TRANSISTOR 66 WEEKENDER w/ Miesha & the Spanks, This Hisses, Les Sexy, and Microdot
By Shanell Dupras
After ten years of providing Winnipeg with rock n’ roll, rockabilly, folk, and whatever other genres Art MacIntyre found exciting, it was time to celebrate! I had the pleasure of attending two out of the three shows from that weekend (although missing Friday was slightly devastating), and was impressed and disappointed all at the same time. What was disappointing was not the actual performances. No, they were all incredible in their own ways! What was disappointing was the turn out. After how much these concerts were promoted, I expected more than 30 people to show up.
This didn’t seem to get in anyone’s way though, because the bands rocked as if it was a full house. Microdot was the first band up on Saturday night, and brought attendees some kickass simple, yet catchy, punk riffs that kept toes tapping through their entire set. After what seemed like forever for the next set up, Les Sexy was on stage, ready to bring la culture Française to the Transistor 66 family. The singer, dressed in a kilt and army boots, moved around the stage shouting out French songs that many couldn’t understand, but were still moving to the catchy melodies. Les Sexy introduced many new songs, like an English track called “Derby Girls,” but still included older favourites, like “Malice.”
This Hisses was one of the highlights of the night; all of us were in awe of the guitarist’s skills (it was his birthday that night too), hypnotized by the singer’s incredible vocal cords, and couldn’t help but watch the drummer as he played so rough that his cymbals and snare were falling over. He even had to play with one stick while the other flew out of his hand! This Hisses performed many of the songs from Surf Noir, including the favourites “Lycanthrope” and “Swagger,” and my personal favourite, “Snakewine.”
Last but not least, Miesha and the Spanks took the stage. Miesha was rocking a Thunderbird guitar that made my friends melt a little. Considering the fact that this band is only a duo, they put on a performance as powerful as a band of four, or more! Even a few difficulties, like broken guitar strings, didn’t stop them from getting the 30 something person crowd moving. Emphasis was put on their more recent album, Gods of Love, with tracks like “Across the Country,” “She Wolf,” and “Leather Jacket” getting the crowds feet tapping. The song that got the most attention was the finale (which happens to be one of my favourites) “Night Danger,” from their EP with Sphinxs.
All I have to say after this weekend is a huge Happy Fucking Birthday to Transistor 66, keep doin’ what you’re doin’, because Winnipeg needs you.