Hell ain't a bad place to be

As I approached Cafe DeKcuf, a vast crowd of tattooed teens with dyed black hair were assembled on the sidewalk. At first I assumed that the show on at DeKcuf was a bigger draw than I thought and that I was in grave danger of being locked out, but as it turned out a collection of groups I'd never heard of - Soap Opera Coma, Lostinside, the Matthew Boyle Experience, Status Embrace, Her Train of Stars and Holding Onto Nothing - had just wrapped up an all-ages show at Mavericks. The loud proto-metal and heavy rock dished out by the trio of bands one floor up isn't quite the draw, but there was still an appreciable crowd of disreputable longhairs there to get their eardrums de-waxed.

The Mighty Eagle Band was playing as I walked in the door - they were "still hungover from last night," but sounding good. As you no doubt notice, they have a new member in Scott Terry on second guitar.



Next up, Toronto's Diablo Red. Superheavy rock with a southern-style chaser. You could put 'em on a bill with 99% of Small Stone bands, and they'd fit just fine, give or take 1%.



Finally, Ottawa's Hellbros. I was feeling a bit tired as the evening progressed and was within a hair of skipping out early, but as soon as they hit the stage I felt rejuvenated. Not that they're a miracle cure or anything, music just affects me that way and they were a lot of fun.



There will be more pictures of all this, and a man in Spiderman underwear, in a few days.

• Show reminder: RadioDazed and Persona play The Rainbow; French Kicks and Sound Team perform at Babylon.