Thuggish, not Sluggish

It’s normally nice to have four diverse bands on a bill – the assumption being that things will build up nicely for the main act. The atmosphere normally goes up with the attendance and often the quality gets better with each act. Not tonight, though. No chance. First up in Kaffi Amsterdam tonight, from Toronto, is Lindy Vopnfjord who sounds a lot like Ryan Adams and Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen. His whisky soaked voice draws close attention from the crowd. He is the only artist to do an encore and while this may be strange for an opening act, it’s certainly warranted.
Next is a very assured performance from Kid Twist. They leave the clichés at home and crank up the bass. These chaps are psychedelic guitar heroes. They recall the melodies of Black Mountain and the ear-shredding clamour of Japanese band Boris. Kid Twist operate best without vocals and they have a strong dynamic on stage. The sound is wholesome as they blitzkrieg their way through the set sans audience interaction. Vafasöm Síðmótun are just nondescript. And then Slugs: things start to get slimy right away with Sindri Eldon, an obnoxious front-man, who after telling the crowd that he appreciates their applause, then asks them to shut the fuck up! It’s simply preposterous and totally maddening. They begin decently though as his rowdiness is contained. Then, as the stage of intrigue surpasses, he strips to his pants and bull-charges his way into the crowd. It’s perplexing.
A couple of songs later and he causes another stampede, knocking a punter’s pint over and head-butting an unsuspecting girl in the stomach, winding her in the process. He also squirts water at the audience, which I hope wasn’t piss on our parade. Sindri’s antics don’t even equate to performance art. His Crunk music is forgettable and the overall experience memorable for all the wrong reasons. Someone should put some salt on these slugs.

WHO: Slugs

WHERE: Café Amsterdam

WHEN: Saturday, August 16

THE VERDICT: Forgettable music, but memorable show for all the wrong reasons.