Pieces of You

Winnipeg is starting to develop a fairly solid pop punk/beard punk/orgcore (whatever you want to call it) scene. Every once in a while the bands brave the shitty highway for a couple hundred kilometres and play Brandon. This doesn't happen often (and when it does I usually don't hear about the show until it's too late). This past January I saw a poster that billed both Dangercat and Elder Abuse (2 bands that in my opinion slay). I didn't recognize any of the other bands on the bill but just seeing those 2 names on the poster made me want to brave the frigid early January temperatures (it ended up being around -30°C that night). I convinced a few other people to come with me and made sure that I arrived reasonably early so that I didn't miss any of the Winnipeg bands. The first 2 bands happened, didn't leave much of an impression on me. Next up was a band that goes by the name of Mobina Galore. Mobina Galore consists of 2 people; 1 plays guitar and sings lead while the other plays drums and sings backup voc's. The lead singer was wearing a Brody Dalle shirt, that was the extent that I knew of this band. As soon as the first note hit I was floored. Punk rock that takes a vocal cue or 2 from the Distillers. The sound coming from the stage was beautiful, there was so much raw energy emanating from them that I wouldn't have been surprised if the windows blew out and the walls melted. The vocal delivery had more emotion in 1 word than most bands have in a full set. The stage presence seemed timid but it was not at all off-putting. Mobina Galore made 1 very enthused fan that night. I grabbed a t-shirt and their debut cd (Cities Away) after the show (they threw in their demo for free which was rad). A quick look at the liner notes revealed that there was a substantial amount of extra instrumentation recorded for Cities Away. I couldn't wait to hear what Mobina Galore sounded like when recorded. The next day I threw the cd on and soaked in the songs. The skeleton of the songs remained the same with quite a few layers added through production. The end result gives the songs a fuller more polished sound which in my opinion lost some of the raw energy that you get from their live performance, that's however a very minor gripe. The experience is slightly different however the songs are amazing whether they're live or recorded. I'm personally partial to their live sound and can't wait to see them again. The demo was more bare bones however the singer didn't seem to have fully found her voice yet. I'd like to hear the sound of their next release fall somewhere between the demo and Cities Away but that's just my own dickhead opinion. This should go without saying but check out Mobina Galore. Pieces of You is one of the best songs that I've heard in a long time.

I've mentioned in earlier blogs that Doritos rarely misfires. My favorite flavour of Doritos, and one of my favourite chips, is Sweet Chili Heat. From the very first bite they have held a spot in my top 5 chips of all time. They have the perfect level of heat and satisfy the sweet tooth without turning into candy. About 6 or 7 years ago my roommate at the time, Mike, saw that I was unpacking a bag of Sweet Chili Heat from my groceries and filled me in on one of the greatest chip secrets of all time. A girl he knew had recently unintentionally put a bag of Doritos into the freezer, when she realized what she'd done she rolled with the punches and ate them 'frozen', she told Mike that the Doritos were actually pretty good that way. Upon hearing this tip I shoved my newly purchased bag of Sweet Chili Heat into the freezer post-haste. When I removed the bag from the freezer and cracked them open I realized that this girl (who I will never meet and don't know the name of) stumbled onto the greatest accidental discovery since penicillin. Freezeritos! There is something about the cold that accentuates the sweet chili flavour covering the Doritos. Sweet Chili Heat, Intense Pickle, Ketchup, Roulette..the freezer brings out the flavour in the most magical way no matter what kind they are. I have been spreading the gospel of Freezeritos ever since I became enlightened and recommend that everyone should try them. If you have a favourite flavour of Doritos, or any other corn chip, give the freezer a try, it doesn't change skeleton of the chips however it does provide you with a slightly different experience.

Just a warning; I tried this once with Kettle Cooked Salt and Vinegar potato chips, I wasn't a fan.

Stay hydrated,
Marc

PS Don't let my focus on Mobina Galore detract from the other 2 fantastic bands that I mentioned Dangercat and Elder Abuse