The Heavy Hands

Hey remember when you were young and your parents had their friends over with the long hair and trucker hats (before they were worn by ironic hipsters), and after mom sent you to bed so she and dad could smoke pot (back when pot didn't make you crazy) and you fell asleep listening to those bands that played in big arenas on nights when you were probably conceived? You woke up and sifted through the empty cans of PBR, past the guy in the tight jeans and moustache passed out on your parents' couch so you could get some Shreddies, and you were all 'oh my gawd, my parents are so lame'...remember that? Well guess what? Your parents were about as cool as they come and in the end it was safe to say they knew a thing or two about rock n' roll and good company. Well the boys from Montreal's The Heavy Hands sure learned a thing or two from their folks. When not designing mad custom screen prints at their East Island printing outfit for local bands in order to pay the fines for noise violations, these guys are bringing the good old days of big harmonies, big sound, and oh yeah...guitar solos. Remember those? This band could easily have been called 'Blood and Babes' because that's basically what you see when you see them play live.

We recently hung out with the boys at their practice space on de gaspe. They are, in order of height, Leif Anderson, Colt Cousins, Mark Safr and Jarrod Atkinson and they've mostly known each other forever, having played in numerous bands, both here and throughout Canada.

The Heavy Hands came together about a year ago when, during a night of wild party magic, a country cousin slammed back a beer through a rotting deer skull. The Heavy Hands were born and their references to old school honky-tonk rock and roll have been
roaring ever since. The Heavy Hands roll hard, playing shows and keeping down day jobs to fund both their decrepit lifestyle and the numerous baby mamas that they've somehow accumulated. You can find The Heavy Hands dodging fights at beer-n-sweat-soaked shows, and getting the crowd really rowdy wherever they go.
- Spin Earth.com (spin magazine)

May 29, 2010 in Show Reviews
To all you die hard rock n roll fans, the evolution of a rock show is something you ought to know. It all starts off with a group of musicians, usually in torn jeans with black t-shirts (if any shirt at all), some killer riffs and drums, and raspy vocals. Next, the venue has to be filled with beer, fans, and of course, some thongs hanging around. Well, that’s exactly what we got Thursday night at Divan Orange, with performances by the 514’s very own The Heavy Hands and Dead Messenger.

The night started off a little slow, with most of the crowd hanging in back of the orange hued Divan Orange, doing their own thing, while sipping away at their Molson lights and St Ambroise ales. When The Heavy Hands first hit the stage about an hour and a half later than scheduled (it wouldn’t be a real rock show if it started on time, right?), you could see the instant migration of people coming closer and closer to the stage, as if the band was luring their pray in for battle. Now, being able to lure in a crowd, no matter how big or small, is a very fundamental sign that these rabble-rousers know how to put on a performance. These boys are definitely your straight up R n R band, with grungy songs about cousins, prostitutes and mardi gras, complete with electrifying guitar solos, what more could you really ask for from a rock band? Not to mention they were promoting a thong exchange – if you give them yours, they’ll give you one of theirs – true rocker etiquette. Before you knew it, the now mobile and tipsy crowd got totally into the songs being showcased. I was just waiting for them to break out into Spiderbait’s version of Black Betty, but alas, their tunes were just as hardcore, and left the crowd head banging.

After a pause filled with attempts of flinging one of The Heavy Hand’s thongs onto the ceiling fan (which failed miserably after a number of attempts), the main act of the night was up. Montreal’s own Dead Messenger hit the stage, and almost instantaneously people were on their feet, shaking their booties, flinging their arms, and just getting on down to the tunes being showcased. What better way to start off the swing of summer than with this Montreal foursome putting out tunes with 70s influence mixed with old fashioned carefree rock n roll? With a broken guitar string by the time they finished off their first song “Let Me Go Home”, these psychedelic rockers spent the rest of the night spewing out songs from their latest album, Love Is The Only Weapon. They stuck to the best of the album, playing the catchy “Dog In My Pocket”, and “Nothing will Happen”. These guys have clearly marked the grounds for stirring up some roudy, yet trippy, summer tunes.

The night was spent dancing and head banging away, filled with sweat, beer, solid tunes, and, of course, thongs. By the by, an all round rocking, fun filled show. – Sarah Touyz - Meet You At The Show