Nov ? 1999
The Straight Goods
Alternative to the alternative Big Wreck
rocked hard
By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun
How refreshing it is to go to a rock concert
without any tags dangling off it.
Last night's triple blast at the Shaw Conference
Centre wasn't "grunge," it wasn't "alternative," it
wasn't "goth" rock. No poseurs. No tricks. No
gimmicks - just solid, straight-ahead elemental rock
'n' roll brought to you by the Watchmen, Big
Wreck and a terrific newcomer called the Mayfield
Four.
The more than 4,000 people who turned up to
party their faces off didn't need no stinkin' labels.
Denizens of dance music say things like "rock is
dead" and hail turntables and DJs as the wave of
the future. There were none to be found last night.
Just the basics: bass, drums and guitars for three
solid hours. Each of the bands, in its own way,
stretched the rock genre while invoking the seminal
spirit of greats like Ozzy Osbourne and Led
Zeppelin. The "double devils" (the split-finger
salute) was the gesture of the night.
There's no stopping the Watchmen. The Winnipeg
quartet continues to increase its following with a
hard-driving and soulful brand of rock. With singer
Danny Greaves and guitarist Joey Serlin - the
no-hair twins - leading the way, the band opened
with Stereo, the song that's breaking the band
worldwide. Another track from the new album,
Silent Radar, followed, kicking off what promised
to be an intense show - which is what the band is
famous for. It was scheduled to play until well after
The Sun's deadline.
Up second, Big Wreck delivered a swampy and
deafeningly loud set, despite occasionally becoming
distracted by their own skill. The crowd's attention
wavered during self-indulgent guitar solos, but
raised the roof with solid fare like That Song and
the hit that launched the band, The Oaf. (Ironic that
a band so hard on "imitators" would record a song
that sounds suspiciously like Big Sugar, but we'll let
it go. It's a great tune in any case.) At the risk of
laying a label on Big Wreck, it pulls elements from
almost anywhere: southern rock, middle eastern
sounds, Pink Floyd spaciness and Stevie Ray
Vaughan rockin' blues - sometimes all in the same
tune.
Singer Ian Thornley, being the only Canadian in a
Boston band, revelled in the crowd's enthusiasm:
"It's so f---ing nice to be back in Canada!" he said.
And there was much rejoicing. Much appreciated
was an encore presentation of Zeppelin's The
Immigrant Song. The fact that Thornley didn't know
the words didn't stop Big Wreck. He just made
them up - and still managed to keep the spirit of the
tune intact.
As for the opening act, probably 99% of the
audience started with "Mayfield Who?" and ended
with, as Thornley put it, "the Mayfield Four kicked
some serious ass!" You might hear a lot more from
this Washington foursome if they keep up work as
excellent as last night's. Singer Myles Kennedy was
especially amazing.
These guys don't need a label, either. Being great is
enough.