AWmusic

NYE by Dinosaur Bones

Now to clear something up, I had said that the acoustics at the ‘Shoe aren’t the greatest and I stand by that comment. It does depend, like with a lot of venues, on how many people are there and where you are standing/sitting. I have been to shows there where the sound is really, really good and where it’s been really, really bad. When I go in to listen for a band, I walk around looking for the best spot to get the best sound. Sometimes that’s by the sound board and sometimes not, every place has a sweet spot, Massey Hall’s is six rows back dead centre, the ‘Shoes seems to be more in the middle, although last night it was by the bar. However, standing by the bar to listen to a band is a fools game because the crowd talk will always drown them out. So I spent most of the night standing in the crowd and still missing out because of the incessant talking.

The second band of the night was Daniel Wesley. He played an interesting mix of bluesy rock/raggae. He is music is instantly likeable and very danceable. Wesley has a natural, warm tenor which the crowd appreciated and the band managed to convey a big sound with lots of texture. The songs have interesting melodies which at times reminded me a bit of Little Feat/Llowel George and with the ska/raggae bass lines and rocky guitar they really had my toes tapping. The crowd, not fully with him in the beginning, were happily toe-tapping by the end. My only complaint, and it is a constant one with most bands, is a lack of presence on stage. You don’t have to jump around to engage an audience but a bit of eye contact would be good. Now, I’m short and I was standing in the middle of the crowd so I was disadvantaged and he may have oozed charisma but I didn’t feel it. Stand out song was “Oooh-oooh” with it’s Coldplay-like intro and definite Bob Marley influenced melody.

Radio by Daniel Wesley

The Bicycles are a very likeable band with solid harmonies and shared lead vocals. The songs are all happy, bouncy danceable tunes that really had the crowd hopping. By far they were the audience favourite to this point. The overall tone of their music is like Broken Social Scene and Feist-like melodies but they venture into The Shirelles, Lou Reed, and Weezer territory at times. Unfortunately for me this was the one band I ended up listening to near the bar so social conversation was rampant. When I was in with the crowd near the end the talk was sporadic and the crowd seemed to be really enjoying themselves. For anyone wishing to check them out, I have bad news, this was likely their last gig as Exclaim! reports that The Bicycles have gone on the dreaded “extended hiatus” which we all know is code for “broken up” (myspace blog on this)

What A Fool by The Bicycles

Human Highway was next up and although I hadn’t changed positions (back to standing near the middle), at times I could barely hear them. The crowd by now was near capacity, I’m sure most were waiting for The Handsome Furs. Their 50′s style blues/rock was lost on the crowd and many just stopped paying attention. The songs themselves were good with lovely Everly Brothers-like harmonies. At times their songs reminded me of Simon & Garfunkel. The best song of their set was a more contemporary sounding song called “Moody Motorcycle”. It was far better live than on their Myspace. A very fresh sound which stopped the crowd mid-sentence and illicited the best response all night. It made me wonder if they should ditch their 50′s sound and go for a rockier, newer sound. The band was tight with not a wrong note and the vocals were pleasant but really shone in harmony. It will be a while before you can check them out, however, as they are touring for the next couple of weeks and maybe beyond.
(ed. note half of Human Highway is Nick Thorburn of band Islands, funny how they paired Human Highway with the Handsome Furs)

The Sound by Human Highway

The Handsome Furs were the band of the night. I think this is who the crowd was waiting for as I almost got killed in the crush to the front of the stage. I ended up sitting, yes sitting, by the sound board so that I could at least take a few notes. Being short, there really was no point in standing in the middle of the crowd and getting beer poured down my back. As it was, I did get to stand on the bench and see a bit of the show. And it was a great one. The crowd was very into them right from the beginning. The electrobeat made you dance whether you wanted to or not and the drum machine had my solar plexus feeling like it was whirling around in a blender. Good stuff! It also did the one thing that nothing else had all night, it shut the crowd up either that or it drowned them out.

Going over my sparse notes, I see that they had a Joy Division-type sound with some Depeche Mode thrown in but overall they have a sound uniquely their own. You might know Dan Boeckner from Wolf Parade but with his wife, author Alexei Perry, he has carved a sound that stands up to the best from the electropop crowd. I have to say that this is the one of the first times that I was paying more attention to the band instead of hastily scribbling notes. They are a seriously good band and the audience appreciated the fact. Even in the people in the back 40 where I was, were dancing. When a band can reach the very back of a venue and make people pay attention then you know you are on to something.

If you haven’t seen them live, it looks like you will have to wait a long time before you get a chance. A brief perusal of their tour dates shows an extensive tour of Europe and the U.S. until the end of June. I hope the people in Zagreb are as enthusiastic about the Furs as the crowd here in Toronto was last night.

Handsome Furs Hate This City by Handsome Furs