Teenanger, The Yips and Average Times break out at Mugshots
Mugshots hosted a rager late Friday night as Teenanger, The Yips and Average Times shook the walls of the old jail bar.
Toronto’s Teenanger, sporting two members from Ottawa, brought their heavy bass driven snotty punk rock to a jam packed Mugshots. The crowd was loving it, with a non-stop moshpit, crowd-surfing and some singing along. Teenanger must have felt right at home. Lead singer, Chris Swimmings, spent a lot of the set in the crowd much to fans’ delight. If you missed them this time, you can look for Teenanger in Ottawa in June, playing the Ottawa Explosion Weekend 2013.
Home town favourites, The Yips, took to the stage before Teenanger for their tape release party (is this a new thing?). Opening with PGLM, off their new EP, the Yips play some sweet rock ‘n’ roll that you have move to. Singer, Kerri Carisse, has some hints Karen-O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in her great voice. The crowd was dancing from the very start and also got some crowd-surfing in. Check out their newest release, on Ottawa label Bruised Tongue, as you don’t want to be left behind on this one.
The old-school punk rock sounds of Average Times opened the night. Their high tempo makes you want to listen to them as you skateboard on a hot summer day. Both guitarists and the bass player all sing, which adds a lot of depth and variety to their sound. A very fun opening act.
This was the first time I went to Mugshots for a show and not just open-mic. The tunnel style layout paired with no riser, is not ideal for seeing a show, as most of the crowd cannot see the band. But the sounds is excellent and the ambiance lends itself perfectly for some grimy rock shows.
And not to forget, the show was a mini fundraiser, with some of proceeds going to support CHUO 89.1 FM.