Buckcherry was a blast but Inward Eye pretty much stole a packed show at the Blarney Stone, Aug. 25 which also featured Edmonton’s Social Code.
Winnipeg trio Inward Eye pulled out all the stops as they resurrected the spirit of the Who, windmills, power chords, frenetic drumming and everything starting precisely at 8 p.m. while the last wavering sunbeam caressed the stage, well organized chaos took place on the stage. The three brothers bounced all over the place while playing catchy classic rock fused “new old band style” tunes and did everything but swing from the rafters. I would have liked to hear a better sound mix on the vocals though.
I was looking forward to Social Code, especially after getting a preview of their new album “Rock and Roll” before interviewing them last week. They only played a couple new tracks, prefacing each one with a few bars of hits like “Walk This Way” and Seven Nation Army.”
The Edmonton band was tight, showing off the punk pop they started with in 2004, though I wanted to hear more of that fantastic new CD, which sounds a lot like Buckcherry and would have primed the crowd properly for the main event. Not that they needed it.
When Buckcherry took the stage just after 10 p.m, The crowd frothed in front of it, savouring each loud sweaty, greasy, grungy, sleazy chord and lick the band could pull off . Lead singer Josh Todd tore off his shirt and stalked all over the stage throughout a hit heavy set and was barely perturbed by his mic cutting out a couple of times.
Their breakthrough hit “Lit Up” was a highlight as was “Crazy Bitch” which drew the show to a close with a roar. Not to mention a scorching version of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star.”
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
