Tokyo Police Club (Humblemania48, The Ossington, Aug 8/12)

Originally this Humblemania was billed as a Dave Monks set which could have been something to see in its own right and was what I was expecting right up until the introduction. At least it explained the massive amount of people who had turned out at The Ossington and were now cramming themselves in the bedroom-like back room. (Social media had apparently let the cat out of the bag a few hours previous.) Beaming, the boys - Dave, Josh, Greg and Graham Wright- launched into Cheer It On and the crowd yelled out the band's name for it was a real treat to see a festival headliner just up the street on a Wednesday. Despite the heat and tight space people swayed to Nature of the Experiment and clapped along to Citizens of Tomorrow. By this point the set list was feeling pretty familiar and it turned out that it carried on with the Lesson in Crime EP. It was a serious love-in with the band truly enjoying themselves and the Toronto crowd, peppered with recognizable local musicians, pouring it out for the trail blazers.

Following the live EP (clocked at a mere 17 recorded minutes) the band could hardly leave their position and made another offering instead. Dave quipped that it was now time for his solo set and that we should all sit down (where?) and listen quietly (yeah right) and then launched into a rumbling, rock tune that despite its unfamiliarity had people shaking it, coming across akin to Graham's faster solo tracks like Soviet Race. When it was all done people trickled out of that room happy, having witnessed a sweet, little Toronto treat.