AWmusic

Telescopes, smoothies, handstands, piggy backs, and crowd surfing. These are just a few of the things that I had the chance to perceive with my two eyes yet again.

How can I even begin to describe what happened at this concert. Well there really is no way of justifying a USS show with words. It’s something that needs to be fully experienced to enjoy. I mean sure you can listen to their albums, watch their videos on YouTube, but you’ll never truly understand the full joy and exhilaration of this uproarious band until you’ve gone and seen them live.

May 11th, Kitchener, Ontario, home to the Wax Night Club, a pretty decent venue. I can tell you though, even though it doesn’t look like it can hold that many people, it can sure draw in quite the crowd. By the time USS hit the stage, my knees were being crushed up against one of the many speakers placed around the front of the stage. It wasn’t the biggest stage I’ve seen Boo-Schultz and Human Kebab play, but they used their space wisely and got around with relative ease, jumping here, jumping there, literally running rampant everywhere. I doubt there was a part of that stage they didn’t touch.

This amazing duo expends so much energy on stage; it’s incredible to think how they can do this night after night. The energy that they expel is then consumed wholly by the audience and you can see how contagious everything truly becomes. There’s not one single person in the audience I saw that night that wasn’t jumping around and bumping into everybody else. Their music reverberates through the ears and signals the rest of your body to start moving. I wasn’t even halfway through their set and I was drenched in sweat.

Their set list was also something to note. They played some classics such as Anti-Venom and Pornostartrek, while playing some of their new material off their new EP: Approved. A good variation between the new and old and they even played an amazing cover of Outkast’s Hey Ya. It was an exhilarating and energetic night. One that I won’t forget that’s for sure. These guys never cease to amaze me and always put on one hell of a show.

I did however miss the cardboard cut outs they used to wave around at certain shows, a minor thing that didn’t spoil the night whatsoever. They had also written on the set list that they were going to perform Drop Around the Clock, a song that has become one of my favourites as of late, but ended up not playing due to time restraints. Overall though my ears were very satisfied with what I heard that night, actually right as I’m writing this now, they still continue to ring.

Their antics and stage presence are both unparalleled and should not be taken lightly. If you’re hoping for some of the same old same old, then boy you have definitely come to the wrong place. These guys jump off walls, flip, trip, and spazm across both the stage and audience. You never know what you’re going to get when you go to see USS in concert. It’s an unreal experience, one that must be beheld at least once in at least every individual life I think. You just don’t know what’s going to come next. They’re always changing and progressing in various ways to better themselves for their audience. They’re truly a once in a lifetime sort of band.

The opening bands including Michou, The Speakeasies, and Manorwood, were all really phenomenal as well. I wasn’t expecting too much from any of the opening bands, since I had never heard of any of them before, but they had all left me actually wanting to check out more of their stuff once I had got home from the show.

Some of the most memorable parts of the night would have to include either the classic Kebab, Ash, piggy back, while still playing, Kebab’s DJ scratching while upside down, Ash playing his guitar with a telescope, or Kebab’s turntable guitar. Even after they were finished playing, they came out to their merch booth to talk with fans and sign merchandise. These guys have been loyal to their fans through and through and it’s absolutely incredible to see that no matter how big these guys keep on getting, they’re still the same humble, friendly, and amazing guys I’ve seen time and time over again.

It was an absolutely phenomenal night, and I hope I can see these two amazingly loyal, generous, epic, exhilarating, energetic, beautiful people play again very soon. I’ve said this before in much older posts, but if you haven’t seen these guys play live, get your asses in gear and get out there and go, I promise you, you won’t regret it.

USS are still playing shows all across Canada and still have many shows across Ontario still lined up, so if you haven’t gone out and got tickets yet, do so now. Plus they have also just released their new EP Approved, which can only be purchased physically at one of their shows, so what are you waiting for? Go out and catch the next USS show nearest you, have the time of your life, and be the strange you want to see in the world.

