Song of the Day: The Vermicious Knid - Century Soldiers

Seems like the only time I post is after a rock show, but it's the only time where I can seem to conjure an opinion about anything. It just made me think how much I missed out on all the great shows between 2nd and 4th year. Okay, so this show on the eve of a blizzard was really special. The lineup was as follows:

opener: dd/mm/yy
opener: The Sour Keys
headliner: The Vermicious Knid

So like I said, the K-niders are really special to me (an probably anyone else in my area). I still vividly remember meeting the band and all their friends at one of the most memorable life-changing events ever (circa August 2000). I still get excited thinking about how much fun and organic the feeling was just being there sharing your beloved interest of music with a sea of people who were on the same page as you. Anyways, it was an interesting dynamic as I met them as a group of friends opposed to being introduced as a band, so it really puts a perspective on things. From what I could remember, they were really respectful of each other. I still remember one of the guys buying a blue “equestrian” =w= t-shirt that didn’t fit him and all his friends were making him feel good about hot great the shirt was and it didn’t matter if it fit or not.

Anyways, to the show review… Probably my favourite show I’ve seen at the grad house. The three bands rock hard, but the K-nider’s set was more compelling given the circumstances. This show dubbed as a CD release of the new disk, Smalltown Devotion/Hometown Compulsion, as well as a farewell to friends and fans as the band breaks up after several years of crackin’ the music biz from its rigid template of fluffy pop music. The set was just as great as my first time seeing them at the Circus Room in Kitchener in 2001. Tim waves his guitar like a sickle and Brian tip toes across the centre of the stage as if he is dancing on egg shells. The set was entirely from the new album, which is f*ckin’ great. Seriously, go buy it. You won’t be disappointed. I’ve been listening to Century Soldiers for like days now on repeat. Even with a goofy band name as the Knids have, songs like these show great depth in lyrics and interpretation to frustrations of local issues. Take it for what it is… I think it’s a brilliant song. I was rather disappointed that the set was a little on the short side, as they didn’t play anything from the EP or other releases. Tim kept alluding to the Neil Young cover, but rumblings from the crowd and Tim did not surmount to an encore.

After the show, I couldn’t help but talk to the guys. Like I said to them, I grew up with the band in a sense and it’s tragic to see such a genuine group of guys no longer maintaining themselves as a functional musical identity. For me, there was so much more to the Knids than a local musical act. There’s the Ford Plant, the shared moment in 2000, the Steve McGregor’s of the world, and more! What really stuck out in my mind was the timing of this band and the events that were occurring in my life at the time. It was most as if the Knids were background music to the majority of my university experiences. Their show in 2001 changed my perspective on what a great band would sound like. Dave and I still recount the memories of that show of how Ryan would switch in and out of distortion by back-pedaling and slamming on the orange pedal. I recall saying to myself that that was so rock ‘n roll! There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be just as exciting to see as the Knids if I were to be in a band. All this was circulating in my head throughout the night and it ended by me not being able to express how I felt about the band to its members. I didn’t know what else to do, but hug them. Yeah, it was weird, but it just felt right.

Anyways, here’s an article in the Echo of the band’s announcement to call it a day. The interview, so eloquently put by Ryan, summarizes and closes the book in the Vermicious Knid.

xend transmissionx

This entry was posted by .::Hung::., on Monday, December 12, 2005. You can leave your response.