party at the Rickshaw Theatre Saturday night. Having finished a wee jaunt into the states a week ago, the duo were rested and ready for a special hometown ho-down in celebration of their fourth studio effort “Unpersons”, a self-professed break-up album to end all break-up albums. Joining them for this one-off was New West’s own stoner/psych sorcerers Black Wizard, and Portland rockers Pierced Arrows, fronted by legendary former Dead Moon couple Fred and Toody Cole.
The Rickshaw itself had undergone some changes since my last visit and the stage now had two large screens on either side projecting music videos for the Pack AD’s newest singles on a continual loop while people filed in and browsed their expansive merch table. The stage was adorned with their familiar license plate logo, sure to win over the throng of proud locals in attendance. They definitely pulled out all the stops, this was their night.
Black Wizard fired things up with “Evergreen”; the second song off their debut record, namesake of their independent label, and a stone-cold strutter of a song. They followed up with another mid-tempo, heavy blues riff-infused head banger before showcasing the title track of their Mountain Bitch 7” with vocalist/guitarist Adam Grant stating:
“This next song is about getting fucked up with your friends on a mountain.”
Who isn’t into that? Although the sub-genre of stoner rock is almost homogenously one big Sabbath tribute, these boys definitely do it well, fusing the heaviness of Kyuss with the 70’s throwback style of The Sword. Their vocals sound simultaneously like Witch and Witchcraft and they have a strong propensity for Thin Lizzy sounding guitarmonies.
And speaking of guitars, new man Kenny Cook had no trouble showing his SG, and anyone who could catch his blurry fingers running over its fret-board, who was boss. All these elements combine to make a pretty potent cocktail (or perhaps potion?). Their set was disappointingly short, running through a few more tracks from their self-titled effort like “Winds of Hell” and the epic album opener “Long Way Home” before departing the stage to unanswered chants of “One more!”
Pierced Arrows followed, delivering caterwauling howls over fuzzed-out three-chorder`s. I thought it was charming that the Cole`s still set up their own gear and man their own merch table after all these years. Tried and true do-it-yerselfer`s. And as a band more suited to a small dimly-lit bar they had set their gear up in a very tight formation with drummer Kelly Haliburton’s kit front and center on the stage. It definitely made for a more intimate display despite the size of the old theater. I was only vaguely familiar with them and briefly sampled their latest record “Descending Shadows” just prior to the show. Needless to say, I was not impressed by the album. I thought it sounded kind of boring and thought Fred’s vocals were long past their prime; however, their live show was indeed another story.
Though the songs themselves are very basic, they had major stage presence. Lots of energy for a couple of veterans well into their fifties, and the distorted grind of the guitar masked Fred’s tone-deaf wail that is a bit too crisp in the studio. Toody was a genuinely scary performer while also being very sincere and gracious about their invitation up north, and the whole band resonated with a moody creepiness that was an absolute pleasure to watch. They ran through tracks from both their studio albums including the single “Ain’t Life Strange”, “Caroline”, and “This is the Day” before finishing their set with a climactic rendition of “Paranoia”.
By this time the venue had really begun to fill up. There were all kinds of giddy girls around, eager to see a couple female comrades tear it up. As a compliment to the Pack AD’s take-no-bullshit attitude an old kung-fu film was projected on the screens just as they took the stage. Resident percussionist Maya Miller, who handled witty banter duties for the set, said hello and gave the audience a wee disclaimer stating “Well, we’ll see how this goes, cause I’ve had a few tonight, I’m pretty sure Becky’s had a few…but hopefully you’ve had a few too, so we’re all on the same page right?”.
Wasting no time, the girls opened with “Lights,” a ripper that got the crowd moving immediately and kept them moving with “We Kill Computers” singles “Cobra Matte” and “BC is on Fire”. Front-woman Becky Black shook and shimmied around the stage like a female Angus Young (sans uniform of course) while they blasted through the majority of “Unpersons” including the singles “Haunt You” and “Sirens” as well as mellow stand-out “Seasick” and finishing with “Ride”. But not wanting to leave the packed theater unsatisfied, they returned for a well-received encore before thanking everyone for a swell party and saying goodnight.
It was a solid show and all three bands played solid sets, but for my money I would say the most rock-solid of the bunch was Black Wizard. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Pack AD is pretty good and they played a tight set, but I find their song writing to be a little simplistic by comparison and suspect that most of their success is built on hype and persistent self-promotion. That and a decent local following established over the course of four records. I did find it interesting that the evening’s roster went from a four-piece playing solo-rich and ambitious stoner metal, to a three-piece playing basic noisy garage rock, to a two-piece playing REALLY basic noisy garage rock. On the stage, it looked to me like a wind-DOWN but there was no denying that on the floor it was certainly a wind up.
The foyer of the nearly sold out theater was almost empty during their performance, meaning all attending were jammed as close as they could to the stage and loving every minute of it. Maybe I’m just missing something. I did definitely enjoy their show and wouldn’t turn them down if they were on the radio, but when I returned to the merch table after the stage had emptied, it was to pick up a copy of Black Wizards single, and I wasn`t the only one.
Review by: Coleman Ingram | Concert photography by Cherry Archer who is also a Vancouver fashion photographer specializing in conceptual photo shoots.
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