Live And In The Flesh
Headstones - December 28, 2013
Since breaking up in 2003, we never really expected to have the opportunity to catch the Headstones live in concert. But, as most bands do, the Headstones had announced their reunion in 2011 and were working steady on some new material. Releasing their sixth studio album Love + Fury early 2013, they were eager to get out and play some new songs for their fans. Having just wrapped up his latest acting endeavour on Flashpoint, Hugh Dillon was ready to get back out on the road with his long lost rock n roll brethren.
To help make their return even more special, they had announced a stop in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario at the K-Rock Center. We knew we couldn’t miss their first hometown show in well over a decade! We jumped on tickets as soon as they went on sale to help make sure that we had some of the best seats in the house. With just over 5000 seats within the small arena, we knew they would sell rather quickly. Our luck came through and we managed to score some seats just a few rows up from ice level to the right of the stage.
Having the quick drive to Kingston was nice during this time of year, when one would never know what to expect with the weather and road conditions. Luckily for us the weather was nice and the driving was a breeze. We made our way down the 401 to Kingston for a night out with the Headstones! The Headstones had decided to enlist another Kingston band to open up for them for the special hometown occasion, The Glorious Sons, an up-and-coming rock and roll band. Two of Kingston’s finest on one bill, you couldn’t ask for a better Saturday night during the holidays!
The Glorious Sons made their way out to the stage and had some pretty decent support out in their local crowd. You could tell that they were definitely feeling the hometown vibe and were putting on a show for some of their local friends and family. Experiencing a band in their hometown always makes it seem that much more intimate of a show. They played at least half of the tracks off of their debut Shapeless Art EP. The Glorious Sons wrapped their set up after about a half hour and cleared the stage of their gear before the Headstones crew started tuning up their instruments.
Not long after The Glorious Sons had left the stage, the Headstones made their way out to the cheers of their hometown fans. Right out of the gates they played one of their newer songs, Bin This Way for Years which had the crowd fired up in no time. As if that wasn’t enough to get us all riled up, the band broke into When Something Stands for Nothing and Tweeter and the Monkey Man next, two of their biggest classics. It seemed like Dillon had a bit of an issue with his microphone stand throughout the set though, as he continued to toss it aside expecting the roadies to tend to the problem. Considering how many times this went on throughout the show, we weren't sure whether it was just for show or if there really was something going on. Regardless, I couldn’t believe we were actually seeing these guys live, and in Kingston of all places!
The Headstones played one more new track before heading back to their Picture of Health and Smile & Wave albums for a few more classics. Cemetery, Losing Control, and Three Angels had everyone in the arena screaming for more from their hometown heroes. Another one of their classics, Cubically Contained, started to wind things down before Smile and Wave and Unsound rounded the twelve song setlist off. The sheer energy that the Headstones brought out to their hometown crowd was amazing. For my first show at the Kingston K-Rock Center, this certainly was a memorable one!