Live review: Dayglo Abortions and more at The Back Stage

Windsor, ON – 08 Jun 2024

I went deep undercover to observe the twisted world of Canadian punk.

The older I get, the more willing I am to travel to see my favorite bands. Even if it means leaving the country! I might be less than three hours from the Canadian border, but still. In the post 9/11, post Covid world, even traveling by car to Canada feels slightly exotic. The profane Canucks who call themselves Dayglo Abortions are supposed to be doing a major US tour later this year, but the shows closest to me (Detroit and Chicago) were going to fall mid week. In the meantime they were doing an extensive tour of Ontario, and they just happened to be playing across the river from Detroit on a Saturday night. 

Crossing the border as a middle aged couple in an SUV proved to be relatively painless. (As opposed to doing it as a youngster with his loser friends in some rusty shitbox for the purpose of underage drinking and hitting strip clubs.) We decided to make a weekend of it, and also visited Shakespear loving Stratford. We even dressed up and joined polite society for a musical (La Cage aux Folles) on Friday night. I really tried to make it an enjoyable trip for my wife, who doesn’t necessarily share my love for obscure Canadian punk bands. 

The show was at a place called The Back Stage at Player’s Sports Club in beautiful Windsor. I was thinking it was a sports bar (or sports book) with a venue in the back. As we approached, it became clear that it was nothing more than a ratty dive bar in a residential neighborhood. This didn’t phase us in the slightest. I love a dive bar. I’ll take a dive bar over a normal bar any day. (But not one of those newly built fake hipster dive bars!) The venue normally hosts Korn and Nirvana tribute acts, and it showed. The steroid loving sound man did not seem impressed with the punk audience. It felt openly hostile that he played bad radio rock and metal between bands.

It actually reminded me of the disorganized punk shows of my youth. We were told in advance that the show was sold out, (150 capacity), but no one ever asked to see our tickets. No IDs were checked. We took our time eating dinner nearby, and I was thinking we’d miss the first two of five bands. (The other three were touring.) We ended up catching most of the second band, Disco Assault, who I enjoyed quite a bit. They were local and the floor was packed and enthusiastic for their set. 

It seemed to take a long time between bands, and the night was dragging on when Baited finally hit the stage. I enjoyed these youngsters too. The Prince Albert Island quintet played a very discordant brand of punk and hardcore. Their aggression came through loud and clear. They even covered “Cyco Vision”, from Suicidal Tendencies‘ underrated 1999 album Freedumb. Blackout! from Toronto was direct support. These scene vets just dropped their self-titled debut EP and played a catchy blend of punk and metal. There was plenty of shredding in their 30 minutes of mayhem.

I had seen Dayglo Abortions one time before, opening for Negative Approach in Chicago. That was several years ago, and I always wanted to see them play a proper headlining set. It was 11:10 PM when they took the stage, but I didn’t care. I was ready to rock, north of the border style. Since 1979 Murray “The Cretin” Acton (guitar/vocals) has been the band’s creative force, and it doesn’t seem like he’s lost a step. He led the trio through a set that covered their entire four and a half decade career. 

Songs were paired together when it made sense. “Wake Up America” was followed by “Proud to be a Canadian”. “I’m My Own God” led to “Religious Bumfucks”. Decades were spanned when “I Love My Mom” (2016) preceded “I Killed Mommy” (1981). The Cretin had an easy rapport with the crowd, which gave things a laid back vibe despite the intensity of the music and the pit. It was good people watching. The fans were similar to the ones a couple miles away in the Motor City, but with more mustaches and sensible shoes. My personal highlights included “Die Sinner Die”, “Ronald McRaygun” and of course, “Two Dogs Fucking”. 

The only bummer was the midnight curfew. We were reminded of how badly organized this thing was when DGA were cut off prematurely. They managed to convince the soundman to let them do one more, and rewarded us with a nice long version of “Drugged and Driving”. They seemed genuinely disappointed to leave the audience begging for more. Dayglo Abortions setlist: “Your Facebook Can Kiss My Assbook”, “Sick of the Lies”, “Stupid Songs”, “Arg Fuck Kill”, “Die Sinner Die”, “White People”, “Kill Kill KIll”, “God is Love”, “Ronald McRaygun”, “Wake Up America”, “Proud to be a Canadian”, “Two Dogs Fucking”, “My Girl”, “Dogfarts”, “I Love My Mom”, “I Shot Mommy”, “I’m My Own God”, “Religious Bumfucks”, “Inside My Head”, “I Used to be in Love”, “Cockroaches”, “Drugged and Driving”. 

Confessions of a merch whore: I already had the Dayglo Abortions records they were selling. I tried to buy a T-shirt, which I rarely do, but couldn’t find the right size/color combo. I settled for a screen printed patch. Dayglo drummer Blind Marc gave me a copy of his Covid inspired solo punk/comedy album Isolated Earthlings. I also grabbed the Disco Assault 7”, and the Blackout! 12” EP. I hit it off with one of the guitar players from Blackout!, and he threw in a copy of a 10”. (Maximum RNR) from his previous band. 

A little shameless self promotion: If you want more Dayglo Abortions, and you should, check out Punk Till I Die Podcast #108 with The Cretin and #207 with Bind Marc.