It was so odd to be in a nearly desolate Institute. Seriously, it seemed like there were 25 people in the whole place when we entered at 6:20pm on a Saturday night in December. Too bad for those that had tickets because the two-piece guitar and drum duo were putting on a decent show. Loud and full of classic rock (not Classic Rock) riffs they powered through the set, seemingly not put off by the attendance that didn't even double during their short set.Indoor Pets
Still playing to a cavernous (and cold!) space, this four-piece put on an enteraining set of poppy, indie rock somewhere in the realm of Weezer Green-era, though perhaps that was just the singer's Rivers glasses that got me thinking that. His glasses sat upon his nose which did most of his singing, in a very distinct, minorly annoying, nasal fashion. It was definitely unique but once I got over it I was happy to report that the boys did a fine job of beating their recorded-music expectations.
The Futureheads
Celebrating a fifteen-year anniversary of their beloved self-titled debut the Sunderland quartet, that often sing a-cappella like a barbershop quartet, were playing it in its entirety on this evening. Having caught them way back in the day, originally as Franz Ferdinand openers and after that whenever they toured through Toronto, it was definitely a night rooted in nostalgia. And even though they did play through the old tunes it isn't a band strictly revelling in the glory days as they still have the musical interplay that always set them above the rest. Not to mention comical interplay too as they interluded songs with origin stories and any chance to get a lick in on each other. One such story did both in telling how The City Is Here For You To Use was about the then-sixteen year old drummer crying in a tube station in London when they first started gigging there. Another revealed that the singer used to have to write the bass parts as well since the bass player wasn't good enough yet and they remarked that one with a particuarly "fruity bass line" (their words) must have been as a punishment for pissing him off. "Here, try and learn this, ya tall c*nt." From opener Le Garage, through highlights such as Decent Days & Nights, "not every song needs to be about something" Alms, nearly instrument-free Danger of the Water, and frenetic First Day they proved that they've still got the magic. Yet it was in the closing two tracks that they absolutely won me back over. As always the split-chanting crowd gave their amazing take on Hounds of Love true glory but equally good was Man Ray to close it all down. Their quote-unquote lead singer was battling a throat infection so they rightly took a break following the album but were gracious enough to return and burn through a few more for us. Fittingly they played three highlights from the recently released Powers that you'd think they would be touring, and the material held up. I'm particularly partial to Good Night Out but Jekyll and Electric Shock were good too. As a finale they threw another classic, Beginning of the Twist, before waving us off having surely pleased longtime fans and excited those catching them for the first time alike.
