Rancid/Tiger Army/Roger Miret and the Disasters

live in Toronto (2003)

ilikebandssuchasopivy

I arrived at the Kool Haus about half an hour before doors, and the line-up to get into the place was insane going around the entire block, but no one really cares about that, do they? On to the music.

The night kicked off with Roger Miret and the Disasters who tore through a twenty minute set with a crazy amount of energy. I am really not into street punk, or New York hardcore, whatever, but these guys are great live performers. Despite most people being in the bar during their set, the energy was so high that it didn't matter for those of us in the pit. Highlights from their set include Boys Will Be Boys, Give 'Em the Boot, Radio, Radio, and My New York which was dedicated to Roger's cat Wheezy.

Tiger Army was up next, and while there were a lot of people in the crowd really looking forward to seeing them, most people were just not into their set. That said, the people in the front were having a great time, a lot of circle pitting and crowd surfing, but still not enough to give the band the reaction they deserved. The bass player made futile attempts to try and get the crowd moving, but as the word futile implies it didn't work. To their credit, these guys sound the same live as they do on record, which cannot be said for other bands (cough, Rancid, cough), and their bass player is just insane to watch live. Highlights include Nocturnal and Fuck the World (to be honest, these are the only two songs I can remember).

After about a thirty minute set up time, the stage was ready for Tim and the boys to hit the stage. Oh, and they hit the stage alright; it was blatantly obvious from the moment Tim came on the stage (smoking no less) that he was highly intoxicated. That's cool. Oh, but wait, there's more, these guys sound nothing like they do on your favourite Rancid CD. Tim sounded like some guy doing a Tim impression; I don't know what the hell is wrong with him. Other gripes? They played nothing off of Rancid 2000, which was a let down as I'd really would have liked to see Radio Havana. Still, this band is something special live, sure they really don't live up to expectations but they still do get a crowd moving. Watching Matt Freeman do the bass solo from Maxwell Murder is really quite awesome, add that to Lars spitting on the crowd, and everyone around you pushing and dancing and just having a good time, you tend to forget that Tim Armstrong is a gigantic fraud.

SET LIST (Out of order, not complete)
Ruby Soho
Journey to the End of East Bay
Nihilism
Maxwell Murder
Olympia, WA
David Courtney
Fall Back Down
Red Hot Moon
Roots Radicals
Time Bomb
Radio
Hoover Street
Out of Conrol
Hyena
Salvation
Listed M.I.A.
She's Automatic
The Wars End