BÖNDBREAKR With G.U.S.H., Medusas and Bottom Feeder in Calgary, AB
BÖNDBREAKR at Dickens. Photo credit: Michael Sarsito.
September 5 at Dickens was filled with an amazing lineup of punk, grunge, and metal acts, each bringing their own distinctive energy and igniting the stage during their sets.
The night opened with Bottom Feeder delivering the kind of chaotic metallic hardcore that embodies the genre. Band members vocalist Craig Schmidt, guitarist Matt Lannon, bassist Cam Gillies and drummer Brandon St. Jean set the tone of the evening, leaving no doubt that Dickens was the place to be that Friday night. By the end of their set, the crowd had surged closer to the stage, as if each crushing riff and guttural pulled them in.
Next up was Medusas, who made the entire 40 minutes they were allowed in the Dickens feel electric from start to finish with their punchy riffs and unapologetic feminist bite. The teen trio of drummer Ruth Chrumka, bassist Zenith Nigg, and lead singer and guitarist Grace Johnson didn’t waste a second inspiring the audience and electrifying the air with bold songs such as their single “Block Him!” Other tracks that evening highlighted performative activism in the punk scene, and another song came from a story about men telling people to smile more, ending with Medusas screaming “I’m going to jump this fucking dude.”
The night was truly full of surprises. G.U.S.H. left me in such a reflective state that I didn’t think it was possible during a night of punk, grunge and rock sets in the Dickens as their raw sincerity and unfiltered vulnerability cut through screaming choruses. The band played songs from their 2023 album I Hate Myself, such as “Starburst,” a song frontman, guitarist and songwriter Roger LeBlanc dedicated to trans people, proclaiming that we “shouldn’t have to fight so hard” [to exist], which particularly touched me. There was a cathartic release that felt anguished but liberating and left me stirred yet strangely energized and ready for the protest-punk metal intensity of the headliner that followed.
The night concluded with BÖNDBREAKR, an Austin-based four-piece that immersed those present with a performance full of ferocious intensity and commanding presence. Frontwoman G. Hayes McCloskey led the charge, her vocals a whirlwind of power and precision that seemed to ignite guitarist Ciaran McCloskey, bassist Thad Stevens and drummer Patrikc Van Veghel, forging a chemistry so tight their movements moved so in sync with each other, claiming every corner of the stage. Both starting their set with a recording of someone declaring “Free Palestine,” and ending it with a song dedicated to the people of Palestine, Sudan, and the Republic of Congo, BÖNDBREAKR wove activism into every beat, scream and riff, making each song a fiercely uncompromising masterpiece and political statement.
Photos by Michael Sarsito.