Gig Reviews

Micky Christ and Red 5 (The Limit) September 14, 1996: Team Canada had just lost the World Cup to the U.S. and it would appear that most decided to stay home and cry in their beer, rather than drown their sorrows in the tidepools of Victoria's nightlife. That, plus only one day of promo, made for a small audience as locals extraordinaire, Micky Christ, took to the stage. Clad in Dr. Seuss striped p.j.'s, Mr. Brainless dedicated the show to some Canadian hockey player (I forget), and got on with the business. Their first set was of yet-to- be-released, soon-to-be-classics, starting off with Pull My Finger, I'm in Love With My Left Hang, and Voyager. Despite their low spirits, MC are a proud lot and played well, led by the caped guitarist, Ian the Canadian Boy Wonder. The house sound was good, drawing people in from the street onto the dance floor, but the lighting did not give up more than a glimpse of Kevin or his kit. The band wasn't biting that night (although Gary's mask with a huge cock on top startled me into a fit of giggles), and so were open to requests, including Poopy Poopy, Hemp, and mine: Stop The War. The rest of the 75 minute set was some old, some new, something twisted, something cool. The backup vocals of Eugene and Ian add a dimension to the songs that you don't often hear in punk, while Gary continues to expand his range of delivery. The variations, the imagination, their astute songwriting, and the pure entertainment value is what makes MC so damn good for me. After ending their encore set with Municiple Cop, MC handed the mic over to the American group Red 5, and then sat back to check them out. This "female grunge band," actually made up of 2 guys, and 2 gals, had travelled for three days from Los Angeles to get to Victoria, so the pressure was on to make it their while. The two women, both on guitar, were great musicians and made for sweet vocals. The bass was big and bold, but the beat of the rhythm section varies little in the 45 minutes of heaven called Red 5, I liked watching two chicks with guitars, they were good, really tight, but I\ think they should take the opening band's lead and toughen up their material to match their musical prowess. I'm guessing when I say the Pixies were a big influence on the group, but in songs such as I'm Your Creation, and Making a Wave of Mutilation, the Breeders comparison is just too good to deny. I wouldn't call it "grunge rawk," but then that's what Monday magazine said. They've got a record out now, and really cool sparkly stickers. To wrap it up, the Yanks may have our hockey's badge of honor (for time being), but playing on their home ice, Micky Christ can't be beat. Reviewed by KAYLAR (Howie Meeker rawked, ok?)

SNFU/Micky Christ (The Limit) December 14, 1996: I love Micky Christ, and this show just rocked my world. There was a metal stage barrier that resembled a cattle stockade, presumably for the enslaught of crazed steer that would stampede the stage when SNFU played. I banged my boots and hung on it as I danced, danced the night away to Micky Christ. It also proved to be an effective barrier when dodging Mr. Brainless' soda water spoutings and Boy Wonder's Silly String ejaculations. They played a lot of new stuff, songs that you can only hear on cool radio shows like the Rush Hour, and we danced and threw beer at the band and had a lot of fun. I was crushed when they ignored my pleas to play "Stop the War," but hey, SNFU was coming on, and there was no time for a silly girl's request or encores.

Well, talk about a let down! Two techies got on the stage, played a few songs, including some vaguely familiar cover songs, and then left. I was confused, but then quickly became bored after the real SNFU stood up and began to play. Blah, Blah, Blah, I have nothing to say, except they need to spice up their visual presentation (flannel, flannel, flannel, and more flannel, jeans, and King Buzzo hair --- I guess after 17 months on the road, beauty regimes such as conditioner fall by the wayside). To tell you the trust, I can't tell you anything about their set, because I wasn't paying attention. SNFU - The band to snooze by... Reviewed by KONSTABLE KAYLAR, Fashion Police

Micky Christ, Unknown Review: Okay! First up was Micky Christ. If you live in Victoria and are not familiar with this band, crawl out from under the rock you're under or the cave you live in and go see them. These guys can put a smile on anyone's face. Costumes, half- nakedness, and Halloween masks, mixed in with their own brand of hardcore, all combines into a style that is totally their own.

The first half of the set was filled with 2 1/2 minute rockin hardcore tunes with a in your face/get out of mine kind of comedy approach. When the lead singer (for lack of a better choice of words) put on a mask with a giant penis sticking out of the forehead quadrant, I headed for cover (not knowing that the fluid would only spurt a few feet). They sucked me right into their performance.

The last half of the set was more recognizable as they metamophisized back into Micky Christ. It was welcomed with open arms as they played Monster and the likes. Good show! Nuff said!

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