Show Review: The Killaz

So as previously mentioned I went to the Killas show on Wednesday with my friends Jym and Andrea. It was at the Marine club, an unlikely venue for such a gig in my opinion as it is really small, and old-bar-like. Not to mention really fricken hot!. We got there just as they set up and the bartender/manager of the establishment had really no clue as to what was going on. As such we did not get out dollar discount for wearing a piece of camo. (Later people did, once the promoter finished arguing with the guy.)

The first band to hit the stage was a band from Campbell River called P.U.C.K. (which stands for Previously Unknown Canadian Kids. With the exception of the beat-maker (or the player of the Roland MC505) this was perhaps the whitest hiphop band in the world. They were Canadian themed (Puck, get it!) and most of their songs referenced such wonderful Canadiana as Beer and Weed. (The refernces to the tri-city area were particualrly painful.) This band were awful. The only thing they had going for them were the occasional Slayer licks from the guitarist (as well as the occasional smirks he gave his fellow band members.) The beats were dull and the choruses were among the worst performances I have ever heard, usually consisting of manipulating a old kid's rhyme into something about weed, how the police suck, or being drunk. (One example "If you take my scotch/I'll kick your crotch/Bee Eye Eee Eye Atch.") They also used Peter Cetera's Glory of Love in one chorus changing all of the words to glorify smoking weed ("Glory of Bud") which I imagine is only funny while high. This was such a painful thing to watch that I was in tears from laughing at them so hard. Whenever I have to fill out a survey which asks "What is your most embarassing moment?" I will say watching this band because I was so embarassed for them.

The second band Fans of Nothing took a long time to set up. When they got to the stage they proved to be almost as painful as the first band. But thankfully they seemed t break up before the end of their set. (Their first and Last show.) The drummer walked off stage with a mic and started saying how they never practiced and and that this was his last show. The singer continued to mumble improvised words at random. Eventually the drummer went back behind the kit and played for a bit more until the guitarist finally gave up and said goodbye, walking off the stage, followed by the drummer. This left the singer standing alone with some pre-recorded consolidated-like beats playing from his CD player. He chanted some kind of comment for awhile until he finally left the stage as well.

The Killas came on the Stage: Stace, Destro, Billy (Cobra Commander's son, since Cobra Commander and the band had parted ways), and two vipers. All were fully strapped with their laser guns which apparantly we were supposed to have brought as well; I was unaware. They played through a set of new and old material and rocked the house pretty well. I was laughing and head-nodding pretty much the whole time. The brought out some Cobra Bux for the crowd, and played some old faves like "Cobra Wants You" and "Eau De Cobra" but didn't play "Arashikage Ninja" much to my dismay. Stace' displayed the strength of her singing voice and a moderate rapping ability, while Destro kept the energy level up with some good ryhme skills. Billy was their DJ, setting up all the beats on the laptop they had brought. (Why couldn't they just have put the Cobra Commander hood on him and no one would have been the wiser?") The two vipers just danced and waved their guns around, like really white S1Ws. (The male viper was the most awkward dancer in the whole frickin world; he danced like a grade 7 boy.) The show was fun, if only the opening bands were a little better and the Marine Club wasn't so hot!