Mosh madness with Creepshow

By Kat Guerin

guer0092@algonquincollege.com

What seemed to be a hoedown quickly turned into a mosh pit at a free show in the Observatory on Jan. 13.

Glasses were raised and the audience was singing along as Liquorbox took the stage, opening for psychobilly band The Creepshow. Led by Justin Wisteard, a cowboy hat-clad guitarist, the honky-tonk band got the crowd swingin’ partners round and round by playing drinking anthems and covers by country legends Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. The Kingston-based band played a 15-song set with a bit of chatting between tunes.

“Pop country sucks!” Wisteard yelled to the crowd. The audience cheered with approval.  “We’re not trying to cater to what country radio stations want,” Wisteard said. “Real country music is the product of the people, not the industry.”

The crowd was invited to compete in a small dance-off close to the stage to win the banjo player’s cowboy hat.

The crowd’s size doubled and the bouncers took warning as The Creepshow jumped on stage.  A blended mix of moshing, pushing, swinging and dancing was on the menu during their set as fans sang along to “Cherry Hill,” “Creatures of the Night” and off their most recent album, “Rue Morgue Radio.”

Despite her petite figure, Sarah “Sin” Blackwood’s voice boomed and filled the Ob. This was the band’s third time playing at the college.

“Every time we’ve played the Ob, it’s been amazing,” Sean “Sickboy” McNab, the band’s upright bassist, said.  “And every time just gets better.” However, the band couldn’t predict the turnout for that cold night. “Hopefully, they’ll get off their couches, bundle up and come out!” Blackwood said.

Despite the temperature, transit strike and the underground genre of music played that night, turnout wasn’t disappointing. According to Ken MacLeod, the Students’ Association events programmer, there were180 guests present out of the bar’s capacity of 285.

The Creepshow announced the second dance-off of the night, this time to win tickets to a Ottawa Senators versus Montreal Canadiens game. Five contestants were invited on stage where the audience cheered for their favourite dancer. Melissa Lockhart, 24, won the competition. “I was stoked about dancing on stage with them,” Lockhart said. “They played a really sick set.”

After a two-song encore, fans lined up to meet the bands. pre-music production student, Adam Sheridan, enjoyed the performances.

 “The Creepshow always rock hard and interact with the fans,” he said. “The Observatory was a great place to see them and I hope to see them return.”