Meet You at the Show | Montreal Concert Listings and Reviews » Misfits – Le National

Misfits – Le National – Saturday, June 19th, 2010

June 22, 2010 in Show Reviews

On Saturday night, the Misfits brought Halloween early this year to Montreal. Droves of kids and adults wearing Misfits t-shirts created a ghoulish atmosphere around the hosting venue, Le National, but before the legendary Misfits would take the stage, we would hear from three opening bands, and they were all from Montreal.

The first band to hit the stage was Medusa, a young and fresh faced Montreal band who was heavily voted for online in order to be a part of this show. When they started off their set the venue was still pretty empty and those that had shown up early didn’t seem quite ready to get going just yet, but that didn’t stop their energy on stage. Their straight forward metal sound with a soulful side provided by singer Kayla Whynter led to a bit of a strange feeling around the room but their stage presence and their amazing musicianship sure had the crowd going by the end of their set, which wasn’t very long. The good news was that the place was almost full when the second band of the night, Chix n’ Dix took the stage.

Chix N’ Dix were pretty wild and seemed to give the crowd exactly what they were looking for. With lead vocalist Kryztera Oi!’s raw vocals and a sound almost verging on ska it was hard not to want to move your feet. Even when bassist Destructive K broke a string, the band stood on their heads to make sure nobody would notice. But it wasn’t long before K whipped out another bass and jumped right back into the fray as if nothing happened. In just a few words, these guys really pulled it off.

Up next was band who put a smile on many faces in the crowd, the wonderfully named Vaginal Croutons. The Montreal punk legends took the stage with a bang and kept their enthusiastic immaturity going strong throughout their performance. With lead singer, Johnny Jackoff, in a floral “grandma” gown and the other members dressed pretty convensionally, it was hard to focus on anybody but Jackoff. Nevertheless, the band played a great set and made sure everyone in the crowd was having fun. Amid their set they began throwing objects (big and small) into the audience ranging from an inflatable penis to CD’s featuring some of their music. After the first two songs it seemed like Jackoff had become a magician, pulling a different surprise out for each song. By the end of their set everyone near the stage had been splashed with water, sprayed with gooey stuff and bumped by inflatable sex-toys. What a privilege we had to had to get to witness The Vaginal Croutons’ last show.

From the moment Vaginal Croutons had finished their set the venue was fully packed and people were ready to unleasch their inner-beast. After a short wait the lights dimmed and the recognizable theme from the film Halloween started to play. The stage was set up with glow in the dark Crimson Ghost faces as well as ghoulish pumpkins. Finally the deafening roar of Dez Cadena’s guitar started blaring out from the speakers. With a “1! 2! 3! GO!” the Misfits blasted into the most appropriate song to start with; “Halloween”. The set consisted of all their greatest songs in chronological order from old to new. Towards the middle of the set they popped in an old Black Flag song, “Six Pack”, and let former Black Flag member, Dez Cadena take over on vocals. There was very little room for talking in between songs with them blazing through their discography like there was no tomorrow. Song such as “Astro Zombies”, “Helena” and “Die Die My Darling” had the biggest reaction from the crowd. There was never a moment when the mosh pit was not in action and the energy that these kids drew from the music was endless.

Just when everybody thought the show was coming to an end they announced that since this was their last show on the tour they would give everything they had and extend the night with more music. One of the extra songs they played the blew everybody away was their rendition of the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic “Science Fiction Double Feature”. They really took the song and made it into their own. It was almost inevitable that the last song the band would play was “Die Die My Darling”. The crowd, sensing that this was the band’s last song, went completely nuts. At the end of their set lead singer Jerry Only came off the stage to sign merchandise and pose for pictues with his many devotees.You can check out our interview with Only by cicking here. – Roya Manuel