Drop Around the Clock by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

The Honeypot by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

Me Vs. You by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

It wasn’t too long ago that I first heard this song and fell in love with it instantly, and it wasn’t until a few days or so ago that Mavericks was finally put up on iTunes for the public to fully enjoy. This is some of the first new Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker I’ve heard in a while and it looks like this is only a fraction of the epic tunes that are in store for fans of the duo. I don’t even know how to properly describe this song in the least, only that it is an adrenaline surge so full of energy, you won’t know what to do with yourself. It’s an intense combination of musical energy and ambiguous lyrics that expands the imagination ten fold and surges forth with some of the most unreal energy I have ever felt. There is a folksy hint to the song that only compliments everything else that is happening musically, and marks another corner stone for the band. There is never anything plain, simple, or monotous with this band. They are always changing and expanding forth to deliver something that is always fresh and different. This is another start to something that will be unlike anything else the band has presented so far. Mavericks marks something entirely new for the band, and if this is a foreshadowing of anything future to come, then Mavericks can only be the tip of a much larger, more explosive and dynamic ice berg. If you want to check out Mavericks in its entirety, either sign up for their mailing list, or buy the song from iTunes or KILLthe8. Trust me, either way, you will not be disappointed.

Website: http://www.ubiquitoussynergyseeker.com/

Now how do I even start this review? There was so much that went on within those four days that I was there that I have no idea where to start or where to end. I guess the best way to start off this review is to say that those four days upon the long weekend at the start of august were the best four days I’ll ever spend upon this sweet planet we call Earth.

Well where better to start off then my trip down to Grand Bend, Ontario for my first night of camping. It was basically a giant lightning storm all the way down there, no rain whatsoever, only lightning, it was a beautiful sight to see and started off the whole trip with a bang. So after about two hours of driving from Toronto to Grand Bend, I finally found the Motorplex and drove in to find that the party had already started without me. I was directed over to the registration office where I showed them my ticket and as soon as I told them I was VIP the pampering began: free parking, VIP lanyard and pass, exclusive and early access to certain events, and a ton more. As soon as I could get all this VIP stuff back into my car, the mother of all storms happened, and I was stuck camping in my car for the night drinking a cold beer on my own and wondering what kind of spectacles awaited me the next day.

The next day I woke up at around 9am thinking that there were things that were starting up because I was really confused with the itinerary I had been handed the night earlier. Turns out nothing was opening up until around noon so I started walking into the campsite where I started making friend after friend but one of the first people I met there that I won’t forget was Mo who ended up fighting for his VIP stuff and finally got it from registration in the end so him and I became friends fast and decided to check out the concert grounds before anyone else could have a chance.

We found everything you could ever dream of there at the concert grounds. They had a bunch of Rockbands and Guitar Heroes set up at the Xbox 360 tent, an ice cream truck, a bunch of merch tents, an autographed Gibson guitar up for raffle, a bunch of other food tents, a hemp van, a Budweiser Camp trailer, a Budweiser High Top bar for VIP’s to drink at, a couple tents selling booze, the Underground Operations tent where various band related events happened, and the two main stages where all the best bands would play over the next two days.

First thing Mo and I decided to do in the meantime while everything was being set up was to head to the Underground Operations tent where we received a whole plethora of free things ranging from CD’s to bandanas. We sat down on the couch and just watched Grandma’s Boy until the opening bands for the band started up at which time we headed to one of the two main stages to watch Awaking State perform and were treated to a sampler CD from them.

It was soon lunch time and us being VIP and all were treated to a VIP lunch with the bands where I picked up a veggie dog and a cooler and found myself talking to Charlie from Hello Beautiful who turned out to be one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, he was just so chill that it was just incredibly easy to talk to him. I then got him to sign my chest and then found myself getting signed once again by Vegas of Guns N FN’ Rosez who also turned out to be an incredibly awesome person to talk with an little did I know that I would be seeing them front row within the next couple hours.

Soon enough I noticed that I had being talking with so many celebs that I had lost all track of Mo and where he had wandered off to so I decided to check my itinerary and what should I see but Sex Ed Session with The Johnstones: Learn everything you need to and more about sex from Julian and Brent of The Johnstones. Alas this is where I leave off for now, hoping that that little bit there would intrigue you to catch Part 2 of the Cutting Edge Music Fest Review next week. Part 1 this week doesn’t even start to encompass the epicness of the entirety that was my long weekend at CEMF 2008. I’m just getting started here, so be sure to catch next weeks’ second part for more excitement and intrigue. As always keep on rocking.

Heaters by illScarlett
Boiled Frogs by Alexisonfire
Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole by USS
2 and 15 16ths by USS