Pressure Kill Common Style / SIDS / Forbidden Dimension / Cripple Creek Fairies

There has always been an abundance of rock’n’roll bands in Calgary that look like appropriate candidates for rock action figure immortalisation. From campy costumes to props, tongue-in-cheek thematic visual support always helps deliver the power chord sermon. The anomaly of this predominantly garage rock evening was Pressure Kill Common Style, a trio who began the evening with a mesmerising blizzard of sound. Pupils of the David Bowie discography, PKCS blasted out an eclectic set honouring new wave and shoegazing pioneers in a fast paced delivery. Very occasionally, it sounded as though they had taken a sip from the slightly off-kilter indie pop Kool Aid that has been going around. Still, for a two-year-old band, they’re allowing their sound to sprawl in all the right directions. The habitually excellent Forbidden Dimension have been a Calgary institution for nearly 18 years. Jackson Phibes (vocalist/guitarist Tom Bagley) has been the barometer for cool for just as long. Backed by fellow scene veterans Craig Evans (bass) and Mark Igglesden (drums), the savvy trio filled every corner of the room with meaty, glow in the dark hooks. With white paint smeared on their faces and blackened eyes, Forbidden Dimension’s witty lyrics were befitting of a full moon graveyard stomp sprung to life. Breathing new life into the scene, Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome (SIDS) spectacularly represented the new class of delinquent rock and rollers. The guitarist wore nothing but a coy smile and bright blue-y fronts. The petulant voiced front-man was on his back on the dance floor having a soulful rock’n’roll conniption fit. Fresh out of high school, SIDS’s squirrelly, sugar fit anthems transform good shows into unforgettable experiences. With flying hats and goggles on, the Cripple Creek Fairies closed the show with a succinct, punchy hard rock salute. Although tall and lanky, the keyboardist did not topple his organ despite leaping on and off it like a possessed chimp. Stage acrobatics do not make a band but they made this sensational established band’s set, and an already fun evening, even better.