The aptly named Monster Truck crushed it at Average Joes, Jan. 28 for a good sized, devil’s horns 
throwing, headbanging crowd.
The
hirsute Hamilton based rockers brought back the spirit of the ’70s,
with a big, massive, loud, powerful guitar riffs, bone shaking bass and
Steve Kieley’s massive drum sound that shook the foundations of the
entire building. I’m so thankful I remembered ear plugs for this one.
But a band like Monster Truck pretty much demands to be played and heard
at top volume.
Bassist Jon Harvey sang most of the throat shredding
lead vocals, as he put one foot up on a plastic gig box set at his feet
and leaned into his microphone, thumping and pounding at his bass which
was front and centre of the Monster Truck’s, well ‘monstrous’ sound.
Guitarist Jeremy Widerman writhed and wove all over the stage squeezing the life out of a pair of Gibson SGs when he wasn’t singing lead vocals on a couple of songs.
He sipped a Pilsner as he asked if any of the
people in the audience were at their show opening for the Deaner’s band
Nightseeker a few years back.
Brandon Bliss was lost in the shadows
and in the massive sound as he pounded at a vintage Hammond XK3c organ,
complete with a rotating Leslie speaker cabinet behind him, which was
plugged into a Marshall amp right behind him.
You couldn’t hear much
of him from anywhere in the room as he was pretty much completely
drowned out, however at times he could be heard harmonizing with some of
Widerman’s bluesy guitar solos.
They opened with their latest hit
“The Lion” off their new CD “Furiosity ” and played pretty much all of
their CD and previous EPs.
There were a lot of highlights including a
couple slower, bluesy numbers including “For the Sun” which Widerman
described as a “a blues song about how winter sucks and how we want
summer to come,” which seemed especially apt as snow was forecasted for
the next day.
A more classic rock influenced number from “Furiosity,” “Undercover Love” was another of my favourites.
They
finished their set around 10:40 p.m., but came back for an encore
after extended applause.
They played a couple of older songs and ended
just before 11 p.m. with “Old Train,” which had the audience shouting
along with the whoa oh oh oh chorus.
