NIGHT ONE – 100% SOLD OUT!
6:00 Doors // 7:00pm Judgement // 7:45pm Softcult // 8:30pm Bearings // 9:25pm Silverstein
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Few bands on their 22nd lap around the scene could claim to be in “just getting started” mode as much as punk stalwarts Silverstein. The release of their tenth studio album, Misery Made Me, finds the group spring boarding off the heights they’ve reached over the past handful of years; their latest album (2020’s A Beautiful Place To Drown) adding 80 Million streams to a mind-numbing career total of 500 Million. Inspired by the past two years, Misery Made Me is a depiction of Silverstein – and world at large’s – collective turmoil, frustration, and anxiety. “I wanted to explore the meaning of ‘Misery’ as a main theme throughout the album,” says vocalist Shane Told. “Despite the mountains climbed and boulders pushed during recent years, we were confronted by the weight and misery of staying relatively in the same place for a long period of time. Finding peace in the reality of this misery became important. The record is about the acceptance of a new reality and adapting to it.” It’s both intriguing and inspiring that a band – who could have merely rested on the impressive legacy they’ve already cemented – would continue to dig deep and find the inspiration to reach people in meaningful new ways. Misery Made Me is a campaign hinged on Silverstein’s reflection and gratitude for their roots, their honouring of their earliest fans, and their staunch desire to explore forward-thinking and adventurous ways to connect with new ones.
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By the time Bearings got the chance to properly tour their sophomore album, 2020’s Hello, It’s You, 16 months had passed due to, well, you know the story. But despite the false starts getting back onto the road, in a roundabout way the delayed gratification might have been the very best thing for the Ottawa-based pop-punk quintet and their passionate fans alike. In the end, Hello, It’s You solidified Bearings’ place as genre mainstays, elevating a tried-and-true pop-punk sound Alternative Press hailed as “dangerously catchy” that “could bring down a summer barbeque, if not a festival,” while their home and native land’s Exclaim! said Bearings had “entered the pop-punk big leagues.” Centering the most elemental, essential qualities of their musicianship without falling into the kid-in-a-candy-store trappings that bog down so many artists, Bearings’ third album for Pure Noise, The Best Part About Being Human, is the sort of record that begs to be played loudly, the sounds of sunny SoCal filtered through the lens of the Great White North. In some ways, this might have been the only profound question Bearings asked themselves during the process, opting for feel over a philosophical approach. And while Cousins admits naming the album The Best Part About Being Human is sure to invite some questions about what Bearings know of life’s great mysteries, he and his bandmates prefer to answer with winking disinterest, head-bobbing groove and bounce-off-the-walls energy.
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Twin sisters Phoenix (She/They) and Mercedes Arn-Horn (She/Her) have been making music together since they were barely teenagers. Cutting their teeth in the local scene of Kitchener, Ontario helped them find their feet but because it was dominated by blokes, they were often left feeling like the odd ones out. Later, when they started touring further afield, the pair were exposed to how “misogynistic the music industry really was”. Tired of biting their tongues, putting up with relentless sexism as well as realising they weren’t the only ones having to deal with it, Softcult sees the pair biting back. As their debut single promises, “something’s got to change”. The duo had been toying with the idea of Softcult for a long while but the pandemic finally gave them the time to focus on bringing that vision to life. Recording at home and produced by Phoenix, the band are able to capture what they hear in their heads without a middle-man diluting things while Mercedes has taken charge of their music videos. Wanting to rekindle their youthful love of music that saw them picking up guitars and drum sticks at age 13, Softcult is influenced by their childhood heroes Bikini Kill (“if Kathleen Hanna didn’t exist, Softcult wouldn’t either”), Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, and My Bloody Valentine. Not interested in reviving the past, they also take inspiration from the badass bubble grunge of Beabadoobee, Cherry Glazer, and Soccer Mommy as Softcult are a fiercely modern group working towards a better future. “There have been so many opportunities to grow over the past year,” says Mercedes. “If you’re not using this time to recognize your own privileges or the toxic parts of society, you’re really wasting an opportunity to come out of this experience having learned something.” Armed with a list of likes (ethical everything, creative freedom, social activism) and dislikes (the band won’t stand for sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, elitism or shitty band dudes preaching fake wokeness), Softcult are a group who know exactly who, and what, they stand for. Not only do Mercedes and Phoenix “want to be those inspiring role models for the next generation of girls” but they want to use Softcult to create a community that really is a safe space for everyone. Those lists will act as a manifesto “so when we tour and other people are involved, they know what we expect. We really do just want to be transparent with everyone that listens to our music” and the pair are eager to put the work in to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. What Softcult really wants to do is “foster a community of like-minded individuals and make real change from the roots of the scene up.” They’ve got bigger dreams than wanting to play certain venues or getting songs on the radio. “This band is more about having a message, mobilizing people and being the change that we want to see,” says Mercedes while Phoenix hopes the pair “can do our part and know that we actually tried.” Softcult is all about empowerment. After going through some rough times in her early twenties, Mercedes wants to do all she can to make sure no one else has to put up with the same shit. “No more being submissive,” she promises. “I refuse to stand by while abuse and sexism is so prevalent. It’s important that we educate not just the people that could become victims or survivors of the system of abuse, but that we also encourage people to hold their friends accountable and empower people to call others out. I really just want to make a difference. Hopefully our music inspires people to just not be assholes anymore.”
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Judgement is a post-hardcore band from Toronto, Ontario, spreading a message of positivity & self-empowerment within their music.
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