Holiday Homecoming: Recapping The Flatliners Holiday Melee with Canadian punk royalty Gob at Danforth Music Hall
Photo: Steve St. Jean
Overhauled with festive spirit, the Danforth Music Hall hosted The Flatliners' annual Holiday Melee concert on a cold, rainy December night. The show started with an adrenaline-fueled performance by A Wilhelm Scream, setting the stage for what was to come: Canadian punk royalty Gob and the spirited melodics of The Flatliners.
Unfortunately, I made it to the show, catching just the end of A Wilhelm Scream's set as they ripped through the highly crowd-surfable "Anchor End" from their 2004 release Mute Print and closed with "The King is Dead" from 2005's Ruiner. Fans were in a perpetual state of bliss as A Wilhelm Scream closed out their set.
A highlight of the night for me was finally seeing Langley, BC's Gob, perform. Growing up watching MuchMusic (like my life depended on it), Gob was a mainstay on the channel, blasting the airwaves with their catchy punk rock and creative music videos (such as "You're Too Cool" and "I Hear You Calling"). Gob exploded onto the stage, igniting the crowd into a frenzy as they ripped through five high-octane songs straight out of the gate. They took a quick moment to catch their breath, and founding member and guitarist Theo Goutzinakis addressed the crowd, "Holy shit Toronto, you're the fucking crowd of all crowds. Let's keep the party going. Are you ready to dance?"
"Hey, here's an idea; let's start our set with five songs from an album that's not our most popular," blurted out Tom Thacker (lead guitarist/singer and co-founder) with a smirk as he stood tall with a beautiful cherry red Gibson SG as his axe of choice. The Toronto crowd basked in the nostalgia and quickly recovered from moshing and crowd surfing caused by the immediate onslaught of riffs and sing-along choruses.
Goutzinakis orchestrated chaos, beckoning Toronto to join in chants and raising the energy bar with every riff. Amidst their set, Gob delved into surprisingly heavy terrain, showcasing their shredding prowess and riffing that could challenge most metal bands, although perhaps not reaching the heights of the late Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom (rest in peace, Alexi).
A notable moment in the set was when The Flatliners' Chris Cresswell joined them for a rousing rendition of "Ming Tran" from 2003's Foot in Mouth Disease, followed by a gripping cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" from 1999's How Far Shallow Takes You. Gob's explosive finale with "I Hear You Calling," from 2000's The World According to Gob, transitioned into "Soda," from their first full-length album, 1995's Too Late... No Friends inciting pure anarchy in the pit. It was too good seeing Gob; it was the perfect segway to The Flatliner's hell-raising set to come.
The Flatliners, overwhelmed by the turnout, humbly acknowledged the intensity of a hometown show and expressed gratitude for sharing the stage with A Wilhelm Scream and Gob for their Holiday Melee. The local boys kicked into overdrive from the very beginning as they unleashed "Hang My Head" from 2017's Inviting Light. The energy from the band and the crowd combined was overpowering as the heat levels only kept going up, turning Danforth into a sweatbox. When they hit the third song, they had everyone in attendance vibing as they performed the incredibly catchy "Performative Hours," it was immediately apparent that this show would be one for the books.
It was a lively show, with their setlist ranging from new tracks to old, such as "Resuscitation of the Year" from 2013's Dead Language, to the sets closer "Eulogy" from their 2008 sophomore album The Great Awake. They were all business besides frontman Chris Cresswell's on-stage banter here and there, playfully speaking to the fact that they were performing "chart-topping hits" and "playing perfectly" in a self-deprecating way. Maybe he was hearing something we couldn't, but they dished out a seamless performance to my ears, underscoring their musical prowess and electric stage presence. The band's synergy was palpable as they navigated their discography flawlessly, showcasing their underrated brilliance.
Although the band still feels a bit under the radar, it's evident that the hard work The Flatliners are putting into their craft is paying off. A sold-out show with local fans screaming back every word of your songs isn't something any band can pull off. They've amassed quite the following without selling their souls to mainstream rock radio.
The Flatliners delivered a massive sound with infectious energy, capping off another successful Holiday Melee. Big ups to the boys, and I was stoked that I could finally make it out to a Holiday Melee for once.
PHOTO GALLERIES
THE FLATLINERS
GOB
THE FLATLINERS SETLIST:
Hang My Head
Between Our Teeth
Performative Hours
Resuscitation of the Year
Bury Me
Count Your Bruises
Caskets Full
Indoors
Daggers
Human Party Trick
Shithawks
It'll Hurt
This Respirator
Sew My Mouth Shut
Heirloom
Monumental
Rat King
Under a Dying Sun
Eulogy
Relive The Flatliners set with the playlist below:
Words / Photography by: Steve St. Jean