Rody Walker of Protest The Hero - more photos... photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

Protest The Hero
Hometown: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
http://www.myspace.com/protestthehero
Protest The Hero Concert Photos
Friday February 8, 2008
The Kool Haus (Toronto, Ontario)

There's not much I can say about protest live that hasn't been said here and here and here and here before.

Only the day before, Fortress had debuted at Number One on the Canadian album charts. There couldn't be a better time for PTH to play in Toronto. Tickets were scarce on the night of as was made evident when I queued up at the will call to pick up my photo pass for the show. One lucky person managed to buy the last two tickets available at the box office, while many others were left disappointed.

In classic Protest fashion the stage was lined with friends and family (I spotted at least a couple of the guy's mom's and dad's). The 40 minute set opened with the lead track from Fortress "Bloodmeat", and steamrolled on through "The Dissentience" and several other new songs. I wish I'd kept better track of the set list but my attention was focused on navigating the claustrophobic photo pit and later on securing a vantage point from the crowd. While the promoter had only sanctioned two photographers (myself among them) it appears that the boys in Protest had handed out photo passes to just about everyone with a digital rebel and kit lens who'd asked. With the pit full of security the likes of which you only see at a PTH show, at least a dozen photogs and a couple of videographers, frequent visits from crowd surfers, and dim stage lighting this was an exercise in careful maneuvering and cautious shooting. I think we actually got to shoot from the pit for four songs, and then were given free reign to shoot from the audience.