Talent joins Billy Talent onstage

Below Billy Talent at the punk rockers concert next Thursday’s will be a duo of headlining acts themselves.

The Jan. 18 concert at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre also features emo rockers Moneen and Rise Against, as well as anti-establishment rockers Anti-Flag.

Moneen, which hails from Brampton, Ont. started up back in 1999. Featuring bassist Erik Hughes, guitarist/lead vocalist Kenny Bridges, guitarist Chris “Hippy” Hughes and drummer Peter Krpan, the quartet released its first two albums – Smaller Chairs for the Early 1900s (2000) and The Theory of Harmonial Value (2001) – on Smallman Records.

The band then signed with major underground punk outfit Vagrant Records for 2003’s Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? Momeen has toured extensively with fellow Canadian emo band alexisonfire and has subsequently releasing The Switcheroo Series: Burning Down The Pine Room in 2005, a split EP which included new tracks from both the bands and each band covering tracks from the other.

Moneen’s latest album, The Red Tree, was released on April 11, 2006. A yet-to be-released documentary film outlines the progress of creating the album.

Known for his wild head of hair, Bridges recently chopped off his locks – much to the dismay of some hardcore followers of the band. Late last year Moneen was also named one of three bands of the year by Canadian indie music magazine The Magazine.

Also on the bill with Moneen, Billy Talent and Anti-Flag is Rise Against, a hardcore emo from Chicago. Band members Tim McIlrath on lead vocals and guitar, Chris Chasse on guitar, Joe Principe on bass and Brandon Barnes on drums have been together since 1999 and released six albums. Their latest effort is last year’s The Sufferer and The Witness, which has received rave reviews.

Rise Against are also known for a left-wing political stance and McIlrath frequently lists on the band’s website other notable works that have influenced Rise Against. These include Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me, Michael Moore’s website and the Canadian documentary film The Corporation.

Rise Against is also known for its charity work with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as all four are strict vegetarians. “Ready to Fall,” the latest single off The Sufferer and The Witness, features a anti-animal cruelty theme. The band has also shared the stage with such prominent rockers as Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and My Chemical Romance.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for Thursday’s show at Save-On-Foods Memoriual Centre with the show itself scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets may still be available at the door.

patrickb@vicnews.com

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