| | RiR Buzz Concert Writeup (August 5, 2004) |
August 11, 2004 Hello people,
 We just had one of the biggest concert showcase of Radio Insect Records (RiR) talents called 'Buzz' on Thursday, August 5, 2004 at Toronto's infamous live venue 'The Opera House'. Certainly an appropriate name for a concert not only because 'insect' is a part of our label name but also because we are becoming busier worker-bees working hard to build a better, larger more solid hive. A total of 7 RiR talents consisted "Buzz" including (in order of performance) Happy Days, JP Sunga, Snipergal, Serge and Caroline, The iDentity Crisis, Vultocazhe, and Noizy Toyz. Attendance was better than expected considering it was held on a Thursday. Our emcee for the event was none other than Bob Dela Cruz whose exemplary introductions and crowd management were efficiently employed. We could not see anyone else but Bob to host our next "Buzz" if he's up to it as it was evident that he could get anyone's attention with his deep and authoritative voice.
The first performance of the evening happened at around 9:15pm featuring Happy Days. Happy Days are four musicians whose music can be categorized as an edgier version of "Sundays" with influences from "Smiths". Their music gives hope to the resurgence of 'New Wave'. They performed about 5 songs and successfully provided the initial energy of the show. Kathy's blissfull voice commanded a kind of authority that made you listen to the lyrics of the song. Pelvic gyrations of bassist extra-ordinaire 'Odelle' combined with Ona's impossible maneouvres kicked up their performance a notch without compromising musicianship. All in all a very entertaining set indeed.
 The next performance was provided by 'jP Sunga' (jP) and his trio of symphony-caliber musicians (keyboards, drums, violin). jP also handily performs with his acoustic guitar (and sometimes on the keys) whilst providing a vocal performance second to none. jP was recently named as one of the 12 finalist in a recent Canadian national talent competition and is featured in keepmusiccoming.com with his song 'Operator' that was recorded at our very own RiR Studios. Congratulations jP!. jP and his trio performed 6 songs starting with his signature sound in 'Operator' then progressed to songs that include his awesome violinist Phoebe. Their collective sound only accentuated jP's awesome ability to musically project every nuance of emotion he's trying to emulate. According to jP this is his first attempt to publicly perform with this kind of musical configuration. We must say that it worked so perfectly that their sound seemed to be bigger than it actually is giving it an almost grand feel. Highlights of jP's performance centered on his wonderful rendition of Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped Box' and a powerfull song that is a tribute to his cousin who recently died of cancer called 'Caterpillar'.
The third performance was given by Germany's own 'Snipergal'. Snipergal is currently spending 5 weeks with RiR from Germany to record 10 original songs at our RiR Studios for a projected cd release date of early 2005. Snipergal performed 6 songs starting out with the hard rockin' retro-punk song 'Revenge'. This was followed by the catchy lines of 'Please Kill Me', a song that is worthy of a Smashing Pumpkin endorsement. The remaining songs were all performed with enough energy to carry-on for hours more. It was evident from Snipergal's collection of songs that they were not only diverse in genre but also, inherent in them, contained two ingredients of mainstream prowess, simplicity and catchiness. Snipergal's fantastic performance ended with her new song 'Last Breath' which was a solo act accompanied by her trusty Apple G4 laptop for some exotic electronic bed tracks.
'Serge and Caroline' (SnC) started out the 4th segment soon after. Their progressive sound were performed flawlessly with intermittent use of a drum machine. Most of their songs were taken from their recently released second album 'Cherry Tree' (mastered at RiR Studios). SnC songs were done with flawless execution. Serge's effortless bass playing skills together with Caroline's calculated guitar riffs provided a musical backdrop that were at times dreamy and syncopated. Add that to a repertoire that required tightly choreographed vocal harmonies and you get a musical performance as technical as anything.
Our fifth performance initiated a considerable group of the audience to collect in front of the stage as 'The iDentity Crisis' (iDC) prepared their instruments for their debut cd release performance. The segment started with a pre-recorded comedy skit called 'Jim Mortons' found in their newly released cd titled 'Your Girlfriend Thinks I'm Fine' (recorded at RiR Studios). From start to finish one could easily conclude that iDC has all the charisma a live band should have. They knew how to control and rouse the crowd with their funky beats and gimickery (blow-up dolls and beach balls!). If that wouldn't start-up a crowd we don't know what else will. It did not matter how much songs iDC had in their repertoire they were just so engaging that you could easily lose track of time due to enjoyment. It's hard not to bob your head or tap your feet to their tunes as they are not only catchy but are truly a spectacle on stage. Ken Nofuente's vocal excellence complemented by Paul Castro's all-star musicianship and no non-sense stage attitude resulted in a performance that could easily pay for the ticket (and then some).
In what is currently a culmination of performances from 4 outstanding talents one could not surmise a follow-up so engrossing that will make the late hours pass by unnoticed (at the time it was around 1:00am). Such talents can only be assumed by the next two bands that has yet to perform, 'Vultocazhe' and 'Noizy Toyz'. What has been only a year in the making 'Vultocazhe' had amassed a following that would make any serious band envious. When they were setting up to play their first song a gaggle of Vulto-followers congregated in front of the stage and were yelling VULTO! ... VULTO! ... VULTO! in perfect unison. It was quite the adrenaline rush especially if you were part of 'Vultocazhe' to hear such chants of praise. It was like they were summoning their elders to lead them into sonic nirvana. Once 'Vultocazhe' began performing their first song everyone was just glued to them. Lead singer Vladimir does his signature 'Jordan-esque' jumps while holding the microphone close to his mouth and singing without missing a beat. There was something about their performance that made you not look elsewhere. As not only their stage theatrics top-notch but their songs were so captivating and catchy that you could not help but join in when the always-catchy chorus breaks. Their 7 song set ended like there wasn't a pause and left you feeling that it was not enough. 'Vultocazhe' will be big ... there's no doubt about that.
'Noizy Toyz' (NT) came soon after 'Vultocazhe's' set and wasted no time in assuming their respective places. Andy, bassist and vocals of NT, sported a mohawk hairdo that added to the visual shock-factor that NT is known for. NT opened up with their newest song 'Skam' which innovatively fuses both genres of Ska and Punk in one song. Ronald 'Ona' Valdez played double duty here in that he not only assumed guitar responsiblities for 'Happy Days' but also for NT. Although 'Ona' had more of a conservative style of guitar playing in 'Happy Days' he was more noticeably animated during NT's set. The 'punkness' of NT is unmistakable as well as their impeccable timing and delivery. 'Rikki' guitar guru of NT had an added responsibility doing vocals for certain songs, a first for NT. Alvin, drummer, made no excuses that it was around 1:45am with his loud and busy drum style. Granted that it was very late in the evening there was a considerable amount of people still in attendance wanting to stick around until the end of the show. After NT's 5 song set and what would be the last band playing in a marathon-like 7-band bill you ended up feeling satisfied and whole, drowsiness nothwithstanding.
The feedbacks that we have heard about our very first 'Buzz' were nothing but positive. These were feedbacks from our audience and staff. This kind of optimism only draws us to the conclusion that not only was 'Buzz' a success but it also guarantees its stay for years to come. An annual event it is. We would like to thank all our tireless volunteers who without them 'Buzz' would not even be anywhere close to being launched, in no particular order:
- Bob Dela Cruz (Emcee)
- Storm - (ticket booth and merchandise)
- Jen - (ticket booth and merchandise)
- Dufon - (RiR banner artwork)
- Tim - (videographer)
Thank you ALL,
radioinsectrecords |
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