PTW PTW PTW PTW
Oh man...i had this huge urge to check out PTW (POISON THE WELL) a few months ago and $10 for 10 tour presented me with this awesome opportunity to check them out again! It's been approximately six years since I last saw them! Epicness!
Tuesday August 11th was the day of the show and it was at Opera House. I went with Paul, another fan of PTW. He doesn't listen to them anymore but decided to tag along anyways since it was only $10! The show started at 4pm, doors opened at 3pm. Had to start early to get all TEN bands on stage. We arrived at Opera House around 7pm but didn't go in until 8pm. There were NO other bands I wanted to see on this tour so I wanted to minimize the amount of time I spent standing and sitting through shit music before PTW came on. They were headlining =). Bane played a couple of shows on the tour but were not at the Toronto date. So that was a bummer.
What ended up happening was Paul and I sat outside on a bench outside a car dealership for an hour just chit-chatting. Which was nice. We went in at 8pm, and the venue was moderately packed. Although, not packed enough for them to open the balcony on the second floor. I got in, asked someone how many more bands were left, and he responded with TWO! Hot Jesus, only two more bands!? Awesome, I only had to sit through Terror's set (which was shit) before PTW came on.
The anticipation was building and it was only 9pm. The dudes of PTW started coming on stage to setup their equipment, notably Chris Hornbrook the drummer began setting up his kit. Every PTW show I've been to, Chris has always set up his own drum-set. Through the major label days and now Indie label days it seems like they've always set up their own equipment. These guys are a TRUE underground band with a DIY attitude. Fuck a roadie, I'll set up my own shit because I don't have an ego and don't care about stepping on stage before my time slot! That's right! It was fun seeing the band setting up, this is quite uncommon for the headlining band.
They kicked off their set with ARTISTS RENDERING OF ME. A timeless classic for any hardcore fan. Song after song, they played a great mix between old and new songs. It was incredible. The old songs brought back some memories and I definitely had some nostalgic moments throughout the show. Paul felt the same way too. They played three songs off their new album, The Tropic Rot. I was hoping they would play a longer set, but they only made it through 10 or 11 songs. I guess they did this in true hardcore spirit...attempting not to steal the spotlight of the show with a 15-20 song set.
It was absolutely great seeing these guys. I fell in love again with a seven year old passion I once had for these guys. It was ridiculous. I'm also digging the new album a lot. I am so proud of these guys for putting out new albums that sound nothing like their old material. They are introducing something new to the hardcore world and these guys are TRUE pioneers and masterminds in the genre. Kudos to PTW for being who they are and for making good music and for putting on sick ass shows!
WIN!
Tuesday August 11th was the day of the show and it was at Opera House. I went with Paul, another fan of PTW. He doesn't listen to them anymore but decided to tag along anyways since it was only $10! The show started at 4pm, doors opened at 3pm. Had to start early to get all TEN bands on stage. We arrived at Opera House around 7pm but didn't go in until 8pm. There were NO other bands I wanted to see on this tour so I wanted to minimize the amount of time I spent standing and sitting through shit music before PTW came on. They were headlining =). Bane played a couple of shows on the tour but were not at the Toronto date. So that was a bummer.
What ended up happening was Paul and I sat outside on a bench outside a car dealership for an hour just chit-chatting. Which was nice. We went in at 8pm, and the venue was moderately packed. Although, not packed enough for them to open the balcony on the second floor. I got in, asked someone how many more bands were left, and he responded with TWO! Hot Jesus, only two more bands!? Awesome, I only had to sit through Terror's set (which was shit) before PTW came on.
The anticipation was building and it was only 9pm. The dudes of PTW started coming on stage to setup their equipment, notably Chris Hornbrook the drummer began setting up his kit. Every PTW show I've been to, Chris has always set up his own drum-set. Through the major label days and now Indie label days it seems like they've always set up their own equipment. These guys are a TRUE underground band with a DIY attitude. Fuck a roadie, I'll set up my own shit because I don't have an ego and don't care about stepping on stage before my time slot! That's right! It was fun seeing the band setting up, this is quite uncommon for the headlining band.
They kicked off their set with ARTISTS RENDERING OF ME. A timeless classic for any hardcore fan. Song after song, they played a great mix between old and new songs. It was incredible. The old songs brought back some memories and I definitely had some nostalgic moments throughout the show. Paul felt the same way too. They played three songs off their new album, The Tropic Rot. I was hoping they would play a longer set, but they only made it through 10 or 11 songs. I guess they did this in true hardcore spirit...attempting not to steal the spotlight of the show with a 15-20 song set.
It was absolutely great seeing these guys. I fell in love again with a seven year old passion I once had for these guys. It was ridiculous. I'm also digging the new album a lot. I am so proud of these guys for putting out new albums that sound nothing like their old material. They are introducing something new to the hardcore world and these guys are TRUE pioneers and masterminds in the genre. Kudos to PTW for being who they are and for making good music and for putting on sick ass shows!
WIN!