By Beau O’Neill (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: October 3, 2012
If the idea of sweaty musicians, fast music and cheap beer appeals to you in any way, Friday night at Gators Pub on Montvue Avenue would have been a great night for you. Three local punk bands crowded and rocked the small tavern, overcoming what could have been a show cancelling problem: two of the scheduled bands—the Lovesores and Kill Matilda—dropping out last minute. On top of that, Abbotsford’s own Blisterin’ Barnacles played without their rhythm guitarist.
Fortuitously, organizer Seamus McThirteen, head of Not Yer Buddy Productions, got ahold of the Langley band Guts & Glory. No more than an hour-and-a-half before show time, the punk-thrasher band came out and helped save the night from the disaster it was close to becoming, turning it into the riotously good night it was.
The Broken Hands broke the evening in with their quick, hard and tight blend of hard rock, punk, ska and hardcore. As the Black Label Supreme flowed from the tap fast as the waitress could let it out into the plastic mini-pitchers, the trio let out their lightning-fast bursts of body-rocking tunes, which prompted a few denim vest-clad patrons to rock out shoulder-to-shoulder on the lager-stained carpet.
The atmosphere of the venue belies its primary function as a quiet watering-hole, as the majority of those there kept to their seats; though that only lasted through the Broken Hands’ set, and was turning to the opposite by the time Guts & Glory began.
Incredibly Guts & Glory, a quartet of energetic, young 20-somethings, scrambled themselves together and got to Stabbotsford—as it’s called by those who love the city’s recent criminal history—to bridge what would have been a gaping hole in the night’s proceedings.
Boomer, the multi-colour haired drummer, was as excited to let me know of the band’s various influences as he was to beat his drums and yelp his vocals on stage. Hints of early Offspring, Black Flag and a potpourri of metal were evinced in this sonically redolent young band’s output.
Once the Blisterin’ Barnacles went on, the audience was ready to jam out with them, sloshing their beers to the hollering of the instruments and the wailing vocals. Moustaches, denim vests, patches, leather pants, beat-up guitars and a drum kit with an abusively fast drummer. This is what was on stage. These were the seismic origins of the tidal wave of sound that—in the 200-person occupancy space of the pub—got the audience moving. In the end, the show was a success that flew and spat in the face of the vicissitudes that tried to derail it.
I caught up with Seamus McThirteen after the show, and he gave me a better idea of Not Yer Buddy Productions (NYB), who put on Friday’s show and plans on organizing many more similar events in the future. Having been a punk-rock advocate, supporter and listener for decades, McThirteen created NYB in response to the lack of local punk shows. NYB has now been organizing and promoting events in Abbotsford and Vancouver for several years, hosting in diverse venues, from Friday’s pub-concert and similar locations in Vancouver to the basements and barns of local musicians.
But it is a labour of love for Seamus McThirteen, who acknowledges that there is little profit to be made in the punk-rock business, though there is much to gain from creating and sustaining a lively community of musicians and fans, through a positive and conscientious course of action. For example, in NYB’s early days, Seamus asked everyone who attended a show, usually labeled 19-plus, to bring a designated driver, so that the police would not interfere, knowing the revelers were conducting themselves safely and legally.
This understanding of community was evident at the show on Friday: punk is an inherently aggressive style of music, but the only violent occurrence was an isolated case of a man punching another man for an unknown reason.
He was escorted out of the building and away down the street, not thrown out and harassed with retributive fists; in this way the Barnacles could finish their set without a brawl erupting. Even the name of Not Yer Buddy sounds antagonistic, but is really a humorous reference to a South Park joke involving two Canadian fart-centric comedians.
Future shows at Gators Pub will include a Halloween show on October 26 and another on November 12 that will mark NYB’s official anniversary. On October 6 at the Out House, 30630 Downes Road, will be an Abbotsford-first—a versus show—where Hot Damn! will square off song for song against Monkeys in Drag. Seamus is also working on putting together a compilation album of local and Canadian punk bands as a first step towards NYB Records. Check out Not Yer Buddy on their Facebook page for more information, and expect a more vibrant music scene in Abbotsford in the coming months.
