Looters Radar Turns 20, Celebrate with Napoleon, Lavender Town and Clawbster
By: Jay Broderick
Toronto, Ontario - We all know that it takes a mountain of work to bring band's and their music to the masses. Of course there's the band's themselves, their management, the music venues that host their live performances, and the promotors that bring them to the city. But what's perhaps less known is deeper behind the scenes. Band's need publicists to help bid the their narrative by pitching stories to journalists, radio stations and magazines, in hopes of securing some editorial space, highlighting new music and upcoming tours.
Sadly, a Public Relations firm only has a 55% change of surviving 5 years. For such an integral piece of the puzzle, this is pretty steep curve. And what's more, only 20% of these firms will see their 20th Anniversaries. Needless to say, when a PR firm reaches this milestone, there needs to be a celebration. And when it's a local Toronto publicist, it gives even more reason to throw a party with some kick-ass local bands on the bill.
Looters Radar is a prominent public relations agency right here in Toronto, and 2026 marks their 20th birthday. What's more, founder Sarah Lutz has carved a niche that we personally love here at LoudTO... they have specialized in bridging the world of metal, punk and hard rock. In addition, Looters serves as the Canadian representation for Metal Blade Records, Spinefarm Music Group, Century Media and Hopeless Records. It is such a critical piece of the music world that we were honoured to have received an invitation to join the festivities on November 5th at Bovine Sex Club, featuring Napoleon, Lavender Town and Clawbster.
Clawbster
After a private affair of chilling with media representatives, Sarah and her team, and enjoying a cold brew, tacos and other delicious eats, it was time to get the live music kicked off. Rising punks Clawbster, from the Shores of Lake Ontario, kicked the night off hard with their heavy, hardcore punk.
Vocalist "Ed" has that perfect voice you expect from a hardcore punk band, bassist "Goblinonbass" was fired up and rolling on all cylinders while drummer Warren Trouble was sweating buckets 2 tracks in. Two guitarists filled out the band's sound. On a serious note, Ed urged the crowd to speak up when they needed help, and lightened things up with mind blowing trivia about crustaceans. When they closed their set with a cover of Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart" the crowd was fired up, and the members of tonight's 2nd act Lavender Town headbanging in the front row.
This was a wickedly fun set to kick off the night!
Clawbster Photo Gallery (all photos by: Jay Broderick)
Lavender Town
Next up was another Toronto band, this time a 6-piece, hellbent on fusing jazz with a hard edged alternative rock vibe. Complete with brass instruments, keyboards, and standard guitar, bass and drums, you wouldn't specifically expect this genre of music to be sandwiched between a hardcore punk act and a metalcore headliner, but damn, Lavender Town left mouths gaping, and jaws hitting the dirty Bovine floor.
There are no vocals here, though the band's saxophonist Lazar Miric holds down the duties of crowd interaction, and sharing little tidbits about the songs they were performing, such as "You guys are the first to ever hear this next track" and "This is our new single that just came out today".
By the smiles, and gestures from the band, they were having a ton of fun. Even through the odd technical glitch, the band smiled and powered on through. There were some very big musical moments throughout the band's set that certainly left the crowd wondering "Who are these guys??"
Lavender Town Photo Gallery (all photos by: Jay Broderick)
Napoleon
Holding down duties as the headliners of the Looters 20th Anniversary celebration was Toronto punk/metalcore powerhouse Napoleon. Formed right out of high school in 2018, the band has evolved their sound into what can best be described as explosive, unrelenting and breakneck.
Napoleon exploded onto the Bovine stage with "Glass Jaw", from the band's upcoming debut album. Lead singer Jonathan Elmaleh urged the crowd to fill in the gap at the front of the stage, but the immediate energy would have certainly shattered any glass jaws that may, or may not have been in the crowd. But the push forward wasn't enough for the singer. "This is a fucking rock concert!" he yelled, looking for a mosh pit in front of him.
Speaking of debut albums, Napoleon's self-titled record is due to hit the street on December 5th. What a perfect Christmas gift! He tells the crowd that tonight, the band will play every song off that record, and proceeds to tell them "We've only played this song live once before and we fucked it up", and the band smashed into "The Sound of Your Voice Makes me Want to Cut my Ears Off". Again, Elmaleh demands the crowd to move up, and this time, they do as they're told, and a couple fans start slamming into each other. Guitarist Justus Hajas jumps down onto the floor, and then nestles in close to your friendly neighbourhood cameraman, shredding away the riffs of the coolest song title of all time.
Napoleon didn't waste any time here as they plowed through song after song. They didn't hit the stage until 11:00, and considering it was a "school night", they weren't going to have the crowd skipping out early on them. Bassist Camilo Martinez was a firecracker, exploding all over the stage as the band blasted on. As they wond down their set, the singer introduced their newest single "How Can I Love You", proclaiming that this was also only the second time they've played this song live, and then closed off with "Buried in the Garden of Eden".
Set List
Glass Jaw
Feed with the Rats
I Better Run
The Sound of Your Voice Makes me Want to Cut my Ears Off
Safehouse on Fire
No Victory
I Am Forgotten
Haunting Me
Lord and Saviour
How Can I Love You?
Buried in the Garden of Eden
Napoleon decimated their 35 minute set, blasting through as though the world was going to end in 36... These guys turnd the Bovine Sex Club into a literal powder keg!! FIRE!!!!
Napoleon Photo Gallery (all photos by: Jay Broderick)
Napoleon Online
Show Date: November 5, 2026
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