{"id":211,"date":"2022-04-10T06:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T06:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agoria.ca\/thebsideblog\/?p=211"},"modified":"2023-08-25T00:46:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T00:46:58","slug":"punks-not-dead-its-just-been-asleep-for-two-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agoria.ca\/thebsideblog\/index.php\/2022\/04\/10\/punks-not-dead-its-just-been-asleep-for-two-years\/","title":{"rendered":"PUNK’S NOT DEAD: IT’S JUST BEEN ASLEEP FOR TWO YEARS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the record, Toronto four-piece Bad Waitress is nothing short of a textbook punk band, and most definitely not<\/em> a girl band.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before showtime in February, Bad Waitress (BW) roars through soundcheck, and spirits are as high as their platform shoes as they get their first taste onstage in months. This is the band\u2019s first gig since the province was locked down in January, and the usual pre-show jitters are amplified by the growing sense that live music in Toronto may finally be making its long-overdue return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweaty, howling, with eyelids covered in glitter, the band makes their way to the upstairs bar where I am to chat with them before the show. Maybe it\u2019s the tattoos, bondagewear, and animal print, but there is an attention-stealing element to their group dynamic that gives a feeling of true, original artistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This four-piece of femme-punks is composed of bassist Nicole Cain (she\/her), lead guitarist Katelyn Molgard (they\/them), lead vocalist\/accompanying guitarist Kali-Ann Butala (she\/her), and drummer Moon (they\/them).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 8p.m., staff open the doors to Toronto\u2019s historic Monarch Tavern and a raucous crowd begins to trickle into the dimly lit bar; thrilled to seek shelter from the blizzard-like conditions outside and proceed to have their eardrums blown out inside. Their ages are greatly varied, but most are young, and the majority of them are punks; or at least dressing like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bad Waitress perform onstage at the Monarch Tavern in Toronto. (Jess Bertan\/The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s good to feel a little nervous, because if you don\u2019t then obviously you\u2019re too comfortable. We\u2019re definitely nervous, but we\u2019re excited, mainly looking forward to actually doing what we\u2019re supposed to be doing.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/small>Kali-Ann Butala, vocals\/guitar, 29, Libra<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The turnout is remarkable, especially during a snowstorm, but even more so considering the fact that the Toronto music scene is still reeling from numerous pandemic closures. Getting people back at concerts after a two-year period of limited social gatherings has proven to be difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The energy in the room is distinctly different from previous shows in the past year. For much of 2021, venues were forced to restrict their events to half capacity due to COVID; giving the impression that concerts were unsafe for public gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the band, around 75 per cent of Toronto\u2019s music venues and practice spaces were forced to permanently close over the past two years. The Canadian Live Music Association reported a 46 per cent decline in the live music industry\u2019s national revenue, and Ontario\u2019s music scene lost over $454 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bad Waitress bassist, Nicole Cain (Jess Bertan\/The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have live music if there\u2019s nowhere to practice. If there\u2019s nowhere for us to make noise, that\u2019s a huge issue,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/small>Nicole Cain, bass, 28, Sagittarius<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe verbiage they use, like \u2018essential workers\u2019, although true in an emergency, has been extremely destructive in how artists view themselves and their work,\u201d says lead guitarist for BW, Katelyn Molgard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closures had a catastrophic impact on the Toronto music scene and the local musicians who make their living off of it. Performing artists, like Bad Waitress, went out of work almost immediately after the pandemic began, but due to the sporadic nature of their work, most qualified for very few of the financial aid benefits made available to Ontario\u2019s unemployed workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get into the eligibility pool. That\u2019s often the most difficult part for people, especially if they aren\u2019t being represented by a label,\u201d says BW drummer Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrant funding needs to be made more accessible for people who don\u2019t necessarily have these connections, but who are just as talented, working just as hard and who deserve it just as much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a primary source of income for touring artists, the ability to put on a live show is essential. When Ontario locked down and concerts came to a screeching halt, bands scrambled to establish their online music presence so they could pay their bills while striving to keep art alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a musician, getting paid to play shows and then selling merch too is largely how we make money and support ourselves,\u201d says BW bassist Nicole Cain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any band money coming in. We can\u2019t just rent a van to tour, and we can\u2019t re-up our merch since we\u2019ve drained the bank account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Waitress demonstrates evocatively on stage at the Monarch that seeing a room full of faces is far more engaging than pouring over Spotify streaming analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Katelyn
Katelyn Molgard, lead guitarist of Bad Waitress. (Jess Bertan\/The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like, it\u2019s not even real. You dissociate so hard when you\u2019re buried in your phone all the f*cking time, and nothing is based in reality.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/small>Katelyn Molgard, lead guitar, 500 (or so) years old, Virgo<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all know the internet is just a place where people show others what they want them to see. There\u2019s just no soul in social media, cause everyone knows it\u2019s not real,\u201d says Molgard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re live in person, you get a better idea of who we actually f*cking are and that\u2019s really where Bad Waitress shines. Our identity lies in our personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being a city renowned for its flourishing arts and culture, over the past year, the local scene has been gentrified by affluent, trend-hopping musicians who\u2019ve profited off the pandemic to commercialize their art. The local scene has become, by definition, one-note.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody wants to sign you unless it seems like you already know that you\u2019re on the way to do it yourself, and the only way to do things yourself is by having the income,\u201d says Molgard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad Waitress feels that this is just a temporary rough patch and the city\u2019s talented, hard-working artists will prevail in the end to get the recognition they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just gonna be a phase that comes in and out once in a while in the Toronto music scene, like how that mumble rap came in for a bit!\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Moon, drums, 30, Capricorn<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"Crowd
