Buying Shots for Bend Sinister at Cherry Cola’s

Date of show: March 10, 2012
Shot of choice: Jagerbomb

Written by: Chiara DiAngelo

While Catherine was covering the Junction’s CD release at the Horseshoe, I knew I needed to see the EP I’ve had on constant repeat for the past two weeks brought to life, so I instead headed to Cherry Cola’s for Bend Sinister. While there aren’t any pictures, here’s a run-down of the sweat-fest that ensued:

Cherry Cola’s isn’t your typical venue. With no opener, Bend Sinister took the stage promptly at 10:30pm. And Dan Moxon (vocals, keys), Joseph Blood (guitar, vocals), Matt Rhode (bass) and Jason Dana (drums) immediately proceeded to rock the socks off the jam-packed crowd.

Bend Sinister are a band that you get tired just watching – sweat floods out of them as they pour their heart and soul into the performance. And let’s be honest, it’s impossible to stand still to their piano-driven The entire band was on fire from the very first song, and this level of energy remained as they fired off hit after hit, including the loud and heavy “CT,” straight-up soulful headbanger “Jimmy Brown,” ballad “Don’t Let Us Bring You Down” and the pounding harmonic anthem “Things Will Get Better.” It wasn’t until halfway through their set when we were finally treated to some of the new material off On My Mind: dance single “Give It A Rest” and a revved up “Got You On My Mind,” that had a lot more punch than the light-hearted recorded version, while still maintaining the sweet back-up “ooooh’s.”

We also got a preview of two new songs that will be on their forth-coming full length release, including a track called “Hot Blooded Man,” which may have raised the intensity bar even higher than they’d previously set it. With the band originally forming in 2000, they released their first album in 2002; ten years later, while the line-up has changed, Moxon is still going strong. From this little taste, it’s obvious that Bend Sinister aren’t slowing down, they are actually gaining momentum with each record they put out.

The band came back for an immediate encore, offering the crowd “The Road Divided” the closing song off the new EP. Written about a store in Kelowna that was forced to close after a new highway diverted all traffic away from it, the lyrics now make painful sense. The anguish in Moxon’s voice was raw as he pounded out sharp staccato keys while belting out “soon you’ll be gone, now that your road leads nowhere.” This song shows a different side to Bend Sinister and it was an emotional way to end the night.

I had the privilege of standing next to Ken Beattie of Killbeat Music, and the pleasure of watching him rock out to Bend Sinister’s entire set. It was really special to see him so excited and into a band he represents. It also reaffirms that the best people in the music industry are those that are in it for the right reasons – because they are music lovers to the very core of their being.

Afterwards, “Buying Shots For” somehow turned into “Doing Shots With” Bend Sinister. That’s what happens when you let a band member place the order at the bar! While I wasn’t able to stick around for their second “secret” set at 1am, I’m sure it was nothing short of fantastic – it was fuelled by jagerbombs after all. With their LP dropping in July, hopefully it won’t be long of a wait to see them again. Be sure to come out – and buy them a shot!

Note: Special thanks goes out to Ryan Stephenson Price of the Indie Machine for snapping the photo – be sure to check www.theindiemachine.com for photos and video coverage of the night!