Gods in a humble hovel
by alccode on 2010-12-06Sneaky Dee's - TorontoFirst, I have to admit, I didn't stay to see Psycroptic. My only focus for this event was to see Keep of Kalessin, a Norwegian black/symphonic/extreme metal band that was one of the associated acts. It was and still is just shocking to me that a band that enjoys celebrity status in their homeland, and has played in front of large crowds, was piddling about in a tiny, obscure, and somewhat dirty 2nd floor space of a restaurant/bar in Toronto. Even more so considering that there were probably only a handful of die-hard fans there who really knew about Kalessin and came just to see them. (But you can bet we were all in the very front!) On the flipside, one benefit of this was that I could actually approach the guys and talk to them before they played. They were really nice guys, totally awesome, and I enjoyed our conversation. About the actual act -- the energy was very high, and the crowd was definitely into it as far as I could tell, since I was in front and didn't look back too often. The band was also entirely into it, and I can't rule out that they enjoyed playing at Sneaky Dee's precisely because the venue was so small and so much more intimate. You could just reach out and touch them, though of course no one did so as to not disturb their performance. Can't say too much other than that. Awesome head-banging night. My neck was definitely sore the day after. Can't wait to see them again, which from my chat with them will probably be next spring. Raaagh!