ALEXISONFIRE IS LESS MANIC BUT STILL ROWDY?

Says Jason McNeil in the Toronto Sun. They are definitely not the kids they used to be but St. Catharines rock band Alexisonfire have managed to age gracefully when it comes to delivering an aggressive performance.The band - playing the first of two evenings at Toronto's Sound Academy Thursday night - weren't quite the manic, screaming quintet earlier albums like 2004's Watch Out would indicate. But the new style of rowdy, punk-meets-rockabilly they have going for them now seems just as palatable.

Led by vocalist George Pettit but with healthy help from Dallas Green and Wade MacNeil, Alexisonfire opened with Young Cardinals, the first single off last year's album Old Crows/Young Cardinals. Here MacNeil's wails complemented Green's slightly softer side quite nicely. Read the rest here. Billy is friends with KJ and I.