the ataris show review
Written November 17, 2002

On a cold and wintery afternoon, hordes of punk rock enthusiasts descended upon the Phoenix in Toronto to see one of the more recognizable acts today, the Ataris. Unsurprisingly, I was one of these fans, having been suitably impressed with the band when they closed the Vans Warped Tour with a bang at the Skydome two years ago.

As I arrived at the venue, I noticed that shivering concertgoers adorned in band shirts, skate gear and hardcore belts were everywhere, the majority of them quickly scurrying into the somewhat diminutive front door of the Phoenix. After leaving our ride in an overpriced lot owned by the probably-satanic and much-hated Imperial Parking Corporation and selling an extra ticket to an unkempt and barely legible scalper for a lousy five bucks, we went inside ourselves.

Wrestling our way past a multitude of people in the cramped hallways, I was dismayed to learn that Rufio, one of the other acts on the tour, had already played. Unfortunately the band had unknowingly been slated to open the show at 4:30, and almost everyone I talked to mirrored my regret that they had performed so early. Judging by the large number of Rufio shirts floating around in the crowd, I assumed that they had made an admirable effort and vowed to see them another day.

Also on the bill were Autopilot Off and Sugarcult, both of which played impressive, if somewhat unmemorable, punk. Each band had a fair bit of crowd support and seemed to do their thing competently, but by this point I had resorted to drinking to console myself about missing Rufio. Perhaps under the influence, the only thing I can really remember about Sugarcult’s live performance is the guitar player who resembled a male version of Avril Lavigne, a member of Phoenix security who enthusiastically and vigorously tossed body surfers off the front of the stage, and a fantastic cover of the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” to close the set.

Finally, the Ataris came on stage to thundering applause. (for the Phoenix, at least) The familiar Bronx Tale sound clip about the etiquette of opening car doors signified that the first song would be fan favourite “Your Boyfriend Sucks”, and the band launched enthusiastically into their set. Sound quality was top notch and lead singer Kris Roe was in fine form, belting out his songs about relationship woes with a definite aura of power and presence.

The band’s stage banter was also entertaining, as the Santa Barbara natives commented on Canadian culture, unpleasant weather and their desire to have “awesome” Canadian-grown marijuana thrown on stage. At one point Kris hurled his guitar forcefully at the huge backdrop that advertised the band’s upcoming CD, So Long, Astoria, for no apparent reason. Hey, no worries, Kurt Cobain taught us all that destroying musical instruments is cool.

Bassist Mike Davenport went out of his way to wish second year Laurier student Nicky Casale a happy birthday, provoking an angry muttering from University of Toronto students who’s birthdays were all probably forgotten and discarded as unimportant by the band. Ataris Birthday War: Laurier: 1, U of T: 0.

After muscling through tried and true favourites from older albums and testing the water with some new material from So Long, Astoria, the Ataris made a few transparent efforts to leave the stage, but predictably returned to play a few more songs. Pulling a young fan on stage to play guitar for their final hurrah, the band treated those who waited out the encore to a killer rendition of their signature tune, “San Dimas High School Football Rules”.

As the crowds cleared out into the snowstorm and we fought the traffic to leave the convoluted streets of Toronto, two images remained locked in my mind. The first was the guitar-playing kid triumphantly standing in the middle of the abandoned stage, probably having the best day of his life because he got to play with his favourite band. The second was California native Kris Roe huddled against the unfamiliar elements and covered in a blanket of snow outside the venue, signing autographs and happily talking to a handful of enthusiastic fans despite the heinous weather. Regardless of whether you like punk or not, this is what makes music worthwhile. Kudos to the Ataris.

I wrote this before "Boys of Summer" came out. Just remember that. At one point the Ataris were cool. I don't think this review was ever printed either - I submitted it too late. Can't say I'm too disappointed in retrospect.