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By KRYS GRANDMOND
Staff Writer

I'm not going to start this by telling you all about Faithdown. I've already done that for you. And I'm not going to tell you about Club 279. Most of you have probably been there at one time or another and basically know its history and setup.

What I am going to do tho, is tell you that if you EVER miss a chance to catch a Faithdown show, you're insane!

I didn't get a set list, but it doesn't really matter. You can listen to some of the songs that Faithdown played that night through their website (www.faithdown.com) or order their cd. But if you truly want to experience their music, please, go see it live!

Mike Bruce and his bandmates Anthony & Nick Chiarore and Paolo DeBartolo all deserve not only a huge thanks for inviting me out to the show, but some kind of award for the performance they put on. I don't know really how to explain it, but I think energetic, powerful and FUCKING LOUD gets pretty close.

Only once before have my ears ever been so blown away by the breathtaking sounds of perfect rock music, and that was at an I Mother Earth show. So you can imagine just how great these guys are destined to be.

As I was standing in front of the stage (a spot a few friends and I grabbed early in the night) about halfway into their set, I took a quick glance around the bar and just as I expected, nearly everyone in the place was moving with the music and many were singing along. It was at that point I turned to my partner Krista and said exactly what was on my mind.

"It's no wonder these guys won the Molson battle of the bands!"

I had to repeat it about three or four times (a sign I probably shouldn't have been talking during the music anyway ... sorry guys!) but with a wide-eyed nod, i knew she agreed. 8 out of 9 judges, eh? That last one must've been deaf, or a fucking QUACK.

Anyway (sorry, needed to rant about that a bit), the night ended early for us, as we had to drive back to Niagara. I did get to catch 2 of the other acts before I left, both very good. But I think I can honestly say that even if some people weren't there to see Faithdown, they definitely left the downtown Toronto club talking about them.