...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead and Canola @ the Point, 10/04/00

This was a night of new and fantastic discovery. A gig on a monday night was a rarity, but this one was one to keep in the memory and tell the grandchildren. Canola promised all new material, while ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead just promised something strange, just because of the name.

Josh warned us that Canola weren't going to be that good tonight, because they were playing new material. He shouldn't have worried, because the new material is just as good as the old one. Tonight he seemed to be like a light spring, jumping about swirling around on the stage, while Siobhan joined in with backing vocals. Their set also included the political message of the night, Josh ranting on about the decriminalisation of cannabis, only to be faced by a crowd stood in stony silence. Their music received a much better reception. The Point is not a place to be political in.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead tried nothing like that. They hardly spoke at all. In fact the only gaps there were in the set was due to the singer and the drummer swapping instruments. It was probably wise letting the music speak for itself, because visually they aren't the most intersting of bands. They all had the same bowl haircuts, and with their dark short hair, looked almost like clones of each other. Musically they were quite amazing, in an experimental sort of way. There was very little singing, but more like a jam session, where one song melted into another, if you could call them songs. The first drummer (later singer) provided the most amusement of the night. He danced around on stage, swinging his guitar onstage (just like Josh did before), secretly it looked liked he wanted to be in a boyband. In the end he even sprayed cans of beer into the audience. Unfortunately they didn't do what so many reviews had said they did, trash their instruments. Maybe all this touring has made them more in control of themselves. At the end of the set, the band left the stage, all except one member who stayed there maintaining the feedback, until the lights came on. It was that sort of a night.