Rich Aucoin, Stepdad, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt (Lee's Sept 20/12)

Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt

You could easily have been mistaken to think that Rich Aucoin had gone on early had you arrived at Lees Palace in time for Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt. In fact, Rich was in the crowd as the man in a floral dress and five-finger footwear lead a handful of enthusiastic Torontonians through his rendition of a party. Similar to Rich there was a live drummer to amplify prerecorded songs and then the singer shouting along in the crowd (and on the counters and from the stage and anywhere really). In addition there was a female vocalist who joined in at times. To get the party going they tracked a conga line throughout the bar which disintegrated into back massages. They all took a knee. There was a group hug. A bucket of lights were handed out to dance with which complimented the glowing, strobe light effigy that was built on stage. They hosted an impromptu dance off, pretty impressive, and in true Aucoin style busted out a purple parachute. The leader encouraged everyone to join in saying "this ain't no Rich Aucoin parachute" (but it kinda looked like it was). The music quality may not quite be that high for this Nashville band but they definitely know how to bring the party so perhaps in time, like their protege Rich, they'll match music to production.

Stepdad
Sonically Stepdad were superior to TPDR but that doesn't mean there's as much to write about. Five guys making quick, catchy fun pop rock that for some reason reminded me of the late 90s ska revival feeling - Zebrahead and the like. Firmly based on strong, fast drums they had bass, synths and an electronic pad (when not an electric guitar) that accompanied the singer. This man, featured on the majority of their merch, had size and a beard a la Damian from Fucked Up. However rather than the raspy vocals his were misrepresentatively smooth, and he even busted out a fine falsetto. People seemed to enjoy it though the audience participation was nowhere near either of the other two sets.

Rich Aucoin
Rich had his brother and another guy playing drums and guitar on stage but preferred to set his keyboard up right down on the floor of Lee's Palace. From here he had his classic slideshow intro - always original and interesting (plus a shout out to Hillside!) From here the antics began but with the amped up Toronto crowd the confetti, streamers and balloons became even more special. The lower floor of Lee's was rammed with sweaty, bouncing, singing and even people beyond its confines were dancing and jumping too. When the parachute was finally revealed near the end everyone wanted in on it and nearly all the glow sticks that had been handed out were tossed into it for a massive game of glow popcorn set to Rich's Double Rainbow remix. How do you top hundreds of people losing it under a parachute? Crowd surf and rip open the parachute that's been expectantly hanging over us all night to fill the room with balloons. Then everyone 'got our heads down' to 'Push til it's done'. Rich pushes it every night - we definitely matched him tonight!