The crowd moshes while Bad Waitress plays onstage at the Monarch Tavern. (Jess Bertan\/The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For many at tonight\u2019s show, it\u2019s the first time in months they\u2019ve voluntarily sardined themselves into a crowd; with tonight\u2019s being noticeably diverse. The cautious, nervous atmosphere that emerged due to COVID anxiety is replaced by an entirely new sentiment: curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Monarch, the general anticipation of a good show hangs in the air like a cloud of smoke. As the room fills and everyone clumps together at the foot of the stage, the environment takes on the familiar adrenaline-fueled ambiance of a true pre-pandemic rock show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you thought you came to see a girl band, prepare to be sorely mistaken. Bad Waitress is no \u2018girl band\u2019 by any means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re gonna go with the whole, \u2018women have to be quiet and sweet and demure, wash the dishes and suck your dick and go to bed\u2019 ideology, that wouldn\u2019t be any fun to watch on stage. But that\u2019s not who we are, because gender does not define us.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Nicole Cain, bass, 28, Sagittarius<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Punk music has a longstanding history of imposing gender-based stereotypes on women with guitars; due to their more fragile and docile nature, coupled with the fact that it\u2019s shameful for women to revel in sex appeal, it’s assumed that girls just don\u2019t belong together in a band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the 60\u2019s, men were allowed to run amuck, be stupid, wear dumb shit, be drunk idiots that trash hotel rooms and nobody questioned it. They thought it was rock n\u2019 roll,\u201d says Molgard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if a woman tried to do something like that it would be a front against society. People would think it\u2019s unladylike-, she\u2019d be f*cking institutionalized!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This musical double-standard has been disproven by countless talented all-female bands since punk music\u2019s conception in the mid 70\u2019s, yet traces of these misogynistic preconceptions still linger in the industry, especially in terms of who gets booked for shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be taking a gamble hiring someone female, non-binary, or mostly femme-presenting because of this outdated stereotype that females are busy thinking about other things rather than getting nitty-gritty and down with their gear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where a \u2018girl band\u2019 is tame and domesticated, the members of Bad Waitress tear up tonight\u2019s stage with the ferocity of a wild animal, and just as a reminder, half of the band aren\u2019t even girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they take to the stage, their sound swallows the audience, chews them up, and spits them out. The blood-curdling volume at which they shred their respective instruments sets every pair of ears ringing and sends everyone in the room into fits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bad
(Jess Bertan\/The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cA lot of artists take themselves way too seriously, which we definitely f*cking don\u2019t. That\u2019s our number one.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Katelyn Molgard, lead guitar, 500 (or so) years old, Virgo<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A shapeless, genderless mosh pit begins swarming at the foot of the stage. Bodies crash into each other, and if someone falls, a stranger appears with a free hand to help them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overcome by the tidal wave of human connection, I say, \u2018ah, what the hell\u2019 and jump in, because isn\u2019t this what it\u2019s all about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta start from the ground up, you have to change people\u2019s minds and change people\u2019s cynicism towards the arts.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Katelyn Molgard, lead guitar, 500 (or so) years old, Virgo<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Katelyn, Moon and Kali all met through the local Toronto music scene and by 2015 had formed a band under the name \u2018The Nude Dogs.\u2019 Eventually, they reached out to Nicole on Facebook while searching for a bass player and by 2018, Bad Waitress was fully formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band credits their formation to the welcoming inclusivity of the local scene, and this is why everything must be done to protect it from dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s polarizing social climate is marked with divisive animosity that has left the majority of people feeling detached and disconnected from one another. The antidote lies in the far-reaching Toronto arts scene; which, in the past, has consistently managed to bring the entire city together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe need to rescue these venues and these practice spaces to make sure there\u2019s still places for us to exist,\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Nicole Cain, bass, 28, Sagittarius<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe arts are always the first thing to go when things go south. Just look at how expendable we all felt over the last two years,\u201d says Molgard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has to start with the understanding of the necessity of it; how desperately humanity needs any kind of art. We need music, we need theater, we need dance, all of it. We need paintings, we need colour, otherwise what are we? What do we have? It\u2019s like a Soviet block in east-Germany. We\u2019re already building walls around ourselves constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are able, and if you dare, you may just want to go check out that band you\u2019ve never heard of at that venue you didn\u2019t know was still around and open for live shows. By going out and showing up, you\u2019ll help ensure live music can thrive in Toronto again. You may just end up playing a small role in restoring the heart of the city. You may even have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess Bertan for The B-Side<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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