For the complete contrast to the gentle, laid back, exotic stylings of Alex Cuba at the Geomatic Attic, things were starting to get a little drunk out at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, March 15 as a close to sold out crowd got revved up for an early St. Patrick’s Day with Celtic punk icons the Real McKenzies and special guests, Edmonton power pop/ pop punk/ punk rock band Real Sickies.
I missed the Hockey Moms’ opening set, but was just in time to catch the Real Sickies’ blend of the Strokes, Buzzcocks and Undertones with a touch of Guided by Voices. They played a ferocious and entertaining set of upbeat punk with a few searing guitar solos on top of snarling power chords. They played most of their latest album “Love is For Lovers.”
The Real McKenzies never disappoint, and with such a vast catalogue of Celtic punk anthems to draw from, their show is never the same.
They were there to party with the crowd as usual, as frontman Paul McKenzies started the show by emphasizing they don’t tolerate violence at Real McKenzies shows.
The band, dressed in kilts and Scottish berets was tight with two hot lead guitarists leaping around in their kilts. One of them locked in with the piper.
This time they were either digging really deep or playing new music, playing barely anything from their most recent CD “ Beer and Loathing.”
As his bandmates whirled around them, frontman Paul McKenzie stood at attention, dominating the stage, dressed in kilt, leather jacket and aviator shades, belting out a variety of high ethanol fuelled anthems about alcohol, Scottish history, mangy dogs and alcohol and a couple of Robbie Burns poems set to searing bagpipe powered punk rock.
The international band (including their Australian drummer and Basque based bagpiper Aspy Luison ) dominated a long uninterrupted close to two hour set of crowd favourites and drinking songs.
They opened with “Pour Decisions” from “10,000 Shots” one of many songs about drinking and crashed right into “Due West” from “Two Devils will Talk.”
“10,000” shots was also represented by “Best Day Until Tomorrow.” “ I Hate My Band” and “TheSkeleton and the Tailor.”
A mosh pit began during “Ye Banks and Braes” from their 2003 CD “Oot & Aboot” where a lot of the set came from.
Mckenzie made his feelings plain about the British monarchy on “ Get the Bitch off the money,” going all the way back to 2001’s “Loch’s and Loaded.”
He dedicated “ Dropping Like Flies” originally from “Oot & Aboot” to all his friends who have passed on, noting “ I’m lucky to have lived this long,” and expressed his love for beer and Scottish whiskey.
Also from 2003’s “Oot &Aboot” he dusted off “Drink the Way I Do.” Also form that album “ The Night the Lights Went Out in Scotland” was a highlight.
“Chip” was one of several songs that had a Bad Religion feel.
I really liked a song about Vimy Ridge and another one about kids being sent off to war and another one called “Skeleton and the Tailor”
McKenzie dedicated “Mangy Dog” to all the animal lovers in the audeince.
Later on, they dug deep into Clash of the Tartans for “ Thistle Boys,” about a group of pink haired Scottish punks.
Crowd favourites “Drink Some More,” “ Mainland” and “Nessie” also came late in the set.
Aspy took a break for a couple more straight ahead punk songs and some “guitar cacophony” featuring one of rthem playing a solo behind his head.
Paul McKenzie belted out a couple a cappella poems on his own and the band returned in force for Real McKenzies’ set cornerstone “ Scots Wha Ha E.”
They wound things down with a stirring version of Stan Rogers’ “Barrett’s Privateers.”
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
