January 24, 2000 SoundScape Over The Edge Page 7 oe December 2nd'’s triple bill at the Multiplex was one of the most anticipated concerts of the year, and did not fail to deliver. Gob opened with their high energy punk, obviously having a blast and ticking off more than one security guard while doing it. Pulling fans onstage and jumping on top of the speakers, Gob was hilarious to watch and their “music was ideal for priming the crowd. Songs like “Paint it Black” and “Soda” were huge hits with the punk fans in the audience and the moshing Those of you who caught Wide Mouth Mason’s November 29th show at the Generator don’t need to read a review to know it kicked ass. Wide Mouth Mason has one of the best, if not the best, live shows in the coun- try and they put 100% into this one. The opening band, Left Pencey, got things off to a good start. With a mature, hard-edged sound, Left Pencey was a pleasure to lis- ten to and I'd say they have a Gob, started early in the night. After a fair sized intermission, Matthew Good Band took the stage. Opening with “Giant,” the first song off their new album “Beautiful Midnight,” Matt Good and co. pleased the crowd with hits like “Hello Time Bomb,’ “Load Me Up,” “Rico,” “Apparitions, and “Symbolistic White Walls.” They played a good show, covering their hits and a few more, but were a little low on the energy factor... They seemed ito get into it a little more later in their set, and after playing a great instru- Left: Gob gets nasty. mental “Thunderstruck,” flew into a few rocking out num- bers. Still, their show with Junkhouse a couple years back was much more edgy. At the end of the second intermission the Monty Python classic “Sit on my face” played in the darkened arena. Abruptly the black cur- tain was dropped from before the stage and Moist exploded into “Tangerine,” surprising the crowd with its ferocity. Moist’s new album “Mercedes Five and Dime,’ which initially sounds disappointingly mel- low, sounded anything but in Top: The crowd goes wild during Matthew Good. ‘Right: David Usher of Moist winds up the show. promising future in Canadian rock. Pre-WMM_ festivities included the handing out of a phenomenal number of ‘con- ‘doms, during which a giant Durex mascot wandered around mingling with the crowd. The fellow under the suit apparently enjoyed his job, as he had more than a few girls doing some, well lets say interesting, things to him. Wide Mouth Mason com- menced the show powerfully with “Why,” the first single from their new album “Where | Started,” and didn’t drop the energy level until the very last song was over. Lead singer Shaun Verreault is a phenom- enal guitarist, not to mention the possessor of an amazing vocal range, and bassist Earl Pereira is a simply incredible player. They made sure to cover all of their hits as well as some new material from “Where | Started,” taking time to jam and make things inter- esting. Songs like “Sugarcane,” “This Mourning,” “Midnight Rain,’ “My Old Self,” a live setting. Songs like “Breathe” and “Underground” were incredible live, as were past hits such as “Push,” “Resurrection, “Leave it Alone,” and “Machine Punch Through.” David Usher and company put 100% into their show, David repeatedly jump- ing into the audience, even continuing to sing while crowd surfing. Drummer Paul Wilcox donned a Cougar’s jersey, which definitely earned him a few PG brown- ie points, and introduced each band member as a spice member, most notably Wide Mouth Mason Rocks the Generator and “Companion” were given a new dimension in a live set- ting. Wide Mouth Mason’s bluesy jamming managed to be musically brilliant while still maintaining a groove that kept the audience dancing and screaming, a feat Big Sugar couldn’t seem to man- age at the Backyard BBQ. Throughout the show blown- up condoms floated above the crowd, and more than one bonked into a band member or two. After a long encore, Wide Mouth Mason Matthew Good, and Moist at the Multiplex (and accurately) guitarist Mark Makoway as “Stoner Spice.” In all the concert was intensely satisfying, and brought some big city acts and theatrics to our at times culture-starved city. With Our Lady Peace and Stereophonics coming in next month, we could definitely start getting used to this. -Michelle Dubuc was finished, but instead of running to their bus, they hung out behind the back door and met with their fans. After personally complement- ing him on the show, Shaun just smiled and said “Yeah the Generator, it never changes. | feel like Kiss every time | come here.” -Michelle Dubuc