Online Only: New Fight Scene makes it out of the meat plant to play another show

By Jordyn Marcellus

For a new band like the New Fight Scene, you gotta know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Especially when you’re trapped in an old meat processing plant’s loading dock in Lethbridge’s majestic industrial area.


“We were just starting out,” says lead vocalist Chris Anderson. “We got offered to go to Lethbridge and we thought ‘Wow, cool, roadtrip.’ We jumped into a buddy’s truck and headed to Lethbridge.”


It was New Fight Scene’s third show and they were willing to grind out one show after another. This time, the group got paid well to make the trek down to the south– a cool $200. Unfortunately, they had to partake on a quest to earn their cash. Anderson says they stopped at a meat processing plant to regroup and figure out just where the Hell they were.


“We had never been down there,” he says. “We’re driving through the industrial area– which we never knew even existed– and we were totally lost. So we call the girl and she tells us it’s right in the back.”


What shocked Anderson, more than anything, was just how different the venue was. The group’s pop-rock tunes and high-flying melodies were seemingly more accustomed to venues like the Underground and other places where they had played– not a slaughterhouse.


“It was the worst smell smelled of my life,” says Anderson. “It’s this record label [Hard Candy Records] that had bought this loading dock space and would invite bands to play there. They had just had their liquor license revoked the day before so no one was coming out to the show.”


New Fight Scene now had a crisis in confidence. If there was no liquor being served, the audience would be severely reduced. There was no confidence inspired in the group by the show promoter, a dude who fit in more at a veteran’s home than at a rock show.


“The show was being run by a guy in a wheelchair with an eye-patch,” Anderson recalls. We were just wondering what we were going to do. We thought about quitting the show and leaving but decided to play it out. So we went back to my buddy’s car and drank in the back because it was the worst possible situation.”


Despite all the shit that went down, New Fight Scene bravely took to the stage to rock the collective faces of those who braved the mighty winds of Lethbridge to come out and see their show. Since it wasn’t a lot, they decided to cut their losses.


“We cut the set five short by five songs and got out of there because everyone was going to the bars,” says Anderson. “Even though no one came out, Wheelchair Eye Patch guy actually paid us in full.”