Event:	Cancer Bats + 3 Inches Of Blood: Warriors of the Great White North
Written by:	Doc G.,
Published:	09.06.2011
Galleries:	3 Inches of Blood + Cancer Bats + Barnburner @ The Gateway Bar, Calgary, Canada - May 27 2011 by (22)

Remember your first sleepover birthday party you ever went to as a kid? This was basically like that. Except instead of sleeping bags and Star Wars it was heavy metal and screaming drunks. There was still pizza to be had at the venue though, oddly enough. Really, when it comes right down to it, is there any finer combination in life than ploughing slimy pizza into your drunken face while watching 4 bands play at their best? Nah, didn't think so.

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Farewell To Freeway
http://www.myspace.com/farewelltofreeway/music

Well, here was the first surprise of the night. A band no one expected...or wanted to be on the bill. Less of a show and more of a penance was this group of openers. Terrible, terrible, bland-as-hell metalcore by the sounds of it. I don't really consider them part of this concert, to say they were would be to admit that probably the best concert of the year had such a dreadful band as part of the line-up. Besides, they weren't officially on the bill, nor were they officially part of the tour, so we'll just consider their intolerable 15 minute set a separate concert or something.

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Waster
http://www.myspace.com/wasterofficial/music

Surprise #2, an opening band that knew how to rock the fuck out. The place was already starting to fill up, which is generally unheard of during a fairly unknown bands set. Deservedly so, though. It sounded like some wonderful mix of Down with some slightly sharpened hardcore edges, topped off with a dose of Motörhead. Hell, I would have paid $10-$15 for this bands performance alone. It was great music played with a lot of energy and stage presence. Despite still getting slightly warmed up, the crowd was definitely feeling it.

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Barn Burner
http://www.myspace.com/theinfamousbarnburner/music

Un-surprise #1. The sound guy managed to fuck up Barn Burner's set. For those unfamiliar with Barn Burner, they play a fantastic punked-out stoner metal. Stripped down, but chock full of catchy riffing. Since the sound guy decided to basically crank everything to 10 so even those of us familiar with them couldn't recognize the songs, the crowd wasn't nearly as receptive as it should have been. The place was starting to get packed, but the energy wasn't completely off the hook yet, which would have been a potential had any of the would-be fans been able to decipher the music being played. Still, the band played hard, gave it their all and still managed to put on a great show despite the shit sound. Right on, Barn Burner, right on.

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Cancer Bats
http://www.myspace.com/cancerbats

Surprise #3: Despite being a primarily metal crowd, the hardcore band steals the show (not by much mind you). As much as I despise using silly buzz phrases like "they set the place on fire" or "they blew the roof off", I really can't think of many ways to describe their set. In true punk fashion, they really broke down the divide between audience and performer (both metaphorically, and literally at some points). It was a photo-finish for who was to champion this stop of the tour, Cancer Bats did it by the skin of their teeth by playing probably the most engaging performance I've ever seen from a band.

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3 Inches Of Blood
http://www.myspace.com/3iob

I've seen this band multiple times, they generally play a solid set, worth the money but never really mind-blowing. Never have I seen them play like this before, either they traded their souls to whatever malevolent deity in exchange for Duke Nukem levels of PCP, or they were just riding high on the energy levels brought up by Cancer Bats. Who knows. All I know is they [insert buzz phrase here]. I thought there was no way 3 Inches' could measure up to the performance set by Cancer Bats judging by previous experience. How wrong I was. That makes surprise #4.