Point of view started the night off by rocking the eager crowd gathered for Bar 32’s weekly Shakedown indie dance night. Their humble appearance and friendly nature deceived me. Since never having heard of the band, I assumed they would fall under the “Indie” status and although they started most songs with a slow melodic intro, much to my surprise, they rose to the occasion and brought out a strong rock performance which got the crowd moving.

An audience, of all ages, swayed to the soothing vocals and tranquil rifts of Point of View’s harmonic rock sounds only to bust out into solid head banging as the chorus struck hard with heavy drums and strong guitar to back it up.

The true hardcore lovers emerged from the depths of the room to get their hearts pumped through the floor as Spoil broke into some serious metal, mixed with a dash of hardcore. This stealthy performance was by far the peak of the evening. Even when there were only instrumentals, the music was still captivating and impressive. Confidence flying high was then delivered through the consistent vocals and bad ass tunes. I have to give props to the sound guy, for such a small venue, the sound quality was second to none. I did see a few ear plugs, but even with sensitive hearing, I enjoyed the whole show.

There’s nothing I like more than good ol’ crowd interaction, and with all three bands giving out high fives and instigating communal head bang sessions, the crowd just loved to be loved as did the bands.

Finally, Escape Syndrome, with an obviously solid fan base, performed a high quality rock show, with plenty of vocal versatility and guitar rifts that reminded me of a cross between Grinspoon and Incubus. Before Escape Syndrome started, I was outside sharing some musical insight with some fans. They had described them as “a little like Linkin Park, but not as soft.” When I got the chance to see them perform, I agreed on one level, but on another, the vocals were in fact just as soft as Linkin Park, if not softer for the most part. The band showed so much enthusiasm, they had obviously performed a number of times. Entertainment is definitely their calling. Toward the end of the bands set they had mentioned their new Daydream EP was on the way, which seemed to get the (somewhat younger) crowd very excited.

As the bands finished up, the stereo was pumped up, the Shakedown DJ’s hit the decks and everyone seemed to scatter into the mist (there was a smoke machine on the whole time). There were some heading straight for the bar, others plonking themselves onto the comfy couches after a night of intense head movements, but the night was still young for most. Some classic Creedence Clear Water Revival came roaring through the speakers and this sparked the next chapter of a long night ahead.

When I made my way out of Bar 32, away from the madding crowd, I thought about how cool small gigs can be. Sometimes they are even better than huge concerts at the Entertainment Centre. The intimacy can make such a difference.