Regulations - End Hits, Ottawa, 30/10/2006

  by Andrew Carver

published: 9 / 11 / 2006

intro

In the basement of Ottawa record store End Hits Andrew Carver watches Scandinavian punks the Regulations and local band the Sweet Janes play exuberant sets

Punk’s not dead! It’s just moved to Sweden - or so one might assume after witnessing a show by Regulations. The Scandinavian quarter recently signed to Minneapolis’s Havoc Records (that’s globalization for you ...) and following gushing interviews in noted punk zine ‘Razorcake’ have left their Umea base to cross the globe. Thus, on the night before Halloween, the basement of punk rock/indie record store End Hits was transformed from a cramped and battered storeroom to a cramped and battered venue. The first band of the night was local act the Sweet Janes. The Janes take their inspiration from groups like the New York Dolls and the Stooges, and other punk-before-punk bands. Lead singer Grady Finch has been described by one bandmate as a living cartoon character, and he certainly played the part, squealing “This is rock’n’rooooooooll!!!” before hurling his diminutive form onto the floor for some intense writhing. After several microphone-stand and tambourine-abusing numbers, the band finished things off with a rambunctious rendition of 'Long Tall Sally'. The audience dutifully filed out of the basement to cruise the record bins upstairs, then hurtled downstairs a few minutes later as Regulations crunched into the first chords of their set. Singer Otto has considerable presence; his sarcastic laugh is a dead ringer for Johnny Rotten’s and his military-style jacket reflected an appreciation for 1970's punk rock, while the band is inspired by the 1980's hardcore scene of Washington D.C. For the most part they sing in English. The lyrics were brief and pointed; cynical putdowns of the police and the clueless public par for the course. The band’s ferocious attack would normally have inspired moshing from the audience, but with little space to move around they mostly had to confide themselves to appreciative applause. Having peeled away two decades of punk and a few layers of paint from End Hits’ basement, the band ripped through a one-song encore for the satisfied crowd.

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