Headstones: Un-Silent Night at Toronto’s The Phoenix

‘Fuck It’

For most of 30 years Headstones have been working on, playing, and enjoying the hell out of their brand of music.

And while it hasn’t always been a smooth and easy ride, the fans who loved the band at their commercial peak in the mid-90s are still out there and VERY HAPPY to be buying tickets to see Headstones on stage, and supporting Pledge campaigns to get their ears on new music from frontman Hugh Dillon and the band.

Note: For the uninitiated, Hugh Dillon of Headstones is in fact the same Hugh Dillon you’ve seen on TV in series like Flashpoint, Durham County, and Continuum – and movies like Dance Me Outside, Hard Core Logo and Trailer Park Boys: The Movie.

It’s true that the band isn’t as prolific as they once were, but that hasn’t stopped them from commanding the stage the way they used to. And while Hugh isn’t throwing lit cigarettes into mosh pits anymore, they’re still wholly capable of inciting an emotional response to their music and its “nothing’s off limits” philosophy.

Nostalgia is a funny thing, we can all agree that it’s particularly strong when we talk about music. But when you find those old memories and songs, and combine them with new material that brings things back to the present – you’ve found a sweet spot. And that’s exactly what Headstones are offering the fans that have been with them on this long and winding road.

I did get a peek at their new EP ‘Fuck It” last night. Not sure how, but someone in the front row had a copy. You can check out their Pledge Music Campaign and get a copy of the very limited vinyl edition.

Shout out to Towers who had the fun job of opening the show at The Phoenix. The Toronto based band put on a tight, energetic set. They’re getting a name for themselves playing gigs around the city and you can check them out in January at The Horseshoe. Their self titled EP is available on iTunes. (More Towers photos below)

We were antsy and ready when Headstones hit the stage. The sold out performance was a hot, sweaty, intense, fantastic, punk odyssey. They dipped into the back catalog with crowd favourites like Tweeter and the Monkey Man, Cemetery and Smile and Wave, threw in a great medley which included Oh My God!/Sympathy for the Devil/Heartbreaker/Low Rider/New Orleans is Sinking/Straight Outta Compton, what?!. And we were treated to a taste of the new EP with ‘Fuck It’ in the encore.

There was moshing, swearing, drink throwing, mic tossing, amazing bass lines and drumming, monitor pushing, hard driving guitar and of course destruction. The crowd was a mix of ages and everyone was all in.