The Raging Nathans, Dead Weights and Finderskeepers @ House of Targ
The Raging Nathans, Dead Weights, and Finderskeepers rocked House of Targ Tuesday night October 14.
Dayton, Ohio’s pop-punkers The Raging Nathans headlined what was a great way to spend a Tuesday night. The three-piece’s sound is fast pop-punk – on the fringe of skate-punk – with very heavily distorted bass giving them some extra grittiness. It is a very interesting mix, one I really enjoy. The boys were all business, flying through their set taking very few breaks, and no one was complaining as it left more room for music. Their song selection was mostly split between songs off their wicked new album Losing It, including “Tooth Song,” and “Not Giving Up,” and a few songs off their 2012 self-titled 7″, namely “Complicated Feeling” and “Nothing Nice.” My favourite song by The Raging Nathans is the ultra dark but super catchy song “I’m On Drugs.” The lyrics are so honest and powerful,
I found a picture of my friend who died, used it as an excuse to get high, looked you in the eyes and then I lied, got into the shower and then I cried. Well I’m on drugs, I can’t sleep, it’s been like this for weeks.
I am very glad I stayed out late on a Tuesday night to catch these guys.
Ottawa’s Dead Weights brought their raspy punk rock to the stage at Targ before The Raging Nathans. They opened with their uplifting “Fall Down,” which set the tone for a set full of songs off their latest release Dead Ends & Closed Doors. They followed up with “No Gods, No Bastards,” “Friends First” and “Do You Believe in Class War?” During “Do You Believe in Class War?” guitarist Steve McCrimmon was rocking so hard that his infamous Fest baseball cap fell off his head. Acting quickly, his girlfriend Kendal picked up his cap and put it back on his head. Much to our amusement, by putting the cap on she pushed his long hair in his face making look like Cousin It from the Addams Family.
If you have ever heard McCrimmon sing, you know that even if he looked the part, his voice is the complete opposite. They closed out with two tracks that brought many of their friends to the front of the stage to sing along. First was their banger “Barely Breathe” which is so infectious I don’t know how to not sing along to and second was the rocking “Dead Ends & Closed Doors” about struggling to make ends meet. As always, another great set by the Ottawa boys.
Getting things rolling was Finderkeepers. This was an important show for them considering bass player Devin Cook is pregnant and the band doesn’t have any other shows scheduled right now, so this might have been the last chance to see them for some time. They certainly did not disappoint. Blasting out of the gate with “It Can All End Tonight,” off their last record Pack Your Bags. They also played “Pack Your Bags” and the instrumental track “Red Riding” off this year’s release. Then lead singer and guitarist Chris Cook introduced the next songs, “Here are three new songs. We don’t really know them so we put them all in the middle so it just sounds like one big mistake.” Chris could not have been more wrong about the new tracks, they were really good. The last two of the three, “Endless Winter” and “Left for Dead,” are excellent steps forward as a band. I am super stoked for them going forward. With the new songs done, they went back to their older songs to finish up with “Public Defender,” “Lowlifes (And The Dearly Departed)” and my favourite, “Society in Decline.” If this was the set that sends them into a hiatus, they certainly did it right.