Begin at the End

My night started earlier than usual with a trip to End Hits. Swedish hardcore band Regulations were in town to live up to their reputation as one of punk rock's great loud hopes. Opening up were Ottawa's own teenage manglers, The Sweet Janes. Unfortunately, this pictures obscures their mysterious guest bassist - okay, it was Luke from the Million Dollar Marxists filling in.



The Regulations keep it nice 'n' short, eh?



Next I went to Zaphod's. It was not yet 9 p.m., and the first of four bands slated to play that night were still on stage. Just who they were, I'm not sure. The band scheduled to play was called Out Reason, so I guess this is them. They seemed like a good bunch of musicians, but their stuff was a bit too mainstream to tickle my fancy.



Next up, The Undead. No, not that Undead (despite their bassist's Misfits T-shirt), or any other Undead. If I were the sort of shallow person who judged bands by their appearance, I would have expected some godawful rap-rock deal. Instead, these guys are more on a death metal-hardcore tip. They also stick out their tongues a fair bit.



Norway's 120 Days were the big name draw, and a sizeable crowd did in fact turn out for their synth'n'bass set. They sounded like Spacemen 3 with Moogs. A good heavy, danceable sound from these guys.



Finally, Embassies of Denmark closed things off with a particularly ferocious set. They really ripped things up.



The Embassies will be performing at Barrymore's Nov. 4 as part of the Million Dollar Marxists' CD release shindig.