It’s not the work of time travel, but it sure sounds like it
[Disclaimer: this article contains coarse language.]
Part One: Bonnie Trash, Germaphobes, & Wolfcow
Local music promoters, FUCKPOP, brought out three high-energy bands to share the small stage at Jimmy Jazz on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
The first band to take the spotlight was a two-piece Guelph band consisting of the twin sisters, Emmalia and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor, better known as Bonnie Trash. With Sarafina on percussion and vocals, and Emmalia on guitar, they played a set of grunge-pop that kept the heads in the audience bobbing, even with a few technical difficulties. Once they had recovered from the minor technical setback, Bonnie Trash fired up the night with their raunchy pop.
As their set ended they introduced the next band, Germaphobes, and someone amongst the crowd yelled, “Play a fuckin’ encore!” to which they humbly declined.
Bonnie Trash dismantled their gear while the Germaphobes quickly took over the small stage of Jimmy Jazz.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…it was deja-vu to a time of “Anarchy in the U.K.”[/pullquote]Germaphobes include Paul Erlichman on guitar and vocals, Lisa Carson on keys and vocals, Neil Rankan on bass and vocals, and Aaron Mariash behind the drums.
The band delved into a set of what could be best classified as experimental psychedelic pop rock, which sounded heavily influenced by ’80s synth-rock.
The Toronto-based band harmonized very well together with monotone vocals mixed with primal screams, as well as feathery vocals provided by Carson.
Before finishing off their set, Germaphobes made sure that they thanked everyone for the show.
“Thank you Bonnie Trash for inviting us out here,” said Erlichman, “Thanks guys. Thanks Jimmy Jazz.”
“Thanks for dancing,” Carson added.
The last band of the night was Wolfcow from Toronto. Greydyn Wolfcow is the leader and vocalist of the band. The other members of the band are bassist Chris Worden, drummer Ian Sequeira, and Brian Shirk on keys.
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Wolfcow have recovered an energy that has seemed to be lurking in the shadows since the ’80s.
“This is our fucking hit song ‘Sick Dead Resist.’ This will fucking kill me one day,” Greydyn crooned.
Their music is chaotic and mysterious, and their lyrics are eerie. For some of the people that gathered in the small bar, it was deja-vu to a time of “Anarchy in the U.K.” Others couldn’t keep their eyes off of him for fear that they would miss out on what he would do next.
As the music came to a halt, Greydyn thanked everyone in attendance before jumping off the stage to mingle with the spirits of the night.
Part Two: Natural Thirst, Painted Fruits, & Johnny de Courcy
FUCKPOP hosted a second night of live music with bands from British Columbia on Friday, May 20.
The event was scheduled to start at Jimmy Jazz at 10 p.m., however, the first band, Natural Thirst, did not play their first note until over an hour later.
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Natural Thirst is a band from Guelph that includes Chris Worden on guitar and vocals, Emmalia Bortolon-Vettor on keyboards and vocoder, and Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor on percussion. All of the musicians in Natural Thirst are prominent musicians in the local scene, being associated with such acts as Bonnie Trash, Cold on Pluto, The Folk, and Wolfcow.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The result is completely spellbinding.[/pullquote]The band provided the small cluster of folk in Jimmy Jazz with a short set of gothic pop, completely immersing themselves into the show.
The second band was Painted Fruits, all the way from Victoria, BC. Painted Fruits consists of Lime Rikki and Jon Yelrav on guitar, Noah Yelrav on bass, and Uber Scheitz on the drums. All of the frontmen harmonized throughout their songs with enthusiastic, yet monotone vocals. It’s as easy as toast and butter, and just as warm on the ears.
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Everyone in attendance made sure to get front-row seats for Painted Fruits’ set, and for good reason. Although it may not be an original concept or sound, the band provided a good show with an easy-to-listen sound that remained upbeat and danceable.
“We’ve got two more [songs] then were gonna give it up to Johnny!” said Rikki.
The band then crammed as much glam rock into the ears of the front-seaters as they could handle, including a cover of Devo’s “Whip It.”
When Painted Fruit got off the stage they exited the bar and hopped into their van to change attire for their next act. As they came back into the bar, they entered with more confidence wearing blue lipstick, neck collars, glittered clothing, and black dresses. They gathered on the stage to back up the closing act, Johnny de Courcy.
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De Courcy had a very strange yet appealing look: shaved eyebrows, blue lipstick, tight homemade short-shorts, a bonnet, and black and white striped knee-high socks like the Wicked Witch of the West.
De Courcy spoke about his last visit to the Royal City, “Last time that I came to Guelph was very special. We played at the church.”
De Courcy is not a completely original act. He is retro—his sound can send you cartwheeling into the past to times of Ziggy Stardust and Iggy Pop—but he looks different and his lyrics are darker.
It appears that de Courcy has found a way to mix both goth and glam like a witch’s brew. The result is completely spellbinding.