On the Saturday Night of the Halifax Urban Folk Festival, the Seahorse Tavern (2037 Gottingen) played host to a trio of hard rockin’ acts with Truro’s own The Orchids kicking things off, followed by local Psych-Rockers NORC, and closing out the night was a blast from the past, straight out of Moncton, The Monoxides.
Personally, it was a night of firsts. I first heard mention of The Orchids from another photographer while I was down in Hubbards at the Shore Club awaiting Death From Above 1979. It’s only fitting that a pair of young musicians (Alexis and Rhys, aka The Orchids) were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sebastien and Jesse, as The Orchids (much like DFA1979) are also a two-piece powerhouse that can rattle the rafters as well as bands with 3 times the number of members. They put on one hell of an opening set, ending with Rhys playing his guitar as it lay atop the massive speakers at the back of the stage.
Next up was NORC, a local band that has spent a great deal of time playing at Gus’s Pub, but was also a band that I had yet to cross paths with. I didn’t know what to expect when they hit the stage, but the brand of psych rock that Christiana, CJ, Ryan, and Alan make is infectious and engaging, while blurring the lines between a handful of genres. You can be assured that I’ll be making it a point to catch NORC in the near future.
Then it was time to throw the clock back and revisit the heyday of late 90’s Can-Rock with a maritime powerhouse, The Monoxides. Having worked with Mo Berg (of The Pursuit of Happiness) on the band’s 1997 full-length effort, Galaxy of Stooges, they shared stages with some of the biggest rock acts of the time, including Sloan, Big Wreck, The Headstones and Our Lady Peace. But in the early 00’s, the band went into hiatus, as the band members refocused their energies on other responsibilities in their lives. But in recent years, the band reconvened to knock off the rust and to resurrect the band.
It was great to finally see The Monoxides perform live, and they lived up to those 25-year expectations. The band was fierce, fast and fearless, with both lead singer Steve Hickox and bassist PJ Dunphy throwing up some of the most serious kicks during the set, which were as sharp and as quick as some of the younger musicians on the scene. The Monoxides are ever the pros, tearing up the stage and at points catching some serious air, but the music sounds as good as it did back in the day. It was a definite treat to see the fellas tearing up the Seahorse stage as part of HUFF.
