It was an all Edge weekend for me. After seeing The Heatskores one night prior, it was Keepin' 6's turn to grace The Edge stage. I hadn't seen these guys in forever! The Oshawa Skafest was the last time I saw them, which is kind of crazy considering how often they play shows. I can't explain it. I blame work and not being able to attend weekday shows to be a part of it. Anyways, after not seeing them for so long, I realized that I knew about half of their songs. These boys have definitely been busy in the 5 months that I haven't seen them. Their new material is leaning more to the punk side than ska, but it is definitely good. They made mention that they are planning to record a new album, so let's hope it is sometime soon, as their two previous releases are far too short for any Keepin' 6 fan.

So I went from one small venue to another tonight. After seeing The Heatskores at the Edge, I was off to see The Agency at Seven Star Billiards. I was hoping to see Over the Top play as well, but it appears they didn't want to do their summer tour this year. There wasn't many people there, but The Agency still gave it their all. Both shows, and the free beer from a drunken bar patron made for a great night. Hopefully, The Agency and Over the Top have a better tour next year.

When you think of The Heatskores, you don't really picture them playing an intimate venue that is also home to a Toronto radio show. It is not because of their talent, but of their sound. When you think of punk or ska music in North America, they are usually at dives. Also, I would be tempted not to have them play there if I owned The Edge, only because they just fucking giv'er on stage that they might accidently break something. They put their show above anything else (and I do mean anything, such as, individual health). If you haven't seen these guys yet, make sure you make an effort to, not many bands can top their raw energy. Oh yeah, their music is top notch too.

It looks like Skaface brought out some of their older fans, which is nice to see, especially at a 19+ show. They even started up the dancing. By the end of the set the floor was pretty much covered by the stage of people dancing.

I wasn't a huge fan of Trip the Off at all, but I was probably the only one in the venue not grooving to them. I mean, everyone was feeling it. Grooving to their reggae/punk vibes, but I just couldn't get into it. So, don't take my advice on it I guess. Go check them out for yourself, you will most likely like them better than I will. It is nice to see Toronto show some support for touring bands.

It is getting to the point that I've seen The Expos so many times that it is hard to write something new about them. They played great, as always. This was the debut show of their new trumpet player. He played in The Nightshift with Yvonne. His dad was actually my babeball coach for highschool babeball...it is a small world after all.

This was the third time I saw Streetlight Manifesto. The first time was pretty insane. I didn't know who they were, and I couldn't believe how big a following they had after walking in the door. I don't think I have ever seen The Reverb that packed. The second time it was extremely hot in the venue, and Tomas barely sung half the words. I wasn't impressed by the set at all, and I was more annoyed with the bands' following than ever. This time they played even better than the first time I saw them. But touring with the same material for two years now can do that to a band. It will be nice to hear when they finally have new music.

The first time I saw Reel Big Fish was 5 or 6 years ago at The Opera House (the Cheap Suits opened the show). They hadn't been to Canada in awhile. They absolutely blew me away that night, and each time I have seen them since, they haven't lived up to that night...until this show. They were absolutely amazing. They actually looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage. After seeing them at this show, it just seems like they weren't having as much fun at the other shows (even though at the time it seemed like they were). Maybe it was just a really high for them on this night of the tour. It was really nice to see them perform in such a manner. They played for a really long time too. About an hour-and-a-half, and they weren't even headlining the show. Like the show from 5 years ago, they broke down Suburban Rhythm and played it like 6 different ways. I hope their future shows were as great as this one.