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Ron Boudreau, 1961-2004
Toronto’s punk community was heavily struck by the tragic loss of Ron “Dabz” Boudreau , tattoo artist at Way Cool and member of the G-Men , Tacoma Redd ( Citizen Kill ) and Fall River Fiends . He succumbed May 1 to a massive rejection of a double lung transplant he received over two years ago. Boudreau, 43, had already surpassed the life expectancy of someone living with cystic fibrosis.
“He was one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life,” said Mopa Dean of the G-Men.
Doug Smart (of Tacoma Redd) summed it up best in his eulogy when he said, “If you met him once you liked him, and if you met him a second time he was your friend for life. Toronto lost one of its best guitar players.”
Plans for at least three tribute shows are in the works, two with just the bands he played with and another with whoever wants to participate. The shows run back to back in a three-day series, with dates soon to be announced. Proceeds will go to a related cause.
October 32nd will also soon be releasing Tacoma Redd’s album featuring Boudreau, along with the G-Men album, titled 14-40-33, the time at which he died.
“There’s also a recording of his last show with the Fall River Fiends and a live show we did at CIUT with Steph Perry ,” says Dean. “It’s the last thing he did with us, so we’re going to put that out, too. It’s strange. A lot of stuff is going to be released this summer and Ron’s all over it, but he’s not there.”
Left for Dead at Planet Kensington, Moe’s Tavern, May 7 and 8
Supremely respected hardcore vets Left for Dead played a much-anticipated reunion show at Moe’s Tavern (because hardcore people love Simpsons references), on Highway 5 outside the small town of Waterdown on Saturday (May 8), a fundraiser for a monster movie that guitarist Jeff Beckman is attempting to make. Five hundred people came out, including representatives from most continents, to see the rare reunion, evidence that their style of hoarsely screamed metallic punk has rocked folk from the Czech Republic to Japan. Singer Chris Colohan (now of Cursed , as is drummer Curtis ) says the crowd reaction to the show brought closure.
In an attempt to tighten up after a mere two practices, the group, which broke up in 1996, had played an unannounced show at Planet Kensington the night before, with Discharge-style rockers Tower of Silence .
The crowd was ecstatic about the small venue, the sound was awesome, and they rocked, even if there wasn’t much of a way to actually see the band unless you were in the first four rows. This preparatory show allowed some native Torontonians to revisit a time of simpler, less drunk, more didactic values.
