The Rejecters

I’ve never been to a serious, high-quality surf-rock show before. You know, the type that was super popular in the 60s. I mean, with reason, because I wasn’t even close to being alive in that era… but you would think that more bands would stick to the roots and bring us back in time with some serious retro jams. Well, albeit this was their last show (ever),The Madafakaz did exactly that with their ridiculously high-energy packed set at Casa a few Fridays ago. SO GOOD.

The night started off with crazy openers The Rejecters, who were, in compliment to The Madafakaz’ old-style groove, working with some old, raw punk-rock vibes. Interesting enough, there was not one, but two guys sharing the role of lead-man; with vocals, bass, and guitar playing (they’d switch instruments and vocal tasks between themselves every-so-often), as well as an awesome chick taking care of the synth sounds, and a solid drummer to seal the band’s old-soul deal.

It’s also the lead boys of this raucousy four-piece, who would fearlessly and relentlessly interact with the at-first hesitant and somewhat frigid crowd; making jokes about Snoop Dog’s new alias (having been Snoop Lion), and then twisting one of his older beats into a rockin’ cover- all of which eased things out and created a friendly environment for everyone throughout their amusing set. Check out their new song “Hardline”, here, if you didn’t get the chance to hear it live like we did.

The Madafakaz have been around for years now, and have played many shows, meaning they’d pretty much honed the skills of making their fans dance their pants (or shirts) off. This being the first time I attend one of their shows, I had no idea what to expect… Until I saw them stuffing their head into these pink and black striped stockings, paired up with the fact that this was going to be their last show ever; that’s when I knew this was going to be a ridiculous (-ly good) set.

The excitement in the crowd had built up to be almost tangible. Finally, the Russian-incorporating surf-rock four-piece sprang into action; climbing over their amps and dancing around the stage like it was nobody’s business- and you’d quickly notice the crowd doing the same. A mosh pit of loving supporters had formed and they were rolling on the floor, climbing the stage, and showing the most massive amounts of genuine love and enjoyment I have ever seen a sardined group of people demonstrate.

If you still haven’t gone over to their Bandcamp page, I’m linking you right now (click here) and obliging you to listen to the goodness, since you’ve missed out on any chance of ever seeing them live again.

On their website, the band states that their musical project was based on four simple rules:

“Do whatever you do, as long as you make ‘em dance.

Do what your gonna do, but baby do it with attitude.

Create what you always wanted to see live.

Whatever you decide to do, it has to come from a singular style.”

If anyone came up to me and told me that there was a time when The Madafakaz faltered in doing this, I’d call them a big fat liar, pinch their noses and tickle them ’til they pass out.
- The Main MTL