Front stage at the Rickshaw, I stood casually leaning on the barricade, curious about the openers. Nonchalant, they strode out, flipped their amps from standy-by mode to ON. A swell of feedback. Drum sticks counted it in. Immediately, my entire being perked up. Punitive Damage plays punk like a chainsaw fighting a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat. Loud, fast, and pummelling. I was struck by the precision of the rhythm section, the ferociousness of the vocals, and the power of a violent riff to deliver just the right amount of catchiness. The songs are short, to the point, and pack more hooks than a tackle box. It’s intimidating being the first band on a stacked bill of Canadian heavy weights (Cancer Bats, Comeback Kid, and Misery Signals) but PD made it look easy. They’ve seen some members come and go, but currently PD is Alex on drums, Kristin on Bass, TJ and Czecho on guitars, and Steph Jerkova on vocals. I caught up with TJ, Czecho, and Jerkova over zoom, as they&rs