Photographs by Lee-Ann Richer.
Monday (November 24th) night, one of Canada’s own, Theory of a Deadman, was in town to rock Hamilton. For those of you who may not be familiar with TOAD beyond the, “Theory of a Nickleback” jokes, they are one hard working band. Yes they were the first band to sign with Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger in 2001 and that connection has helped and hindered their reputation. Their name was comes from a song off their debut album describing a man who is preparing to commit suicide. The song was then renamed, “The Last Song”.
In entering the venue we passed Tyler Connelly (lead singer) and I don’t know if we were more shocked at how tall he was or how approachable he appeared to be. He had a huge smile and gave the photographers a friendly greeting seconds before show time. My wife and I have attended a number of Theory shows as they are one of my wife’s favorite bands (don’t judge) and I was kind of shocked that the place was two thirds empty. We are used to seeing Theory pack their venues. We attended Tea Party the next night and it was empty on the second and third levels as well. In talking with a few of the photographers some of the other concerts were not as well attended as they could be so I will chalk it up to a more difficult time of year with Christmas just around the corner.
The lower attendance didn’t seem to have any effect on the crowd or the band’s performance. The crowd was totally into the band, singing every word while rocking out. I also give a thumbs up for a band that doesn’t have a sell out and still puts out a full show.
Following two opening acts, the band started their high energy show at 10pm. They opened with one of their best satire songs, “So Happy”, about a breakup, “ sent you packing, look who’s laughin’ now, I’m so happy I threw you away”. Next he poked fun at himself with “Lowlife” chanting “Cause I’m a low life”. Tyler announced how happy they were to be back on Canadian soil and back in Hamilton. They have been touring for four months now supporting their new album “Savages”. This is the fifth album in their collection. It looks like there is no slowdown for the band as they have just announced their 2015 tour with “Bush”.
To continue with poking fun in the next song,“Bitch Came Back” was dedicated to all the ladies. This seems like an anthem for guys with women troubles. Starting off with sweet guitar sounds and then jumping into the aggressive lyrics flavoured by Harry S. Miller’s, The Cat Came Back. The satire in the songs is actually quite funny and some people seem to miss the humour in their songs.
“Savages” was the next song in their set list and is the title track from their new album. Alice Cooper appears in a video and delivers a spoken segment just before the bridge, followed by a blistering guitar solo delivered by David Brenner the bands lead guitarist. Yes it’s like TOAD meets the Coop musically. I have been listening to it non-stop and I love it! Of course the Coop is my personal favorite. The band is taking a different direction with this new project getting away from the broken relationships theme. Yes we have bought the new album to add to my wife’s Theory collection and my Alice Cooper collection!
“All or Nothing”, “Nothing Could Come Between Us” and “Hurricane’ followed. After that the band did their acoustic set and jokingly started to play “Sweet Home Alabama”. Tyler talked about some of the bands influences in the Grunge scene then played Stone Temple Pilot’s “Interstate Love Song”. The set covered old and new material. “Angel”, “No Surprise”, “Blow”, “Not Meant to Be” and the once of their biggest hits, “Santa Monica” .
The band performed great and Tyler’s voice was the best we have heard. As a funny note, Tyler was flinging picks into the audience every few seconds to waiting fans as he does. I felt this thing hit me in the face and laughed thinking I don’t have to go far to get one. The energy of bass guitarist, Dean Back and lead guitarist, David Brenner was driven by the backbone of drummer Joey Dandeneau. They have been through a few drummers but this is one you have to see especially if you are a musician. Not only is he a great showman and confident but plays like a machine with a killer groove. I could have just watched him all night. He is my kind of drummer!
Closing off the night with the obvious “Bad Girlfriend” for their encore made for a nice evening of in your face music. You might hate them or love them as I do, but it doesn’t take away that they are a hard working band in a difficult industry being the music business. I wish our fellow Canadians the best of luck! See you next round!
