Die Mannequin came to rock in a no-holds barred, crazy show at Average Joes, Tuesday, May 22.
They only had about 80 people in the audience, which wasn’t bad for a Tuesday after a long weekend, but those who were there were really into the show.
Almost as much as Die Mannequin band leader Care Failure, who thrashed away on her battered, taped up Gibson SG, jumped all over the stage, into the frothing audience, onto a table, where she sang a few verses and back into the audience before jumping back on stage and grabbing guitar again all the while howling vocals sounding like a mix between Hole and Evanescence.
Care Failure, dressed in a T-shirt and torn black fishnet stockings looked like she would stomp anyone who would look at her sideways, her blond streaked, raven coloured hair flying all over the place off her wildly bobbing head.
She fit right in with the Deathbridge Derby Dames, roller skating through the audience.
The band kept step supplying ear-bleeding, blistering detuned riffs and thunderous rhythms.
She gave a shout-out to opening act, Lethbridge’s own Phantom Creeps, shouting “Finally an opening band who can rock too.,” before giving cudos to the Deary Beloved, who were second on the bill for the late starting show.
I was impressed with Dearly Beloved’s more laid back set. It featured classic rock tinged, upbeat punk style riffing, and plenty of long extended, jamming solos. They were paired with pint sized dervish Niva Chow and bassist/ vocalist Rob Higgins, who traded lead vocals.
Higgins played some impressively wild bass and jumped into the audience with his bass and microphone for a couple numbers as the crowd jumped around him. Chow leaped onto the dance floor with him then back on stage. They dedicated the hook filled “Rugged Casual Sport” out to Die Mannequin.
