Critical Zero

After months of preparation and anticipation, Critical Zero produced their third event, and we feel the energy and vibe couldn't be better. At the start of the night, people of all ages, from punk to electronic, waited in line to get into the show, ready to mosh and dance. The cyberpunk venue, See-Scape, was welcoming and kind, providing a safe space for our third event and exciting my inner child. 

The playlist background music featured songs from Canadian artists like Aawks, Give My Remains to Broadway,  Strawberry Cough, The Slime, Mvlll Crimes, and more. honouring the endless talent that pours out of the core of the underground music scene, which we feel deserves more coverage. Each band we choose for our playlists and events is carefully considered, and we wade through tonnes of music until we find the right combination and sound that matches the soul of Critical Zero. For those who send music to us and you're not chosen, it speaks nothing of your talent, we hear incredible artists, however, they do not fit our vibe. We still love you and respect you. 

Back to the event, to start the night, we had a band we were truly excited to see live called Chinese Medicine. This band has a fresh punk sound that seems inspired by the So-Cal punk scene. I am absolutely in love with their song "Exploding Dogs", which they ended it with! Chinese Medicine bassist was subbed by one of the members of Waste Youth and he did an incredible job.The sound reminds me of the so-called punk scene, with bands like Deathlens. Full intensity.  This is a queer/BIPOC fronted post-punk band that will absolutely crush any event, this is a band to watch out for. With the right moves, they will be touring and headlining in no time. 

Next up was Lucid Smog Disorder. Where do we start? We met the lead singer, Jack Doris, at our Seneca's Independent Music Production course in 2020. Attending the same class, we both went through music bootcamp together, including having to write and perform two whole songs in a week; while being swamped with tonnes of homework on mixing and mastering ,  and on the music business. It was important we have Jack as part of our event, he's family, and after several attempts, the stars aligned, and here he was with the  band on the stage. 

We love Lucid Smog Disorder, the early 90s pop punk sound is incredible, and the live performance of this band is top quality with sound and stage presentation. As always, the crowd was enchanted by Jack and the band. This set was celebrated by spontaneous stage diving exploding throughout this intimate venue.  Absolutely nailing our favourites like  Psychedelicacy and having the whole room sing along to "Teenagers'' by My Chemical Romance . 

Black Budget is staple at our shows, and Pedro being one of the co-creators  of Critical Zero kind of gives him the right. The power insanity of of this band is like nothing else. Some bands may coast along knowing they guaranteed to  on the lineup, but these guys always give it their all. This was specifically true for this night. 

We all worked together as a team promoting Critical Zero and Black Budget, and one of our family members had to step down from  the band. It was the last night that Michael's joined Black Budget as a bassist, and wow, he was the perfect bassist, and team member for Black Budget. He handled merchandise, worked on flyer design, and was a big part of the heartbeat of Black Budget. His Marilyn Monroe spray-painted amp will be missed on the stage. 

The entire set was flawless, powerful,  monstrous, and it left everyone on peak adrenaline through out the set. They did their traditional cover for "School' by Nirvana and ended with "Acid Tongue", Michael falling to his knees and screaming, Jack smashing his drums to the ground, and Pedro making his guitar wale using a drumstick. I still get shivers just thinking about it. The perfect farewell many people left wearing Black Budget shirts that night.

The finale of the night, we decided to switch things up a bit, send everyone off in good spirits to the after hours, get the night going in the right direction, and have DJ angelphroot seduce the dance floor with her hard techno and trance mixes. Many of the people in the room We've known for years, and some were new friends; all were dancing to the grooves of angelphroot. It was an incredible send-off and closing for our critical community. We were all ecstatic to finally see her play! 

Over all the night, it was amazing. We received massive feedback from the crowd of all demographics in regards to safety and the quality of the music and vibe. successful night! We are excited for the next generation of punks in Toronto. 

Thank you to everyone that came out, especially thank you to our amazing team:

Punk Rock Mailman - Flyer Design
angelphroot - PR
Joe Capone - Video
Polina + Ben Webb - Door

 and of course Pedro + runrebel.run for eveything else!

Thank you SEE-SCAPE!

02/28/2023