The Blood Brothers Leave Trail Of Dead Behind

The Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Nov 5 2006

Noah Love (CHARTattack)

11/06/2006 2:00pm

Great mid-size double bills should be the goal of all touring acts, but it's surprising that only a few groups ever attempt to stage them. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are one of the smarter bands in this respect. Their 2003 tour with Queens Of The Stone Age was one of that year's best and their decision to take on The Blood Brothers as 2006 tourmates was equally inspired. It's just too bad Trail Of Dead decided to let them open the show.

This was quickly evident during the lacklustre opening set from Celebration. When singer Katrina Ford thanked the bands, Trail Of Dead received almost no applause whatsoever, while the all-ages contingent in front of the barrier dividing the room in half cheered wildly for The Blood Brothers. They kept making noise when bassist/keyboardist Morgan Henderson appeared on stage to do little more than soundcheck his instruments.

The Blood Brothers' set didn't disappoint in the least. From the opening howls of "Set Fire To The Face On Fire" from their October release, Young Machetes, Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney dominated the stage. Meanwhile, their bandmates ripped through a staggeringly loud set that encompassed their last three records. The Brothers seemed most comfortable with Young Machetes material, but also confidently pulled out a surprising number of tracks from their seminal debut, Burn, Piano Island, Burn. "Ambulance Vs. Ambulance," the electro-influenced "Cecelia And The Silhouette Saloon" and set closer "The Shame" were met with thunderous applause.

Since it was an all-ages event, a circle pit dominated the floor for most of The Blood Brothers' set. I began to wonder if perhaps the barrier wasn't actually more for the protection of the Trail Of Dead fans than it was to prevent the kids from drinking.

Whitney couldn't hit the highest notes after decimating his vocal chords over the past week-and-a-half of the tour, so instead he sang harmonies of the original melodies in a slightly lower register, which more than compensated. Blilie was more confident than usual. Though he still spends a bit of time hanging out at Mark Gajadhar's drum kit with his back to the crowd, he was at the front of the stage in a dripping sweat for the majority of the night.

After a bombastic 50 minutes, the Seattle quintet left the stage to noisy cheers for "one more song." Gajadhar stood motionless onstage waiting to see if it would be allowed, but the house lights and music came on shortly after (to loud boos). At that point, nearly everyone in the venue below the age of 21 vacated, leaving the Phoenix half empty.

The drinkers moved to the front of the room for the arrival of Trail Of Dead, who last year expanded to a six-piece. The good news is that they've abandoned the two-drummer nonsense that bloated their already operatic rock. The bad news is that three years after their best record, Source Tags & Codes, was released, they continue to flog that LP and its predecessor, Madonna, in an effort to take attention away from their inferior post-Source Tags material. Worse, Conrad Keely's voice continues to deteriorate, which makes for an embarrassing contrast to his studio vocals, which are now hideously auto-tuned.

"Stand In Silence" was the only track played from the forthcoming So Divided, which makes sense since it's the only track from the new LP that sounds in line with the group's older material. "Will You Smile Again For Me" and "Caterwaul" were the only tracks unleashed from the disappointing Worlds Apart.

The latter kicked off a three-song set from drummer Jason Reece, who put on one of the more ridiculously dangerous performances I've ever witnessed. Sporting the eyes of a madman, Reece looked as though he could have cared less about the welfare of his band or the audience as he shook a rail of speakers that hung from the ceiling by a single chain perilously above the crowd, then pushed the stage manager who berated him for doing it. After "Aged Dolls," he began smashing his guitar wherever he pleased. Reece nearly hit the group's bassist, whose wide-eyed look of terror implied the move wasn't rehearsed, and he was eventually restrained by a road manager.

If that's what it takes for the band to get noticed after being thoroughly upstaged less than an hour earlier, the demise of Trail Of Dead could very well be on the horizon.