Bursting out of the Vancouver punk scene in 2007, The Dreadnoughts quickly gained an enthusiastic following with their fiery and energetic stage show. Although The Dreadnoughts fly under the misleading banner of “folk punk,” that term does not begin to describe the mayhem they visit upon audiences at every show.
The fearlessness of guitarist/singer Nicholas Smith is matched only by violinist and accordionist Seamus O’ Flanahan, whose penchant for throwing himself into the crowd to do battle with unruly audience members can only be described as suicidal.
Not to outdone by the antics of his crazed bandmates, drummer Marco Bieri routinely crowd surfs with his snare drum, and, as wild as the musicians are, they rarely miss a beat. More live theatre than folk punk, The Dreadnoughts take performances to levels seldom seen outside of professional wrestling, and bassist Squid Vicious is large enough to protect his ferocious but smaller fellow musicians should they bite off more than they can chew.
Squid is not without his own quirks, and on a lengthy tour of Europe, he wore the same shirt for so many consecutive shows that his bandmates had to steal the stinking garment from him and bury it. The apple cider they guzzled by the gallon was not strong enough to make the stench tolerable.
In 2011, after three fine albums and two boisterous EPS, The Dreadnoughts took an extended hiatus that ended in early 2012 when they played three dates in Eastern Canada. The band also reappeared in October for a show in Vancouver, and although the future of this highly entertaining and much ballyhooed act is uncertain, the possibility that they will rise again seems very likely. A band of this calibre and showmanship cannot quit yet simply because they still have too much gas in the tank. The apple cider is calling.
-Chris Walter
Chris Walter is an unrepentant degenerate who no longer fuels his writing with prodigious amounts of liquor and drugs. Check out his many obnoxious and offensive books at www.punkbooks.com
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