First off, I gotta say that this was the raddest show I've ever caught for five bucks. Foufs have this annual event called "Black Monday," and this year SNFU was the main event. FUCK YEAH!
First up was Bombs Over Providence , who I'd never heard but rocked pretty decently, and had a bunch of people watching as two punkers slam danced with each other.
Next were locals Urban Aliens, who I hadn't heard before either; they played hardcore/metal with French lyrics. Their singer could do that Phil Anselmo high-pitched scream pretty good, and they got a pit going.
After a few minutes of beers and feverish anticipation, Mr. Chi Pig could be seen placing his goodies (masks and stuffed animals and such) near the drum kit; this was a good sign. I was standing near the left side of the stage where I could spot the band huddle together for a pre-show cheer. By this time the crowd was filled and began chanting "SNFU!," Mr. Chi Pig grabbed the mic dressed in his jack-o-lantern costume and said "We're gonna start with an old one," and they blasted into "I Forget." Within the first few bars of the song you could tell the band was in fine form and ready to destroy shit. Their drummer was hittin' hard , and the whole band was just totally tight and on their game, but the real treat was Chi (guitarist Marc Belke himself said in a recent interview, "He [Chi] defines what we are in so many ways") running around the stage making weird faces and such; not to mention he just has so much charisma. He got right down to the audience's level and sung at people (he doesn't mind passing the mic either), and does all kinds of weird stuff between lyrics, like twisting his nipples and spitting, or making a circle with his tongue and index and sticking his tongue through it. So, besides the great tunes, you get the spectacle that is Chi Pig, and I'll just try to paint a picture of his antics as I go along. After a couple of tunes Chi put on his Quebec flag umbrella hat and the band played oldie "Loser At Life / Loser At Death" to an incredibly pleased crowd. They played a lot of tunes off their live album Let's Get It Right The First Time; some highlights were "Don't Have The Cow," "You Make Me Thick," "Rusty Rake," "Drunk On A Bike," "Cannibal Café"...the list goes on.
They put a couple of slower tunes such as "Fate" and "Painful Reminder" between some of the fast ones, which worked really well. The first song they played off their latest album was "Cockatoo Quill," which was a total hit. They played two or three other new ones throughout the set including "Hole In Your Sole." Chi never let up his antics as the set rolled on. He put on a pair of weird x-ray glasses and then threw 'em in the balcony; he also made out with a head of some king and played with a baby ventriliquist puppet. He also explained that he wore the jack-o-lantern suit for those (myself included) who missed the Halloween show they played here last Fall. Chi also made a point to speak French to the crowd between songs by saying "bon appetite" a bunch of times, and the band mentioned a lot that they were stoked to be back in Montreal.
I quite appreciated Marc's versatility on guitar, playing wild solos/leads and back to rythms; they used to be a two-guitar band, but Marc has done an an awesome job adapting to the songs (he did some sick jumps too). The bass was super tight too, and the drumer's fills were so fucking fast. When the band was done the crowd wanted more, and we got three more full tunes, and finally a medley of three others that included "Reality Is A Ride On The Bus," and "The Watering Hole" at the very end, which was way cool, 'cuz it was like getting three more tunes.
In conclusion, this show ruled; the friendly band/audience vibe, the singalongs, the venue, the price, and the killer performance by the mighty SNFU all contrubuted to make this a memorable show. I'm writing this the day after and and can't stop thinking about this show. SNFU have been doing this since the beginning of the 80's, and they haven't slowed down a bit from what I can tell. If this band comes to your town go out and see them. I'm writing this review, (the first I've ever written) simply because I don't want this show to go under the radar; this highly energetic and charismatic band deserves as much praise as they can get.
Long live SNFU!!!!!!!!!!