D.O.A. Call Harper "Asshole"

Horseshoe Tavern

Toronto, ON

on Nov 13 2008

Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

11/14/2008 10:22am

A lot can happen in the span of 30 years, but in the case of Vancouver punk icons D.O.A., not much has changed since 1978. Sure, members have come and gone, and the musical climate has evolved, but in terms of ideals and influence, it's been very much status quo for Joey Shithead and his merry band of fart knockers.

The toughies rolled into the Horseshoe Tavern on Thursday night hellbent on kicking buttocks and taking names in honour of their 30 years on the road. "World War 3" was a fitting opener for an election year, especially since Shithead gave multiple shout-outs from the stage to U.S. president-elect Barack Obama ("It's about time") and Prime Minister Stephen Harper ("...that fuckin' asshole!").

Of course, it was a moot point since the only politics that most of the audience seemed to care about were the politics of (slam)dancing. The pit only contained 30 bodies, tops, but these men and women were fierce — leading to some fisticuffs from some dude in a headband and a lively dance between three testy females. It was quite the spectacle, especially when multiple numbskulls attempted to stage dive atop the meagre pit, leading to bruised elbows and more than one literal numb skull.

There weren't a whole lot of surprises from the stage as the band trotted out most of their catalogue favourites, including "Disco Sucks," "I Hate You" and the slightly less frantic "General Strike." Some tracks from the band's new Bob Rock-produced Northern Avenger were also played, and the throngs were receptive, largely because of the breakneck pacing of "This Machine Kills Fascists," "Human Bomb" and other subtle bedtime favourites.

Joey Shithead has always been seen as a strong, charismatic frontman, but his guitar prowess is often overlooked. Granted, he's never going to whip out any Steve Howe-style virtuosity, but that doesn't matter since Shithead can effortlessly shred his way through reams of hardcore like few other punk guitarists. Besides, virtuosity of any kind would be sorely out of place on a track called "Fuck You."

D.O.A.'s set was light on covers and, while they omitted their trademark stabs at Black Sabbath and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, the band managed to squeeze in their surprisingly earnest take on Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Who'll Stop The Rain" before wrapping the evening with a torrid take on "Fucked Up Baby."

The slam-dancing endured the full evening and, whether it was the myriad of ladies getting their mosh on, the shirtless dude with the googly eyes or the sullen Dexter wannabe prowling in and around up front, I'm sure they appreciated D.O.A. bringing the goods and entering their fourth decade in fine form.