Bad Mountie w/ This Ship and Mindwaves @ Hunter's - Live Review - Mar 30/12

Friday night was a night I had been looking forward to for weeks.  Not only was Bad Mountie playing a show at Hunter’s Ale House after a long hiatus, my friends from Halifax, This Ship, were playing alongside them!  I made sure to get to the show early to catch all of the opening acts, the first of which was Mindwaves, who were playing acoustically that evening.  They had a pretty interesting sound to them: it was jazzy, a little bit haunting; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was unique to say the least.

Next up on the list was This Ship, who I had actually never seen play before; quite a few of the members were from other Halifax bands I listened to over the years: The Light Brights, Alice Stops Time, and Minus World to be exact!  They’re also all a part of Berserker Lion, a Halifax-based music collective.  For people who all came from different bands, they certainly had a chemistry not unlike that of an established band who had been together for many years!  The sound was unreal, it was a huge mixture of several genres like rock, jazz, indie, electronic, and others yet somehow it meshed perfectly into one.  People were up dancing, tambourines and clapping were in action, and it was an overall great vibe and great turnout for this off-island group.

Bad Mountie ended off the night, and ended it with a bang they did!  It had been months since their last show, and finally being able to hear another live set was an absolute joy.  Despite the hiatus, the second they started playing it was as if they never stopped!  The vocals were fantastic, the guitar was unbelievable, and the beat was bang on.  When it comes to the crowd as well, I was amazed at how many people were there to take it all in!  “For being out of the spotlight for 3 months it’s great to see how many people were excited for our return,” says Matt Steele, guitarist for Bad Mountie.  “I dont know how many people were there total, but I love the big crew at the front that was dancing!”  With songs like “Rising Star”, “I’m Still The Man”, and my favourite “Responsible Man”, I personally would be confused as to why people weren’t dancing!  Great to see Bad Mountie bad and I’m looking forward to getting the chance to hear them live again in the near future!