Craig West raps, Steve Mozarowski speaks (10 photos)

It turns out Steve Mozarowski has more to say than I had originally thought.

We sat and talked about Smeltzer's album, their upcoming gig with Propagandhi, punk rock mosh pits and Craig West.

He opened for Startlefish Saturday night with an enjoyable and surprising mix of covers, including Ween and Oasis, which made West groan in disgust.

"No acoustic show is complete without an Oasis song", was how Mozarowski justified it.

"He has been like a son to me", said West, "How could he do this to me?!"

He also played Smeltzer's The Jock Song when I called out for it.

I like him.

Rather than start with their acoustic set as originally planned, Startlefish decided to rock the house with the full band right off the hop, playing a large chunk of their original library, old and new.

View photo gallery for this article

Completely unexpected was a three-song medley which finished with Eminem's Lose Yourself.

Yes, you read correctly, and believe it or not that was not the first time West has rapped on stage.

Although the turnout was less than expected, the musicians made the best of it and played as though the place was packed.

"We pretty much know everyone here except those two guys", joked West, "So this is like our own private show for friends."

Members of The Gates of Winter were in attendance as well as Miguel Gauthier's own private cheering section complete with t-shirts singing his praises.

As the fill-in drummer for the evening, Gauthier seemed right at home on stage with the rest of Startlefish and played as though they had been together for years even though they'd only practised as a band once.

The newest Startlefish album The Debtors Heart will be released shortly and there will undoubtedly be a CD release party to look forward to.

Coming up at the Speakeasy are two very exciting shows.

Swollen Members will be playing a sold-out show on Tuesday September 26 and for a mere $6 you can see High Holy Days on Friday September 29.

Please contact The Speakeasy for further details.

More SooToday.com entertainment headlines