For its third year running, the newly rebranded Into The Night Festival, returned for a two-day St. Patrick’s rager changed up its formula to stray away from its original Celtic style roots.  This time around, they brought in some JUNO and ECMA award winners and nominees, mixed in some local heavy hitters, and delivered a weekend packed with punk rock and indie grooves.

The night was brisk outside of Olympic Hall for the first half of the Into The Night, but the streets were warm with the laughter and chatter of patrons and passerbys. Once inside the venue I was greeted with a sea of smiling faces and headed right to the stage to catch the last song from Spirit of the Wildfire. These guys have become a growing force in this city and are one of my favourite local groups. With their combination of untameable stage presence and music that instantly makes you want to hit the floor, they blow audiences away with every performance. The early crowd was gathered and moving for them, energetic and eager for more once the band’s set had finished. It’s not often that an opening band gets calls for an encore, but that’s the type of performance you can expect from Spirit of the Wildfire. They deliver a delectable punch every time.

I had yet to see Outtacontroller until this show and they certainly lived up to their name. They played a solid set packed full of punk rock riffs with a pop-like touch. Their debut EP, Don’t Play Dumb, is fast hitting and fun from start to finish. The crowd was starting to gather more, a little less shy of being closer to the stage. By the time they were finished the audience was cheering for more.

Like A Motorcycle are no strangers to Halifax. The moment their set started the building erupted with cheers and applause. The mosh pit started, the beer went flying, and the energy was uncontainable for the next forty-five minutes. The spirit of the music community really started to come through here; those taking a fall in the pit instantly had people there to help get them back to their feet and keep them safe in the chaos. Over the blaring guitars and blasting drums, the crowd could be heard roaring with sheer excitement. Like A Motorcycle played an incredible set mixed with songs from their most recent release, “High Hopes“, as well as some other classics.

Hailing from Toronto, The Flatliners made the journey to our humble city to unload a rager of a set on a frenzied crowd. Their sound was explosive and relentless, with crushing riffs and fast drums that resonated within the audience well after the band was done. They played a solid collection of songs from their discography, allowing fans to hear their favourites from across the board. Crowd members that had been cheering for encores all evening finally got their wish when The Flatliners came back to the stage to rip through another few songs. They did an impressive cover of “Ahead By A Century“, originally by the wonderful Tragically Hip, and the whole building went wild. I was covered in beer, a few dozen bruises and more people’s sweat than I’d care to know by the end of the night, but that’s nothing a quick shower can’t fix!

The second day of Into The Night was colder than the first, but that didn’t stop crowds of people from bundling up and heading out to the Halifax Record Fair that afternoon. The sidewalks were busy with people coming and going, many of them holding onto their newfound treasures from the Fair.

I crossed paths with a pair of women on the sidewalk who had just left, one of them bursting with pure happiness over the vinyl she just purchased. She could be heard exclaiming to her friend, “I can’t believe I found all of these! There’s so many memories here, I’m so excited I could cry!” It was a nice little instance of the joy that music brings to people far and wide (and a reminder for myself to finally invest in a record player). The Fair was packed with people and collectables alike. Everywhere you looked there were stacks upon stacks of vinyl and cassettes by every artist and every genre you could probably imagine. I could have spent an entire day sifting through everything that was there and still not make it to the end.

I made my way down to the street to The Pavilion later that afternoon to check out the all-ages show. Matt Steele & The Corvette Sunset proved why they won their place in a recent battle of the bands by delivering a set heavy with slick grooves fueled by rock and jazz influences. The crowd was made up of mostly younger St. Paddy’s Day patrons and their parents, who all seemed a little shy of the stage at first. As the set progressed the crowd began to gather a little more, warming up from the energy pouring from the stage.

When Like A Motorcycle took the stage for the second time of the festival, it was clear that their fan base has grown well beyond us hooligans that are old enough to buy beer. Even the littlest of show goers were smiling and moving about throughout the set. The crowd was definitely at its peak in attendance here, creeping closer to the stage with every song.

Although they played their second set to a much different audience than their first, the vivacity I saw from The Flatliners did not let up for the younger, more dispersed crowd. Those that stayed to the end were up as close they could get and singing along.

Round two at Olympic Hall was, to me, all about the tasty bass grooves. The Drug Rugs opened the night, warming up the crowd with their blend of psychedelic rock and indie pop. The lighting was mellow and the crowd was calm, but all eyes were facing forward. The band’s pace picked up as their set continued, and once they hit their last note of the night they were rewarded solid round of applause. A great start to the evening.

It was announced that when Yarmouth’s Rain Over St. Ambrose graced the stage for their last Into The Night festival performance a few years ago, they were awarded the most “booed” band of the weekend (edit: or they had sold the most booze during their last performance. It was loud in there). I had heard of this band quite some time ago but had never managed to catch them on stage. I was pleasantly surprised; I’d been expecting a much more low-key set, but it didn’t take long for them to take off. Quite a few tracks from their sophomore album, “Still Waking Up“, made it into the set-list. Their seamless combination of crunchy guitars and perfectly blended synths gives Rain Over St. Ambrose their own distinct sound. Anyone that had doubts about this band when they first hit the stage were left with no reason to have any by the time they finished.

I first saw The Town Heroes back in 2011, at the old Seahorse Tavern location with a mixed “indie meets hip-hop meets heavy metal” lineup, when it was just the original drums and guitar duo. Since then the band has grown in members and influence, adding a second guitarist and the happiest bassist you’ll ever see to their ranks, and taking home a few ECMA awards. They had the full attention of the gathering crowd, who showed no fear of getting up close and personal with the edges of the stage. Seeing Tori Cameron perform was one of the highlights of the night for me; seriously, she rips some of the tightest bass grooves I’ve ever heard and looks happy as a lark the entire time. This band’s stage presence is like no other, bursting at the seams when you least expect it.

Said The Whale‘s performance this night was the first time I’d gotten to really hear their music and I found myself nodding along to the beat during their whole set. It wasn’t hard to tell why this band has nabbed a JUNO award and has an ever-growing fan base. The Vancouver-based indie rock group gave its audience a great lineup from their discography but seemed to stay closer to the newer releases. The hype in the crowd was at its highest here. The people there to see the band perform were gathered in tight clusters that were nearly impossible to move through. Their love and enthusiasm for Said The Whale radiated from the floor to the stage and kept concertgoers warm as they wandered out into the cold winter night at the show’s end.

Into The Night was, in my opinion, a great success. This was my first year attending and I hope to see many more!

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