MTelus was sold out, an impressive feat for the President to pack his rally despite the foreigners from AC/DC invading our city on this night.
If you didn’t know what Nashville’s Showing Teeth are about, it took about three seconds for you to find out. They came out swinging, with Mrs. Teeth screaming at the top of her lungs over a killer drum intro to Bad Exchanges. Both the band and singer are called Showing Teeth, so we’ll call her Mrs. Teeth to avoid confusion.
On the third track, Shallow Grave, she displayed a good mix of stunning cleans and harsh vocals. We had to let Mrs. Teeth know that in Canada we already have a scream queen. Her name is Courtney LaPlante, but damn, we have written down your info if that doesn’t work out.
I don’t know how old she is, but she looks like a kid, definitely too young to sound this mature after having released only one EP. Her vocals on Paradigm sounded like she might also be coming for St. Céline’s throne.
I’ve got to give the whole band props. The guitarist lived up to the old adage: “If the guitarist is wearing glasses, has clean-cut short hair and a shirt pocket, you’re about to die in that pit.”
Look, if you’re a brand-new opener and I’ve written this much about you, it’s because you kicked ass, and I think you’ll be headlining MTelus soon enough.
Throughout the set, there was a symbol looming over the stage, a double-barred cross. A symbol quite familiar to President fans. As it lit up, the crowd roared as we heard the famous Ike for President jingle. The President himself took his place behind the lectern and opened his arms to the adoring crowd. It was time for this rally’s keynote speaker.
His first point of address was Fearless, which got the whole crowd moving and pumping their fists while chanting the chorus. The opening leaned exclusively on the King of Terrors EP, with Rage drawing a huge pop. I expected a lot of their more electronic material to rely more on backing tracks, but instead, the songs were adapted to a more guitar-focused approach, and it sounded great.
The band does a great job of selling the cult-like aspects of their gimmick without actually getting creepy or cheesy about it. Like if Jared Leto didn’t actually believe he was Jesus. The crowd buys into the charade because it’s fun.
The crowd sang every word from the new songs from Blood of Your Empire, despite it being only a week old. The reaction to the first notes of Dark Heaven confirmed my thought of, “How the hell wasn’t this the first single?” It’s a behemoth that’s even more impressive live.
A tender moment came with the introspective This Will Divide Us, where the President did a very unpresidential thing and went to the back of the drum stage. This moment of humility really broke the illusion that he’s a politician.
Okay, let me just say that if you’re gonna cover the Deftones live, you’d better bring your A game. If you’re gonna close your main set with Change (In the House of Flies), well, you’d better pretty much have wings. I’m happy to report they nailed it. But to the girl next to me who asked, “I don’t know this one. Is it on the new album?” You made me feel old. I’m sending you a therapist bill.
I found it odd that with this persona, the President didn’t address the crowd once outside of songs. Not a single spoken word. Before the encore, he stood at the pulpit as a prerecorded message, in a David Attenborough-type voice, thanked the crowd for the meteoric rise of the band. The President pointed to the crowd and bowed in deference but didn’t utter a word.
The voice said that the only way to end the evening was the way this experiment all started, with In the Name of the Father, a fitting way to end it indeed. The President gestured for the crowd to form a division to the left and the right. Then, with a scream, they clashed in the middle, which was the first “wall of civil war” I’d ever seen.
For a band that often gets reduced to an industry plant or “just a gimmick,” this, the beginning of their first North American headlining tour, proved they are for real and deserving of their success. All hail the President.
Review – Richard Brunette
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