Toronto's Lord Almightys made their Halifax debut with a homecoming show.
If that sentence sounds confusing at first read, well, that's just the Maritimes way. East Coasters have long been accustomed to our bands and artists leaving us at some point to make a go for it in one big spit or another, but eventually finding their way back, even if only on tour dates. In the case of the Lord Almightys, you've got the imposingly tall frontman Myles Deck, the biting guitar and backup vocals of Carla Gillis and the high-energy bass of Gerry Hubley — all Haligonians, spanning a couple different musical generations, now based in Toronto. Their "associated acts" list reads like a short Halifax music history: Plumtree, Cauldron, Myles Deck and the Fuzz, Envision, etc. etc.
"Welcome to the Lord Almightys DJ set," joked Deck, clad in a Cramps T-shirt, before launching into the band's tight, efficient 27-minute show. The Lord Almightys' brand of ex-pat punk finds form and content in ready alignment, with directness and simplicity as guiding principles: upcoming single "X-Ray Eyes" is about having X-ray eyes; "White Denim" is about white jeans. You get the picture. Gillis' guitar riffs and backup vocals added texture, while Deck bounded about the intimate Carleton stage, throwing a cover of "Paper Dolls" by the Nerves into the mix alongside songs from the band's Patrick Pentland-produced tour cassette.
One couldn't help but wish for a venue that might have been slightly more punk-friendly — the crowd was a bit reserved, compared to the energy onstage — but mostly, the band's deceptively catchy earworms found eager ears on HPX's first night.
If that sentence sounds confusing at first read, well, that's just the Maritimes way. East Coasters have long been accustomed to our bands and artists leaving us at some point to make a go for it in one big spit or another, but eventually finding their way back, even if only on tour dates. In the case of the Lord Almightys, you've got the imposingly tall frontman Myles Deck, the biting guitar and backup vocals of Carla Gillis and the high-energy bass of Gerry Hubley — all Haligonians, spanning a couple different musical generations, now based in Toronto. Their "associated acts" list reads like a short Halifax music history: Plumtree, Cauldron, Myles Deck and the Fuzz, Envision, etc. etc.
"Welcome to the Lord Almightys DJ set," joked Deck, clad in a Cramps T-shirt, before launching into the band's tight, efficient 27-minute show. The Lord Almightys' brand of ex-pat punk finds form and content in ready alignment, with directness and simplicity as guiding principles: upcoming single "X-Ray Eyes" is about having X-ray eyes; "White Denim" is about white jeans. You get the picture. Gillis' guitar riffs and backup vocals added texture, while Deck bounded about the intimate Carleton stage, throwing a cover of "Paper Dolls" by the Nerves into the mix alongside songs from the band's Patrick Pentland-produced tour cassette.
One couldn't help but wish for a venue that might have been slightly more punk-friendly — the crowd was a bit reserved, compared to the energy onstage — but mostly, the band's deceptively catchy earworms found eager ears on HPX's first night.