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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 2, 20 22 | 12 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN It's in your hands. The Readers' Choice Awards were created for you to tell us which local businesses and service providers are the best at what they do! Once the nomi- nations close, the nominees will be shortlisted and you will have another chance to vote for your favourite. NOMINATE TODAY to help make your favourite local business become a Readers' Choice Nominee. waterloochronicle.ca/readerschoice Nostalgia. It's a tug on the heart, a yearning, a bit- tersweet reminder of hap- py times when things were easier, a feeling most of us would do anything to re- gain. And when it comes to outdoor music festivals revving up after two and a half years of COVID shut- downs, there's an inescap- able pull that can't be de- nied. "Our most valuable commodity right now is nostalgia," insists Jon Har- vey, lead singer of Hamil- ton-based retro-rockers Monster Truck, headlining the first ever Maxwells Block Party June 17-18. "Being at a live show ex- perience -- or anywhere with more than three peo- ple -- is powerful right now ... anything that can bring you to a better time than a crazy war and monkey pox." It's a common sentiment among rock bands and the reason Paul Maxwell -- juggling COVID safety measures since Maxwell's Concerts and Events in Wa- terloo reopened in March -- is going for broke with an all-stops-out rock blitz. "We're the first ones back, which is exciting in itself," notes the club own- er, who expects to draw 1,500 people a day. "This is our kick at the can at bringing something like that back to the com- munity, to grow something that's grassroots." And Monster Truck, de- scribed as "Grand Funk Railroad meets Deep Pur- ple at the drive-in," is just the band to steer things in the right direction. "Everything is in now!" says Harvey. "The '80s, '90s and even the early 2000s are a nostalgia thing right now." He laughs: "People get nostalgic about last week." It's all the motivation they'll need, he predicts, to turn out for a parking lot free-for-all featuring nine bands over two days with food trucks, vending booths, a booze tent and af- ter parties. Harvey himself had a busy pandemic, having seen the band's "heart of a lion" song "Don't Tell Me How to Live" transformed into a Kid Rock anti-snow- flake anthem that generat- ed blowback even as it boosted the band's profile. The song proved a light- ning rod for controversy when Monster Truck ap- peared in the video wear- ing fur coats with the gun- toting Trump supporter. "The guy sold 60 million records," says Harvey, who insists his band, despite its appearance, is "bipartisan" and non-political. Fellow headliner The Tea Party -- a retro-tinged veteran act that fuses the mystical leanings of The Doors with crunching Zep- styled blues rock -- agrees the quest for world domi- nation doesn't measure up to the thrill of playing live. "Videos don't matter," says drummer Jeff Bur- rows, eager to hit the road for the band's first tour in three years. "Album sales don't mat- ter. We're not blind to the fact people want to hear the songs that remind them of high school." So they give them what they want, pumping out hits from the past 30 years, with a few new tunes sprin- kled in, immersing them- selves in the moment. "I'm pumped," he says of Maxwell's Block Party, not- ing some fans will be flying from overseas for the band's post-COVID re- union gig. "We're all ready to go. We haven't seen each other in a couple of years (Bur- rows lives near Windsor, bassist Stuart Chatwood in B.C., singer Jeff Martin in Australia). I'm just super jazzed to get back." Getting onstage after three years, he says, will be like riding a bike. "If you want perfection, you're not gonna get it," laughs the Canadian rock vet. "It's gonna be mayhem. I don't play for a click track. It should make for some good moshing." For him, it brings up memories of the band's first reunion, after a long hiatus, in 2011. "Grown men were cry- ing. I tear up myself when I see shows right now. Being there in person is an other- worldly, transcendent ex- perience. At the Slash show there were 120 DBs (decibels) hitting you in the stomach. You don't get that anywhere else." That Maxwells will be the band's first gig in three years makes it even swee- ter. "There's something about playing outside, in the light, staring into the sky," he notes. "It's so, so cool. I just can't wait to get there." For tickets and more in- formation, visit maxwell- swaterloo.com. NEWS BLOCK PARTY PROMISES TO ROCK JOEL RUBINOFF The Tea Party will be playing Maxwells. Francesca Ludikar photo