Molested Youth

Despite opening the show and having only a few minutes to get 'er going, Toronto-bred hardcore quartet Molested Youth delivered one hell of a wallop in their fleeting set. Wasting little time, the band hunkered down into the type of loud, abrasive four-chord pounders that peel paint and split floorboards. Sadly, their vocalist seems trapped in the punk rock textbook (throwing the mic stand, sort of getting into the crowd, lots of pointless pacing/air punching and an endeavour to look as though he really doesn't give a shit), while he could probably do some serious damage if he dropped the slacker bit. Still, his presence was better than the successive shoegazer acts and the band was stunning thanks to a primordial hardcore attack that took the bare bones and beat you over the head with them. Clearly schooled in the works of Minor Threat, the Misfits and D.R.I., a rawness like theirs has been sorely missing in Canadian punk for years. Go figure the scenesters did little more than stare, forgetting punk rock is about inciting, not trying to look hip to.