C'mon / Hot Live Guys / Louisiana Cockfight

With the aurora borealis clearly visible in the night sky, even from the Royal Albert’s dusty downtown parking lot, Toronto’s C’mon and locals Louisiana Cockfight and the Hot Live Guys unleashed a rock’n’roll firestorm inside the club. Decked out in cowboy hats, Louisiana Cockfight gave a solid performance of blues rock with a strong cover of a Pink Fairies’ song thrown in for good measure. Hot Live Guys delivered a wild set of turbo-charged party rock that whetted appetites for the group’s soon-to-be released EP. With guitarist Joe Warkentin frequently hurling himself off the stage to play in the midst of the crowd, the group showed why they’ve cemented a reputation as one of Winnipeg’s most entertaining live bands. C’mon, meanwhile, unleashed one of their most muscular shows to date in Winnipeg. From the slow, stoned riffs of "Cut Me Down” to the bullet train fast blasts of "I Don’t Wanna,” the band played with unrelenting intensity as front-man Ian Blurton lunged from one mic stand to the next while singing. Midway through their set, bassist Katie Lynn Campbell and Blurton left the stage and played while walking through the middle of the crowd. Prior to making his way back to the mic, Blurton climbed onto a table in the middle of the bar and delivered a note-perfect guitar solo above the heads of audience members. Later on, drummer Randy Curnew began an intro to one of C’mon’s songs and the boisterous crowd spontaneously launched into singing Twisted Sister’s "We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Blurton seized on the moment and made the crowd repeat their inebriated warbling, before starting into his band’s song again. C’mon’s vigorous performance proved how their repeated trips across Canada have fashioned the group into a fierce rock’n’roll machine.