The BCASA + Average Times @ House of TARG
What happens when three shirtless punks from Montreal come to Ottawa to sing about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, sports, video games and fast food? You get an amazing ruckus performance by The BCASA at House of Targ!
BCASA, who used to be called Bill Cosby Anarchist Society of America until they were required to change their name, played a bunch fast songs that mostly revolved around our favourite green super heroes, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. They got the show started with “Annihilation,” which is about hockey, and then surged ahead with the all-powerful “Disco Fries.” It was then time to turn their attention to our beloved amphibians. With the crowd getting really into it, moshing and singing along, BCASA blasted through tracks like “Cawabunga Dude,” “Shell Shock,” “Turtle Power,” and one of my favourites “The Ballad of Casey Jonez.” Nick Raz hinted why the band wrote about Ninja Turtles: “This next song is on the album all about ninjas turtles. That’s what pushes you to the top of the international game, am I right? Am I right?” They also found time to fit in some songs about video games, which was appropriate considering they were playing at House of Targ – the only place in Ottawa that has more games than your childhood Nintendo collection. The crowd really responded to “Street Fighter 2 Turbo” and “Mortal Kombat.” Check out the video below of “Mortal Kombat,” quickly followed by “Breakfast Burrito.”
When it appeared that the show was coming to an end, someone in the crowd yelled for one more song. Raz responded, “One more song? We have one hundred left.” The boys then played “George Harrison and the Future Beatles,” off their album Fuck It Up Hard, and “Batman.” It was a super sweaty night which showed off the really fun side of punk rock. The side that has a lot of fun and doesn’t care what you think. It is not every genre of music where a band can flourish while singing about Ninja Turtles and video games. I know I count myself lucky to be able to have so much fun and see these guys live, and this show is definitely one of the strongest and rowdiest Targ has ever hosted.
Opening for BCASA was local garage punk band, Average Times. I have seen the four-piece play quite a number of times this year and it is always a treat. Average Times plays really catchy music and are also quite funny. For example, one of the guitarists Todd said “Just got news that my wife gave birth to a beautiful boy, this one is for you my little Mussolini Linguine. Welcome to the world, son.” Then of course he invited his newborn son on stage, who happened to be a sweaty, fully grown man. It was great to hear some new music from the band, too. I really hope we can hear some of those tracks on a new album soon, as their self-title record was one of my favourites from 2013. This also marked a big step for the band, as this was the first time that I had seen them where they didn’t play the crowd favourite “Wasted on Wine.” I love the song, but it is also great to see a band progressing and having more material to play around with.