Gig: Nomeansno

Nomeansno (METZ)

Lee's Palace. Monday, April 4, 2011.

Out for a dreaded Monday night gig amongst the Crusty Punx and other relics who looked like they weren't going gently into the weeknight. Those in attendance included Loud Arguing Dudes and Guy Who Repeatedly Shouts Outs People's Names From Across the Room ("Bill! Bill!") — screw this text messaging. Amongst a menagerie with a lot of folks who gave the impression that the used to go to a lot of shows, man, there'd be some grumpy faces in the office tomorrow morning. They were also people who didn't give a fig about t-shirt protocol — there was a large contingent out in their iconic Nomeansno WRONG t-shirts.

So, a decent showing for openers METZ, even if the crowd gave the impression were going to take a wait-and-see stance toward the local trio. With the big headliner drumkit set up near the front of stage left, Hayden Menzies' kit looked pretty puny by comparison, but it still generated plenty noise. And per the band's custom, the only source of light was from the illuminated kickdrum — which, on Lee's high stage, put it blindingly at eye level.

Even with that giant drumkit taking up real estate, this was the largest stage I've ever seen the band play on, and guitarist Alex Edkins had some extra room to wheel about as he powered the band's abrasive noise-lurches. With a hint of scabrous Jesus Lizard-y yelp-squelch, by "Dry Up", it was pretty clear the band was winning over some of the Crusty Punx. Maybe it's just having a slightly bigger space to fill than I've seen 'em in before, but they were a bit less overwhelmingly loud — not that they were delicate or anything, but there was some overhead for the dynamics and this might have been the best I'd ever heard 'em sound.

Playing their usual mix of tracks from their singles ("Dry Up", "Negative Space") plus newer ones presumably bound for their still-forthcoming album, they played seven efficient songs, moving quickly along, and sounding almost eager to get off the stage so they could hear the headliners.¹

Listen to a song from this set here.

The last time I saw Nomeansno I went into it with no small amount of trepidation, fearful that time might have robbed some of the vitality from what had been one of my favourite bands back in the mid-90's. But that show's velocity careened right past nostalgia in a hurry, and this time I was more enthusiastic going in. Certainly for the bulk of the crowd — including a panorama of about three generations of leather jacket-wearing punks — none of this was an issue. My only worry was in wondering how far back from the stage I'd have to be to avoid getting jostled by bodies bouncing from the pit.

Making a stopover in T.O. before flying over for some European dates, the trio were in gregarious and feisty form. "We're from Vancouver, Canada's premier hockey town," said bassist/vocalist Rob Wright, gleefully taunting the crowd to some equally amiable boos.

With a fairly immense catalogue spanning three decades to draw from, there's a lot of stuff for the band to dip into and I was pleased with the selection of "Angel or Devil" (from 1995's fab The Worldhood of the World (As Such)) to start things off. Right from the start, all of the hallmarks were there — Rob's powerful, driving bass, as much of a "lead" instrument as Tom Holliston's guitar, both of whom were pushed along by John Wright's thunderous, stop-on-a-dime drums. Without pause came the funky post-punk guitar line animating "I Can't Stop Talking" (from the less-beloved Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie) making the song sound incredibly more vital than I recall.

I was also glad that there was some new material in the mix. A pair of recently-released EP's provided several songs to the setlist, including the ace new "Jubilation", which, like so much of the band's material, makes a joyful song from the darkest of outlooks ("nothing left to hold on to in this wicked word / that's jubilation"). "Slave" and "One and the Same" were less endearing, but I'm still super-glad to see the band not just meekly accepting the easy ride down the nostalgia act route. And with a whiplash-inducing motion, they followed those newest songs with one of their oldest, reaching back to Mama, the band's 1982 debut full-length for "No Sex".

Call 'em codgers, but they're still pretty physical on stage — Rob managed to unplug his bass while Holliston sang "The Hawk Killed the Punk". And that led into a particularly driving and frothy version of "Teresa, Give Me That Knife". Watching them pump out song after song, it was admirable to see how damn vital the band remains, still nimbly navigating tempo changes and other rhythmic detours. And still treating the songs as if they were raw emotions ripped from the flesh, like when Holliston put down his guitar to grip the mic stand and lean into his vocals for "Metronome".

No shortage of highlights and no letup in a set lasting about an hour and twenty minutes — though the band might have been wearing down during set closing one-two punch from high-water mark Wrong, with a couple bum notes audible during "Oh No! Bruno!". Regrouping for a pair of encores that added another twenty-minutes to the proceedings, the night closed with the triumphalism of "Victory", and once again raging against the dying of the light carried the day.

Right after the show, I'd posted something old and something new here. And now I've done the same again here.

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¹ METZ will be headlining a stacked lineup on the first night of Wavelength's TWELVE! festival, Thursday, February 16, 2011 at Parts & Labour.