Queen's Student Bands Rock Beyond Borders at Buckle Charity Gig
The atmosphere is comfortable amongst the surprisingly spacious downstairs of the Buckle on the bustling Princess Street downtown of Kingston, ON.
We have gathered on Thursday, 28 February 2025, in the basement of Kingston’s rough and ready blues bar as part of a fundraiser show for Queen’s University’s branch of Médicins Sans Frontières. All proceeds from the $10 door cover will go to their much-needed humanitarian causes.
As the snow piles up outside, the cans and conversations flow easily inside. A guy near the front is wowing his table with some magic tricks. A tower of beer cans is being stacked a few tables away. An imposingly large Maple Leaf flag bears down from the ceiling onto the young bands waiting to step onto the stage, thumb tacked across the ceiling, lit by the strong purple stage light washing it. It is against this backdrop that the first of the bands I see, RevZed, are setting up their kit. (Opening the show tonight is pianist and pop composer Michael Zuzek. I am unable to make his set because of prior KCFF-related commitments, but through watching his work before, I can tell you that his piano work is deft and catchy, and his vocals soaring and strong. A solid act to watch.)
RevZed come on stage, immediately injecting raw rock n roll energy and lifting the easy haze that had settled on the room. With punk covers of The Offspring and punchy originals like their song Welcome To The Real World, drummer and lead singer Jack Blurton holds down a tight beat effortlessly while putting the band’s own raw spin on tunes from across the decades. The four-piece plays the classic punk of the Ramones, they cover Black Sabbath and funky Red Hot Chili Peppers songs where the band swap instruments: guitarist Haluka takes up the drums and Jack steps up to the microphone.
Even as the band’s dynamic changes between songs, their stage presence is undeniable as they comfortably fill the room with rock n roll energy and a giant sound, evidenced by their explosive cover of Hysteria by Muse and a new Rage Against The Machine-esque original. At one point mid-set, Jack notices that he’s managed to cut his hands open on his drum kit. It’s an indication, if any was needed to how hard this band goes (though I do hope he got some medical attention to it later!) They riff away effortlessly, while still maintaining a really good energy as the crowd loosens up throughout the set and cheers.
The band also performed a single they expect to release soon called You’re Gonna Hear My Name Again — RevZed, I bet we will.
The next band on the bill are the six piece funk band Blunt Force Llama, who have been gaining notoreity around town for their flashy entrances, rolling on stage to a funky Silk Sonic beat they have completely made their own, sunglasses a staple part of the whole band’s uniform, as singer Eleanor Guy comes on, furs in tow, and introduces the band with what can only be described as effortlessly funky, opulent and electric bravado.
Blunt Force Llama are all about that funk, rock, RnB, hip hop and soul, and as the crowd thickens within minutes of them taking the stage, they are on their feet and dancing, swaying, jumping and cheering throughout. BFL’s set casts an impressively wide net, with covers ranging from the aforementioned Silk Sonic to Thundercat and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
They are also the first of the night to bring up a guest, Queen’s student and singer Kwame Ayinnde joins them to sing some soulful vocals and brings even more dynamism to the group on stage. All the while, singer Eleanor belts the higher notes and hits those impressive vibratos with ease, occasionally descending even into a bold, boisterous rap, while the whole band effortlessly maintains the image of cool, even as they are tinkering away live with complex and layered sounds.
They have the crowd dancing, screaming and begging for more even before their set has ended — BFL come back out for an encore to perform a hastily improvised version of Katy Perry’s California Girls that proves to be extremely popular, with the crowd singing and clapping along, and after a second round of rapturous applause and cheering, the band are genuinely out of songs. The inspired crowd starts to lead its own singalongs in hopes of convincing the band to stay on a little longer. It’s safe to say, Blunt Force Llama left the crowd hungering for more.
The last band to take the stage is the five-piece Jinx, and the crowd is reaching fever pitch. Jinx are a modern band with the souls of yesteryear rock n roll divas, just as comfortable covering the Rolling Stones as they are Amy Winehouse, they’ll as easily cover Alice In Chains as they do CeeLo Green’s breakthrough song, Fuck You. The band are a seasoned and cohesive unit with stage presence and confidence to match, but on a rowdy night like this one, singer Sofia’s easy charisma and ability to work the crowd pays off in spades as she sings along with the enthusiastic first row of the crowd. They’re here to enjoy some good tunes and they are eating up what Jinx have to serve. Everything from Valerie (Amy Winehouse) to Would? (Alice In Chains), a rock version of Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) to a rousing singalong of Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl goes down a storm with the eager crowd, who, arm in arm, are swaying and shouting with the delight of someone who’s just discovered music—or perhaps a Molson—that night.
There’s a spontaneous energy throughout the night. By the end of Jinx’s set, there’s an impromptu singalong to Hotel California going on in the fired up crowd. As the band is packing up, the mic has made its way into the crowd. Jinx drummer Paul is now laying down a beat to the enthused singing. Moments later, someone’s picked up a bass and a few others are on stage, and there’s a coordinated effort to keep things coherent, as the rest of the audience filters out. Keys later enter the equation too, and the chaos starts to sound suspiciously like music. Satisfied with this group effort, the boys left are cheering and exchanging compliments. I think I might just have witnessed a new band forming. But that is simply the energy of a show in Kingston, something our student bands demonstrated in full tonight.
