Who: The Minions
Where: Pemberton Hotel
When: Sept. 16-17
Bands go on when band members leave.
Van Halen, for example, kept raging against the speed limit after the departure of high-kicking Diamond Dave.
The one departure, however, that would have signified the unquestionable demise of Van Halen would have been that of guitar god Eddie Van Halen, for obvious reasons. Whether Van Halen continued following the departure of David Lee Roth is subjective. That Van Halen could not continue in the wake of the hypothetical departure of Flying Eddie V is absolute truth. (Note: Yes, yes, I know about drummer Alex Van Halen. It doesn’t change anything.)
On that note, the imminent departure of Whistler metal musician Dave Crowley for Toronto doesn’t bode well for his band The Minions. Not too long ago, The Minions were The Crowley Band. And while Crowley has said the name change was inspired by the fact that he never meant for the band to be a signature project, the truth of the matter is that front man Crowley is unquestionably still the heart of the matter. In fact, many still refer to the band as The Crowley Band, and with no disrespect to his fellow Minions, there is no Crowley Band without Dave Crowley.
To make matters worse, the heavy metallers are also losing bass player Brian MacDonald, who has been lured south to the Lower Mainland Metropolis.
The end is definitely at hand.
The Minions’ shows at the Pemberton Hotel this Friday and Saturday night are not the last, drummer Mark Bannock reassured. But even so, the opportunities to see all the metal classics by Sabbath, Maiden, Thin Lizzy, Danzig and more rocked out live complete with note-for-note guitar solos and co-ordinated head-banging, are getting thin. The band’s original stuff ain’t bad either. There’s also the matter of a certain Careless Whisper cover that should be legally owned by this scraggly gang of mountain misfits rather than the preening boys of Wham!
In any case, it’s a shame the Minions are not long for this underworld. Local metal fans are going to miss them.
