Billy Talent, Finger 11, Double Drive, Echo 7

July 02, 2003 @ Valentine's Albany, NY

By Rebecca Clark

Billy Talent knows how to rock out and put on an energetic show, while at the same time putting a smile on your face and making you crack up with laughter.

When I first heard about Billy Talent, I read in their bio that they compare themselves to a “walking talking Seinfield episode.” I never really understood that quote until I saw them live.

They started with How it Goes off of their forth-coming album. It was interesting how they started playing; one by one they took the stage in the order of when they individually started playing in the song, starting with guitarist Ian D’sa. D’Sa walked on stage playing his chilling guitar solo, all you could see was the reflection of the light off of his crazy hair as he played almost in complete darkness. Then drummer Aaron Solowoniuk kicked in tapping on his symbols, followed bassist Jonathan Gallant. All three of them played together slowly building up to the moment awaiting lead vocals Ben Kowalewicz to seize the stage.

Billy Talent’s energy on stage was intense despite the crowd’s piss poor reaction to this amazing band. Since no one has really heard of Billy Talent, the young Finger 11 fans just seemed to stand there in awe not really knowing if they liked what they were hearing or not.

 
Kowalewicz noticed that the crowd was in a bit of shock and kind of nit picked at them. I found the whole band quite amusing because they flew jokes at each other and to the audience through out the whole set. When Billy Talent would pause in between songs the crowd was quite and barely said two words, which was quite weird for a rock show. Kowalewicz teased them all by telling them to “shhh sleep…every body sleep.”  

Trying to get some sort of response from the crowd, Kowalewicz brought up that they were from Canada and someone from the crowd shouted out “blame Canada,” and Kowalewicz began to sing a little bit of the theme song from South Park. The band also teased the crowd telling them that even though they were from Toronto that they were SARS free and not to be afraid to come say hi to them after the show.

Billy Talent’s set also included Line and Sinker, living in the shadows, the ex and Prisoners of Today. Closing their short half hour set with their new single Try Honesty, Kowalewicz told the crowd that if they have not heard this song on the radio, he promised that they will be hearing it very soon.

They all walked off stage one by one in the opposite way that they came on stage. D’sa was the last one to leave and hopped off the stage and into the crowd while playing his guitar until his band mates left the stage. After they were long gone D’sa threw his guitar on stage and it landed on the butt of the guitar and it stood straight up in the air for a few seconds and flopped on it’s back. D’sa left walking through the audience and headed to the bar.

With all the new bands out there listening and seeing Billy Talent is like taking in a big breath of fresh air. They add a different flavor to the rock genre and have their own zip that I hope many young rockers will grasp and cling to. Their unique sound and comical humor makes them a band worth seeing.

Among the four bands that played that night, Billy Talent, Echo 7, Double Drive and Finger 11, Billy Talent’s sound really stuck out and was the most unique. Billy Talent just stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the bands who all seemed to have the same new metal sound.

Although Billy Talent really blew me away, Finger 11 I must admit really made the show. I was ready to leave after Billy Talent played, but I decided to stay and wait on the other two bands to play and see Finger 11.

Echo 7 and Double Drive were ok, but the energy that Billy Talent and Finger 11 had, their energy didn’t seem to match theirs. The crowd did give echo 7 and double drive more love than Billy Talent which was a shame, because I thought Billy Talent kicked their asses energy wise.

Finger 11’s set was the most intense set of the night. They were absolutely amazing. I haven’t seen a band play with that much intensity and love for what they are doing in a long time. It is nice and refreshing to see a band play with that much conviction. The crowd was obviously filled with really big F11 fans, because everyone was going crazy singing along to every song. At that point the show felt like a real rock show.

Finger 11 played a mixture of new and old songs. They played a few of the slower songs such as One Mile Wish and One Thing off (in encore) off their new album, which was exciting because I have heard them being criticized for actually having those songs on their album. They also played conversations, Good Times, Quicksand, Drag You down and ended their set with an encore of First Time and One Thing. All in all it was an exciting and ass kicking show. Finger 11 is an amazing band that will continue to grow and make amazing music. They are a band that will never die and only kick more ass as they progress.