Part of Milestones of the Last Quarter Century and Music City Mondays
Lifelong friends and Torontonians “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner founded Anvil in 1978, bridging the era of 70s hard rock and 80s metal. They sped up the tempo, brought in the double-kicks and the bombastic riffs, and the DNA for an entire genre was born. In the 80s, they played huge international rock festivals alongside bands whom they’d influenced, all leapfrogging them to massive success as Anvil, weighed down by a recording contract with a label who lacked any meaningful distribution outside of Canada, struggled to stay in the game. Yet as the 80s turned into the 90s turned into the 00s, as styles and trends splintered and birthed new genres, and as bass players came and went, Lips and Robb’s dedication to their craft and to each other never once wavered.
Cut to the mid-Aughts: Lips and Robb are in their 50s and struggling to fill bars on a European tour. The struggle is being documented by former roadie Sasha Gervasi. The footage expands to back home, archival footage and context are added, a documentary is complete *and* gets into Sundance and other film festivals where the crowds of Spring 2009 devour the film whole, and a rebirth is born, and Anvil will tour screenings with the release of the movie.
May 23, 2009 – The band pulls into the Belcourt parking lot looking a bit worn, but not without a spark. We raise the screen, load in gear, do a quick sound check, lower the screen again and open doors. Anticipation is high because word on the film is strong and everyone knows the band’s in the house. Without much fanfare on the front end, the screening begins and we listen in and watch from the wings. It’s going great. A few of us go outside and [REDACTED], but we’re back in place behind the screen when the credits roll. Explosive applause from behind the screen. Credits are still rolling as a tube amp pops on, sending a signal to the audience on the other side. Mid-credits, we start rolling up the screen, Lips takes a running start, slides out from underneath the screen like he’s stealing third base and then this happens. And this. Anvil spanned their career for an hour, talked to damn near everyone in the lobby, and we all closed the night out at…where else? Roberts. It was 2009. We hit a gift shop on the way out, bought some tiny banjo Christmas ornaments. Good times.
