Live Review: Abbe May, Usurper Of Modern Medicine, Medicine Hat

Opening with an easygoing bluesy/rocky style, Medicine Hat struggled to find their comfort zone. Singer/guitarist passed off two guitars with the first few songs before finally picking up his semi-hollow body and having a win. The three-piece had a ball of a time and even cracked a few jokes throughout.

Thunderous and probably more loud than legal, Usurper Of Modern Medicine blasted beautiful, bright synth leads and rapid drum rhythms around the room. Their frontman, Steven Aaron Hughes, seemed to be playing the role of three, contributing vocal, bass and solo parts. Synth/signal processor controller, Cameron George, had samples contributing to the massive dynamic of their performance. Although the sound was fantastic, the atmosphere was fantastic and the band was fantastic, there was just one consistent problem throughout; the crowd was not cooperating with the then disappointed musicians. They continued on albeit unperturbed by the audience's lack of enthusiasm, powering through their set list one after the other. Hughes requested people get up front one last time before playing their new single; however, I was the only person who showed them some justice and a chuffed Hughes shot a high-five my way, making his night.

Exploring a new style within herself after releasing her second album, Kiss My Apocalypse, Abbe May took to the stepped stage ultimately drawing the Odd Fellow crowd to the front with something of a gravitational force. Her quirky style and explosive vocal possessed May fans as they danced rigorously to her 'doom pop' riffs and hooky chorus lines. Occasionally breaking out the Gibson Reverse Firebird, May seemed to stick to her guns on vocals leaving the main guitar work to a shy and reserved but talented sidekick. She whipped out popular songs from her repertoire including Kiss My Apocalypse, Karmageddon and T.R.O.U.B.L.E. The synth/signal processing guru to the right of May seemed to have a fairly taxing role as he played synth parts, leads and rhythms, bass lines and triggered samples yet without even breaking a sweat. May ran short on time but performed hits Pony and Perth Girls on request, topping off the night all smiles. May returns the following Thursday to perform again.