Dogs of the DIY Scene Unleashed at the Green Room

The biggest boon that a small live music venue can ask for is a space that makes a few people look like a large crowd. Even though the Green Room in downtown Saskatoon is home to such a space, it didn’t matter on Aug. 7. The building was well and truly packed.

The lineup was composed of three bands, the first of which I have followed with close interest for the past four years, while the other two I had heard of but had yet to see: Landfall, Endless Retirement and Slutty Waist. Off the bat, flowers are due for the names of these bands alone.

I get into the Green Room shortly before Endless Retirement is set to take the stage. The band is looking around with a cool demeanour, but I can tell they’re excited to rip into their set. Aiden on lead guitar, Ethan on bass and Archer on drums, the three have been playing together under the name Endless Retirement for three years. The band came together almost on a whim when Ethan was asked to perform for an event at the University of Regina but didn’t have any backup. 

This is the kind of origin that defines a band capable of playing loose and natural without coming across as sloppy, which Endless Retirement assuredly is. They tear into their first couple of songs, including a new tune titled “Meseeks,” which lays bare the emotional calibre of their songwriting. It’s a hot commodity to look like you can write an honest song these days, but to do it (and to perform it) is another matter altogether. I asked Aiden in a phone interview later if he believes that it’s easier to be a poser now than it ever has been.

“Well, yeah. But I think that’s just because, before, gatekeeping culture wasn’t a thing because the internet didn’t exist. You were either there and already involved [or not]… And this is talking from someone who has only ever been alive for the age of the internet… The internet has made niche communities more popular and expanded on smaller communities. It’s a lot easier to get a really surface-level idea of what a certain subculture is.”

It’s hard to define any universal set of rules for alternative culture because the term itself is so vague and all-encompassing. That said, the internet has made it easier to adopt the fashion and aesthetics of a subculture without necessarily understanding the history or values behind it — without needing to be “already there and already involved.”

“[It’s] like that whole thing about how you can’t be conservative and goth. People don’t understand. They’ll say, ‘Why can’t I be both of these things? I dress this way, and I voted for Trump; clearly I’m a conservative goth.’ No, you’re an idiot. Not only are you wrong, but you’re stupid.”

To be involved in the alternative scene in a way that matters means recognizing, to some extent, what came before you. If you listen to Endless Retirement’s music on streaming, you’ll understand that they know the history of grunge and hardcore. In layman’s terms, they know ball. I ask Aiden how much inspiration Endless Retirement takes from older music.

“I pay more attention to the older stuff because I think it’s just generally more important … In some way, everything goes back to something like the Beatles.”

Back to the Green Room: the band is flying from one offering to the next, and a beautiful aggression is building in the crowd. Their sound is a war cry from the heart. It mixes sullen, introspective lyricism with youthful sonic abandon and devil-may-care volume. 

Suddenly, somebody gets pushed over, and we’re off to the races. The pit is violent, but anybody knocked down is immediately helped back to their feet. Those who are more vulnerable are looked after; it’s an ethical mosh.

“(Laughing) We always want to make sure that there are no 40-year-old guys just f*cking up teenage girls, or smaller people in general… That’s the other thing too. When you have that surface-level idea of a culture, you’ll go in and see those guys who are just swinging, and sometimes that’s appropriate, but other times there are younger people there, and you have to make sure you aren’t injuring them.”

At this point, I turn around and, seeing somebody no older than 12  get flung halfway across the room, I realize that this is an all-ages show. Later, I ask Aiden if he thinks all-ages shows are important.

“100 f*cking per cent … It’s really inspiring to see, and it really is something that, you know… [the world] just generally feels dreary all the time. It’s those small things [that make you] feel sort of hopeful about the future.”

Too true. 

The highlight of Endless Retirement’s set is a tune called “Bruised Knuckles.” The song starts with a demure, almost mournful couplet: “I still think about mistakes I made in the sixth grade. I don’t have the time to talk, so I’ll just go my own way.” 

Once the instrumentation kicks in, the pit reaches a fever pitch. Everybody is smiling, and for some, I can’t tell whether it’s sweat or tears in their eyes. 

Before time is up, Aiden gets back on the mic to announce that, after the band’s Aug. 15 show at The Exchange in Regina, they will be on hiatus while their drummer Archer heads to Toronto for college. The inside scoop on the band’s timeline is as follows: they are not on a hard hold. Instead, they’re using the downtime to put the finishing touches on a full-length album, which they plan to play live with Archer next summer. There is a lot to look forward to with Endless Retirement, and I’m happy they aren’t abiding by their name in that regard. 

Touching briefly on the act that took the stage before Endless Retirement, I have met, talked to and laughed with the members of Landfall several times over the past half-decade. I vividly remember hearing them play in 2024, when I first caught their cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” which remains a set-list staple of theirs to this day. Landfall writes alternative rock music. In practice and on stage, they sound like a quirky oddball cross between Queens of the Stone Age, The Oh Sees and early Radiohead. 

I, a bad friend, showed up late to the party and missed Landfall’s set. That being said, I would not recommend you do the same if given the opportunity to see them play. They are a treat. Always have been and always will be. From the videos I caught afterward, they seemed in top shape that night, which is not at all surprising. I’m sure you’ll end up reading more about them in this very paper.

Unfortunately for you, if you missed Endless Retirement’s final pre-hiatus Regina show, you’ll have to settle for streaming or buying their music from their Bandcamp page (if you have to choose one over the other, I would highly recommend the latter). The same, however, cannot be said about the final band that played the Green Room on Aug. 7. 

They are locally grown punk four-piece Slutty Waist who, as I understand it, have become something of a staple in the Green Room’s push for all-ages shows. As of right now, their music isn’t on streaming, but everybody who is anybody in Saskatoon’s DIY scene seems to know about this band. This reads to me as a good omen — not only for the night ahead but for the band in general. A cult following will do you wonders. 

And Slutty Waist does not disappoint. Lead vocalist Lucy sometimes sounds as though she’s delivering a madcap monologue. Other times, she sounds like a bloodthirsty animal. Davyn, on guitar, wields a red Jackson seven-string slung low on her right like a battle axe. The rhythm section is an onslaught, dishing out groove after groove that begs you, the audience member, to lose your mind as fast as possible.

I leave the show bruised, drenched in sweat and elated. I need more of whatever that was, and I need it fast. I become acquainted with Lucy outside the Green Room in the breezy August air, grab the band’s contact information and arrange an interview. There is something special happening here, and I’ll be damned if I don’t follow it closely, for your sake as well as my own, dear reader.