On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Rocket From The Crypt
July 28, 1998
The Opera House, Toronto, ON

A Tuesday night in Toronto and I can't believe what choices in live music are available to me.

1) A friend, Vaughn Passmore, was at the Horseshoe.

2) My co-worker's sister's band was playing their last North America gig before returning to Turkey at Barcode.

3) Billy Bragg was at the Phoenix performing his new album of music composed to the late Woody Guthrie's lyrics.

4) Brit hit-seekers, The Unbelievable Truth were at the Horseshoe.

5) Chart Music Editor was having a surprise birthday party, where my roommate, Scott B. was performing.

6) There was a T. Rex (a personal fave for me the past two years!) tribute night at the El Mocambo,

7) Oh yeah, the best live band in the U.S.A. today, Rocket From The Crypt were at the Opera House.

Choices, Choices, Choices!!!

Well, if you want to go out and see a good show, go see the best. So it was off to the Opera House, (after stopping off at the birthday party for a brief appearance) just in time to see the opening band, Creeper Lagoon leave the stage. Natch! "I wanted to see them," I quip. "Maybe next time." Due to my untimely arrival, there was a large break between the two bands. I passed the time in conversation with several of my peers.

To some crazy (long) sound effects and excerpts from early radio melodramas, Rocket From the Crypt took the stage with matching ensemble; mathcing black shirts with a leopard design covering the front. They attempted to rouse the crowds with some hooting and hollering. Guitarist and singer, Speedo announces to the audience the need for a dancing area near the front, to no avail. Then they rip into some high energy stomping ska (sans the tripping rhythms)-like music that is a head-on collision of punk and R&B. RFTC's two-man horn section was trading jabs with both the bass and drums should have been whipping the crowd into an incredible frenzy....but they weren't.

Something was wrong. I'd seen these guys before. At Lee's, opening up someone forgettable. And last time at the barn-like cavern, Varsity Arena, opening for Soundgarden, a band I hope I forget. They rock out seriously. But tonight just wasn't happening. I became detached from their performance. It was as if I could not hear them. They sounded as if they were playing under water. You know the sound you hear after you dive into a swimming pool?

The first five songs are a blur. Though I remember breaks with some sly banter by Speedo, I can't really recall any of the songs. It went on that way for a while and it was until they launched into "Break It Up" off the latest album RFTC, that I formed a memory. They then came fast and furious. A botched version of "Born in '69" followed by a spirited rendition of "On A Rope" and an awkward take on the semi-ballad "Let's Get Busy". Due in part, to the poor sound in the notoriously poor-sounding Opera House and the unevenness of the performance, I come away from the evening disappointed. Even the best band in the land (well south of the border!) could not defeat the phantom of the Opera House.