SPILL LIVE REVIEW: UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS @ PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
@ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
September 17th, 2015

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats descended on Toronto for their second tour of duty on September 17 to an eager mixed crowd of metal heads, stoners and hippies. This was in contrast to last year’s Lee’s Palace crowd, which consisted purely of metal heads. Clearly Uncle Acid has reached a larger audience since their first North American tour in 2014 and with the recent release of The Night Creeper.

Setting the stage for Uncle Acid was a fantastic band out of Philadelphia called Ruby the Hatchet, a female-fronted doom metal band who clearly impressed the 500 or so concertgoers. I was lucky enough to pick up one of their records and can comfortably say I’m a now a big fan.

When Uncle Acid hit the stage, the first thing fans noticed was this tour’s upgraded stage setup; it was remarkably better than last year’s Toronto show when they played in the dark. The biggest improvement was the stage lighting; we could actually see the band this time. For The Night Creeper tour, the set consists of lampposts and bricks creating somewhat of a downtown London England aesthetic.

Musically, Uncle Acid was as tight as ever, crushing all their songs with surgical flawlessness. Surprisingly, they didn’t play their new album from front to back but instead played songs from all their releases. Ripping through tunes such as “Waiting For Blood,” “The Night Creeper,” “Poison Apple,” “Cut You Down,” and even “Runaway Girl,” they surely gave the crowd their money’s worth. Uncle Acid saved the best for last when they came back for their encore and blew the joint up with a smokin’ rendition of their latest big single “Melody Lane,” throwing the crowd into an inebriated frenzy and ending the night off right.

As the North American tour chugs through Canada and the U.S., Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats will keep building momentum and picking up more fans worldwide. I can’t wait to see what 2016 has to offer.

– Andre Skinner (Twitter @andreskinner)

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