Black Mountain et al. Lee's Palace October 1 2005

Three bands from Vancouver... and thanks to some thieves in New York, only one set of instruments.

First up: Ladyhawk. Rocking guitar and drums in a Neil Young-esque alt-country style.
Overall impression: very enjoyable, they do what they do well. I'd see them again.

Second up: Blood Meridian (using Ladyhawk's gear).
Overall impression: while I had heard some buzz about this band, and I did enjoy them I would rank them slightly behind Ladyhawk in terms of what I enjoyed more. Check them out, because they rock.

The headliner: Black Mountain (again using Ladyhawk's gear).
Overall impression: damn... Their first Toronto show back in late March/early April was good. This time, just off a tour with Coldplay (hey, more power to them) and on the road with some fellow musicians from Vancouver it was incredible.
They have their live act down. It was so good as to be ridiculous. The last encore featured every member from every band on the bill grabbing whatever instrument they could get their hands on, grabbing any piece of spare stage real estate - to the extent that the drummer from Ladyhawk had a couple of drums in front of him as he sat on the steps at stage left. I really can't say enough good shit about Black Mountain right now, so I'll cut myself off. See them when you can.