Bruce Peninsula, Dusted, Skeletones Four (Great Hall, May 24 '12)

Bruce Peninsula put on a jubilant first show back after a string of at least four late last year. Not only was the crowd enthusiastic but the band themselves were ecstatic to be reunited; hugging and laughing amongst themselves. It is always a treat to see them in full and that's what we got as all ten members belted it out for us in the lovely and relatively full Great Hall. At one point the crowd unanimously broke into a massive handclap on the first beat of the breakdown which brought a large smile to lead male vocalist Neil Haverty. Similarly when second man sang The Swimming Song, one of my favourite covers (period) I had an equal beam back. Their own material was just as great and following Adrenaline they closed out strong with Steamroller with Neil finding himself steamrolled to the stage, a move he'd concede afterward were accidental but evidenced the power of the song nonetheless. The encore cheers were legitimate, hauling everyone back out for the first song they ever wrote together, Weave Myself a Dress, into Crabapples that Neil climbing to the balcony to close the triumphant set.

Dusted

Dusted is Brian Borcherdt's incarnation outside of Holy Fuck that isn't his stripped down solo work. This project borrows from both - the high vocals through mic effects, the similar guitar of his solo work, but the more full sounding and effects of Holy Fuck. The drum set carried a keyboard, effect knobs and electronic drum pad (as well as a backlit, transparent kick drum). Volume was up and music enjoyable though as it was a first listen the set did run slightly long, even with the mid show appearance of a large, red-panted and bearded violinist to mix it up. Outside of Holy Fuck this may be the happiest medium for Brian's musical output.

Skeletones Four, as the name suggests, are a 4 piece from Guelph, Ontario. They embody the guitar

as their clear, ringingly sound is obviously technically polished and sounds great. Primarily guitar-focused there are some lyrics to surround the instrumental breakdowns that are sincere and do not come across as proggy or pretentious. The bass lines emanating from the Gordon brother, Evan, in his signature cowboy boots and buckle, were strong and smooth, especially on third from last, also the best song of the set. Someone said they should score a movie and I could hear it; a gripping tale of adventure and suspense.