February 25th

  My ticket stub from the time I saw the Edmonton ska band Mad Bomber Society play the Pawn Shop here in Edmonton on February 25th, 2012. This show was an album release party for Mad Bomber's album Buthers, Stomper's & Cheats. Opening the show was  locals The Chokeouts.

September 28th

  The gig poster for the September 28th, 2012 Alberta Culture Days Kick-Off Block Party a free outdoor show in downtown Edmonton featuring two great local bands the dance punk elctro band Shout Out Out Out Out and the ska influenced band Mad Bomber Society.

October 8th

 

 It was on October 8th, 2017 that I saw The Reverend Horton Heat headline the Starlite Room in Edmonton as part of the UP+DT (Uptown & Downtown) Music Festival. Opening the show was local ska band Mad Bomber Society.

April 12th

 

 On April 12th, 1997 I saw a great double bill of ska bands Mad Bomber Society who are a local Edmonton band, and headlining was the California band Let's Go Bowling. This show was at the old Rebar on Whyte Avenue.

Reverend Horton Heat Live in Edmonton Oct.8th 2017

Two Sunday's ago my buddy and I went to the last concert of this years edition of the UP+DT Festival, this gig would be the Reverend Horton Heat show at the Starlite Room. There were four bands on the bill but we only caught the last two. That being Mad Bombers Society and the Reverend.

By the time we got to the venue the place was packed, but we managed to get there in time to catch local ska band Mad Bomber Society. I was surprised to see a ska band on this bill, but then it's always good to have a diverse line up. For a band that don't do a whole lot of shows, they sounded really good. Lead singer Rich Bomber sounded great as did the rest of the band, which included a bass player, drummer and two horn players, sadly I don't know the name of these musicians, but nonetheless they all kicked ass. The crowd was really digging the band, dancing and singing along. It was nice to see Mad Bomber Society get such a good response from the crowd. A great performance by them all.

Mad Bomber Society at the Starlite Room.

Now it was time for the last band of this years UP+DT Music Festival the Reverend Horton Heat. This was my second time seeing the Reverend, the last time being in 1994 when they opened for Soundgarden here in Edmonton.

I'm not the biggest fan of rockabilly, psychobilly, or as The Rev calls themselves country-fed punkabilly, whatever you want to call it, I have always had a soft spot for the Reverend Horton Heat, one of the few rockabilly bands I can tolerate. What they do, they do it well. So I was looking forward to seeing them play a headlining show this time. The Reverend Horton Heat who hail from Dallas, Texas is made up of The Reverend (Jim Heath) on guitar and vocals, long time bass player Jimbo (Jimbo Wallace) and newest member Arjuna "RJ" Contreras on drums, who was amazing. Reminded me of John Bonham the size of him and the way he played.

The band opened the show with instrumental song "Big Sky", why is that every rockabilly band has to open with an instrumental. Then into an oldie "Baddest Of The Bad". One song they did that really made me laugh and was happy to hear was "Cowboy Love" from their 1996 album It's Martini Time. They ended the set with the Motorhead song "Ace Of Spades". What bothered me the most during the show was how long Jim Heath's stories were, very long winded to the point that a few people in the crowd myself included were shouting "play a song". I swear about 20 minutes of the hour and a half show was Jim telling stories.

For the encore Reverend Horton Heat did a cover of the Johnny Cash song "Folsom Prison Blues" and then we had to put up with a drum and bass solo, which were a total waste of time and not very good. Between the stories and solos the band could have done at least five more songs. All and all I didn't think it was a great show, it was alright but nothing special. To me I think Mad Bomber Society gave them a run for their money. Good times!!!

Reverend Horton Heat at the Starlite Room.

A big shout out to the organizers, volunteers, bands and venues for what I hope was another successful UP+DT Music Festival.

16 Years Ago Today...April 12th

It was sixteen years ago today that I saw the ska double bill of locals Mad Bomber Society with Fresno, California band Let's Go Bowling play the Rebar here in Edmonton.

6 Years Ago Today...Feb.25th

It was six years ago today that I saw Australian rockers Wolfmother play at Edmonton Events Centre here in Edmonton.







It was also two years ago today that I saw blues legends Johnny Winter and James Cotton play here at the Polish Hall. A great evening of blues music.





And, it was a year ago today that I saw local ska band Mad Bomber Society play here at the Pawn Shop.





In concert news...James Cotton will be playing at this years Edmonton Blues Festival on Friday August 16th.

Mad Bomber Society w/ The Chokeouts Feb.25th 2012

Saturday evening my buddy Hurl and I braved the 17 centimetres of fresh snow that had fallen during the day and ventured to The Pawn Shop in Edmonton to catch a couple of local bands. This show was an album release party for the ska band Mad Bomber Society.

The night started with openers The Chokeouts a band I had never seen before. They are a five piece high energy punk rock band consisting of three females in the rhythm section Maz and Jenny on guitar and Karlin on bass rounded out by Dustin on drums and Chris on vocals. A very energetic band with screaming vocals with Maz and Jenny doing shout out background vocals and once in a while taking over on lead vocals. I found it hard to understand a lot of the lyrics, but one of the titles I caught was interesting and gives you an idea of what they are about "I'm Not Homeless (But I Drink Like It)" which is what they opened with. They were an alright punk rock band,but not really my thing.

The Chokeouts.













The headliner of the night was local ska band Mad Bomber Society. They were celebrating the release of their new album "Butchers,Stompers & Cheats" that has been six years in the making. This is only the second album that they have put out since forming in the 90's. The band consists of Rich "Bomber" Liukko on lead vocals and guitar, Jason "Bomber" Zazula on drums and vocals, Mike "Fourfingered Bomber" Johnson on trumpet and vocals, Smooth Bomber on bass, Nate "Bomber" Connelly on trombone and Jonny "Bomber" McCormack on saxophone. Rich Liukko is also an owner of a local record store here in Edmonton called Freecloud Records.

The Pawn Shop was a great venue for this show, as the place was packed and everyone in a good mood and ready to dance there asses off, which is what happened through out the hour plus show. They mixed it up with both new songs and old songs from their first release, 2001's "Atomic A-Go-Go". Mad Bomber Society don't do a lot of live shows, so to see them perform is always a treat. This was only my second time seeing them live, the first time I saw them was in 1998-99 with Let's Go Bowling.

All and all it was fun night out with great tunes and some old school skanking. Good times!!!

To hear some songs from there first album click here.

Mad Bomber Society.





















T-shirt front.



T-shirt back.



The new Mad Bomber Society CD.

Concert Poster Of The Day Aug. 27th (Let's Go Bowling)

Today's poster is from a show I saw in 1997 at The Rebar (Pawn Shop now) in Edmonton. This was a great evening of ska music with a whole lot of dancing happening. The floor at the Rebar, which is on the second floor of the building was a bouncing, it was pretty damn cool. the bands for the night were, local band Mad Bomber Society with Fresno, California band Let's Go Bowling. I like the poster done by local artist Spyder. Very cool.