The devil you say

Big, hairy, detuned southern rock is the order of the day when Diablo Red comes through your town. I believe I said they'd fit in well with the Small Stone label bands. In retrospect I'd say they're on the growlier, less stoned side, so toss a little Pantera and Down into that comparison for taste. Anyway, these guys sound just like their pictures, so here goes.

Robert Ulysses Simon Hare and the mandatory Gibson SG.



Billy Diablo on flaming guitar.



Paul Mancuso on the low end.



Putting their best foot forward ...



Rock action! With generally obscured drummer Brett Savory at left.







More big riffin' from Billy.



Some riser standing from Paul.



They ended things with a ZZ Top cover. Billy sang: "I'm just looking for some tush."



A lot of chug for the buck. They'd do great on the same stage as Iron Giant.

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.