Alberta Boom

provincial punk rock tour strengthens civic ties

By Kallen Law

Cailtlyn Spencer, Mark Horne

A music scene is usually thought of taking place within a city, not a province. If these scenes are not directly competing with each other, they tend to be insular. The Alberta Boom tour, taking place at the beginning of December in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge, aims to unify the Alberta scene as a whole.

All three stops feature power-poppers the Pine Tarts from Calgary, surf punks Los Cremators from Edmonton, and lo-fi rockers Endangered Ape from Lethbridge. In addition, each stop will have an additional local opener from the host city. Calgary will have Thee Thems, Edmonton will have the Wicked Awesomes, and Lethbridge will have Menehume.

To encourage attendance at every stop, those who come to all three shows will receive a free cassette compilation featuring unreleased music from all bands playing on the tour as well as a set of the three show posters. However, all of this is secondary to the show itself – it’s a chance to see Alberta’s music scene shine as a whole.

Endangered Ape

Starting out as bassist Paul Lawton’s solo bedroom project, Lethbridge’s Endangered Ape has since gone through several line-up changes before settling on its current incarnation: Lawton on bass and songwriting duties, Adam Munro on vocals, Jane Edmundson on the synth, Jeff King and Kent Aardse on guitars, and Stu Bota on the drums.

Most solo bedroom projects that become full bands lose the intimacy that a solo project provides. However, Endangered Ape’s lo-fi production gives them the best of both worlds. At the moment, they can sound like a post-punk version of Simply Saucer if they want to (and they do). Their aesthetic ensures continuity between their past, present, and future. No matter what they choose to sound like, they will always maintain at least some singularity.

They have garnered an excellent reputation through their dynamic live shows. Out of all the bands playing Alberta Boom, Endangered Ape has the most electrifying vocalist with Munro. With the same spirit as Fucked Up’s Pink Eyes or Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington (but without the bulge of either), Munro manages to be confrontational and entertaining. Fittingly, the rest of Endangered Ape is as forceful as their frontman. With the recent addition of two new guitarists, the band finally has enough musical firepower to face the audience head-on as much as their vocalist. (KL)

The Pine Tarts 

The Pine Tarts’ line-up has been given the same treatment as their drinks, drugs, and love affairs. Things are taken in, adored, cursed, and promptly disposed of. Now that half of the members who recorded their latest EP, Faux Fauves, are now gone, Pine Tarts is a formidable power trio: JJ Powell on vocals and guitar, Jester Suzuki on bass, and Mike “The Nuder” Bressanutti is on drums. Together, they put more blood, sweat, and suspicious white stains into their shows than ever before.

From smashing pints over each other’s heads to putting ring pops on tree branches and encouraging the audience to lick the candy before sticking it to Suzuki’s ample chest hair, Pine Tarts never fail to entertain. They’ve amassed one of the most loyal groups of fans in the city. While onstage, Powell’s hyperactive cantillations and propensity for falling over (often with the aid of several amorous friends) keep the energy levels at an ecstatic near-rapture. The stolid cool of Suzuki (dressed in a cape and not much else) and solid beat of The Nuder keep things at a mostly coherent level. Pine Tarts’ shows are disorienting and exhilarating. They’re a band so accustomed to chaos that they can make the most inadvisable night of debaucheries feel absolutely routine.

Dirtied punks and soulful indie poets, the Pine Tarts will pull you in with catchy hooks, clever lyrics, and hold you close with audience participation drinking games, love songs about dolphins, and sudden mass snogging sessions. A show by these deviates is not one to be missed. (CS)

Los Cremators

Los Cremators are revered as one of the great Edmonton teen heartthrob combos of all time. They started two years ago under the moniker The Cremators with John Richards (guitar and vocals), Ryan Dufoe (drums) and Carson Thomas (bass). Realizing their good looks overshadowed their artistic vision, Luchadore masks were instituted and Los Cremators were born. Loss Cremators’ sound is a three-way bastard hybrid of punk, twang, and lo-fi ’60s surf. Got it so far? Now add The Queers, Satan's Pilgrims, the Ghastly Ones, Teenage Bottle Rocket, Link Wray, and Dick Dale. Song topics may include, but are not limited to: nihilism, monsters, substance abuse, rock ‘n’ roll and more monsters. Los Cremators’ debut was recorded by Edmonton's Nick Kozub (Shout Out Out Out Out) and mixed/mastered by Rene el Brain de la Muerte (from Montreal’s The Brains). Covering all aspects of debauchery, Los Cremators have abandoned any trace of middle ground leaving the audiophile either completely satisfied or utterly disappointed. To find out which category you might fall into, catch the masked heartthrobs on the Alberta Boom tour coming to a town near you. (MH)