We drove 2 hours to Montreal from Ottawa (come here next time!!) just for Face to Face. Arrived early at the venue at about 7:00 or so, anticipating a 7:30 start for the Darlings. I guess the peeps in Montreal like to be fashionably late because the venue was near empty. Should be said that the venue, the Olympia in Montreal, was amazing. Awesome balcony, friendly staff, great (yet somewhat distorted, but hey...it's a punk show) sound and good beer. What we didn't know was that there were actually FOUR bands on the bill. Checked out The Artist Life with about 200 or so people and they were excellent. Good energy, amazing bass player and some catchy tunes.
Went outside for a bit (yay in-and-outs) and hung out with the massive crowd of late 20s early 30s folks that were gathering. Didn't catch much of the Darlings, but I heard they were good. THEN the people starting coming in...I was worried that Montreal's punk community was going to disappoint but like I said, fashionably late. At the moment we walked back in, there were about 1,800 people in the theatre, all standing room, all waiting for Strung Out. Serious moshing ensued for the entire Strung Out performance, which were a LOT darker and harder than I remembered. Felt like I was at a metal show for their set, which isn't exactly my thing but the darker elements of the crowd seemed to dig it.
Then came face to face. Wow...what a show. I've been a fan of this band since I was 16 (I'm 32 now) and they did not disappoint. Trevor still has his knack of being light, friendly and crazy with the crowd which just imparts a great vibe on the whole show. At this point, 2,000 strong was PACKED in the Olympia. They started out with old school tracks from Big Choice and 96's self titled, and played a new song from their upcoming album. Awesome vibe, most people knew every word, jumping, fist pumping, moshing, crowd surfing etc....awesome vibe. They played maybe 3 "new" tracks altogether and about 13 old tracks that I recognized (and knew every word to!). Montreal really represented and I'm super impressed with the Olympia....I'll be back. Saw my favourite band of all time, for the first time...another one off the bucket list. Needless to stay face to face still rocks.