Nicholas Gammon and Brendan McLean of Locater playing at the Goodwill Social Club, February 25th 2023. Photo by Justin Fisher
Locater (FKA Louser) played a release show in celebration of their new album 'Clandestine', which was released February 17th, 2023 on No Sleep Records. This is a bit of a recap and review on the shoegaze/punk show, plus some pictures that I took that I liked.
The show opened with the band Guilty Sleep, a newcomer to the indie/shoegaze scene. They just finished recording some music with Griffin of Winnipeg easycore act, A Grizzly Fate on the board. Guilty Sleep consists of guitarist/vocalist Eric Ducharme, guitarist/vocalist Haise, drummer Liam Sewell (of Co Komono/Seweller/Jupiter Meltdown) and bassist Nick Paluck (of Jupiter Meltdown).
Guilty Sleep play a blend of grunge and emo influenced shoegaze, with lush guitar soundscapes, big drums and even a telephone mic akin to Deftones. They can make you feel floaty, but also have some fast-paced songs that make you want to jump or mosh. They'll be a band to look out for in the future when they start releasing music. I absolutely loved their set and I can't wait to see more of their stuff. Despite the band name, the bombastic, spontaneously loud sound of this band will not make you want to sleep.
Agapito was the next band of the night, and I went in blindly, having never heard anything. They absolutely blew my mind with their mixture of post/progressive hardcore with a rock and roll energy. Agapito is more-or-less a supergroup, with a former member of Comeback Kid and Mike Peters from Cancer Bats on drums. I didn't get any pictures unfortunately, because I was so entranced by the bands performance. From the lead vocalists' rock and roll attitude to the colourful melodies used on both the guitars and the basslines. There was even a point where the rack tom fell over because of how hard this bands' music hits! This is a band you NEED to see, where the live experience is going to be so much different from a studio release. Keep an eye out for more music and shows from them, and also check out Cancer Bats if you're not familiar with them.
The last band was Locater, of course. Bit of backstory, they used to go under the name 'Louser' until early February 2023, but due to legal issues, were forced to undergo a name change. The band released one 'self-titled' EP under that name, but Clandestine was released right after their name change, after signing to No Sleep Records. The band consists of core members Nicholas Gammon on vocals, Sean Kaye on bass, Nick 'The Fonz' Fondse on guitar and Jesse Hardie on drums. For the release show, Brendan McLean (who has played with Elder Abuse/Higherlows/etc) hopped on 2nd guitar. Some of the bands these core members have played in include: Witchtrip, Ceilings, Elder Abuse and Badfriend. Locater's style is a mixture of grunge and shoegaze, reminiscent of bands like Narrow Head, Teenage Wrist and Nothing. The show itself was intimate, with an awesome vibe when it came to the lighting. I was talking to my photographer friend Brittany Lambert after the show, she was saying when it came to editing, the lighting was a challenge but one that she enjoyed. The projector visuals on the ceiling added a nice effect to the show. The setlist included a good handful of the great tracks from Clandestine, as well as some classics from their 2019 'self-titled' EP including Vitamin L.
Saturday was an amazing night, full of seeing some great friends and even better music. Thanks to Locater, Guilty Sleep and Agapito for the great hangs and the awesome photographers (Brittany, Matt) working the show, as well as the Goodwill for hosting a great weekend of music. Cheers everyone.
Holdfast/Brittany Lambert Photography
