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Goddo at Rockpile East

The Pretty Bad Boys are back in the house, reliving past glories formerly generated at their Scarborough home base of The Knob Hill Tavern. Now reconstructed as Rockpile East and reopened the previous evening with The Killer Dwarfs doing the honours Friday October 4th, lead vocalist/bassist Greg Godovitz, guitarist Gino Scarpelli and drummer Doug Inglis made a poignant return to their former stomping grounds with a powerful performance that again registered them as one of Canada’s premiere live acts.

Rockpile East Toronto, October 5th 2013
Photography by: Ted Van Boort

Yes they were performing in front of their hard core Scarberian fans, whose response bordered on hero worship and yes the movie cameras were evident as filming was being wrapped on their forthcoming “In Goddo We Trust” documentary but there is no disputing Goddo is still a viable unit. Launching their set with two tracks from their debut “Goddo” record `So Walk On’ and `Work It Out’, Greg Godivitz in particular was all smiles as he and both Scarpelli and Inglis embraced the fan worship that was being directed at them by the 600+ patrons, many of them who appeared to have travelled through the same time machine as the band.

Interspersing songs like `Vampire Eyes’ from their “Pretty Bad Boys” release and `Bus Driver Blues’ from their debut, Godovitz tossed out quips about being born in Scarborough, about being beaten up by girls at the old Knob Hill, the penchant for guys urinating in the men’s washroom sinks and quickie visits to the area’s notorious Have-A-Nap motel (which reportedly charges by the minute). Former drummer Marty Morin spiced up the lineup by appearing on stage to play percussion throughout the evening, starting with “An Act Of Goddo’s” `Verdict’s In’ and Scarpelli reminded everyone just what a superb guitarist he is with a fluid instrumental break during “King Of Broken Hearts” `Quicksand’

Goddo’s performance really kicked in with a tasty instrumental intro to `Under My Hat’ which led to further hit-song crowd pleasers like ‘Pretty Bad Boys’ and (according to Godovitz), Scarborough’s national anthem, `Sweet Thing’. Then Goddo’s performance seriously percolated when the intro to `Hard Times’ brought Scarpelli’s son Gene on stage to duet on the “Who Cares” trio of tracks `Cock On’, `Oh Carol (Kiss My Whip) and `Too Much Carousing’. Getting straight to the point, Gene Scarpelli’s appearance on stage turns Goddo from a great group to a super group. He adds sex appeal, shaves about 20 years off the group’s physical appearance and is a great guitarist in his own right. If they could somehow keep him in the lineup it is not unreasonable to foresee Goddo forging a major comeback.

As Goddo rewarded their baying fans with a thrash-metal, two-song encore of `12 Days’ and `Hard Years’ from their debut release – and could have legitimately executed a second encore, you do realize that “Goddo”, “Who Cares”, “An Act Of Goddo” and even “Pretty Bad Boys” were all excellent records that deserved more critical reaction than what the band actually received. Live on stage, this material came alive, Goddo rocks and the Rockpile East is the perfect venue for a Goddo Revival (and you can see them again here New Year’s Eve).