Hannah Georgas - Mod Club (Feb 1/13)

Hannah Georgas took the stage for a headlining Toronto show flanked by three gentleman playing her music on guitar, bass and drums. The leading lady herself primarily played the keyboard, or at least pressed play on pre-recorded beats. It all seemed a little too polished without much room for unpredictability. Perhaps she's following in the footsteps of Mother Mother and Tegan and Sara who are all smoothing things right out for a radio-friendly sound, which doesn't seem to come without sacrifice. She did swap over to guitar for a few songs and even picked up a uke for another. The one constant was her vocal delivery, her signature, and she sounded great throughout. Dancefloor brought some pep to the set and they closed out with The Deep End. The encore had a couple odd choices - yes, The Beat Stuff had a deserved place being her breakout however I wouldn't have had her play it solo, and the final song was Ode to Mother, a downbeat way to wrap up.

Hannah Georgas makes up for it all - Hillside Saturday 2011

The elusive Hannah Georgas has evaded me for some time and when I finally did catch her the circumstances, being a brief, free, outdoor, freezing-cold show in March were far from ideal. That had left a negative impression of her live performance with me despite having really enjoyed her release on disc. Her weekend at Hillside would do away with this notion and replace it with the cheery feelings I'd hoped for. It all started with the magnificent workshop she shared with Mother Mother and Dan Mangan. But then again, being in that company is bound to make everything I see rose-coloured. Speaking of which, the red-headed songstress came out dressed in an all pink summer outfit for her sunny afternoon set. Going through a solid number of cuts from the album along with her three-piece backing band, she was much more outgoing and upbeat than the previous winter session, and come to think of it I probably was too. Bang, Bang You're Dead, Lovers Breakdown and Chit Chat were all great before a chilled out version of The Beat Stuff. In finale she demanded that we all get up and dance with her and this time we were more than happy to for Dancefloor! After this redemption I was more than pleased to find her shirking the gospel hour to participate in the other workshop and treat us to This is Good. Sorry for doubting your Hannah, it is good again!

Hannah Georgas unimpresses (Juno Block Party, March 24)

Hannah Georgas created a catchy, quirky and diverse album in This is Good. Unfortunately as the set opened with a very weak, slow song I was worried that it wouldn't translate live at all. And perhaps it was the foot-numbing cold but song two didn't help much either. A smart call to break out cutesy first single, Bang Bang You're Dead, but with a muffled chorus even this fell flat. 
"Hannah, I'm trying to enjoy his foray into freezing temps, but I need you to try and cut through it with more than effect keyboard. "
The rest of the set was alright, Chit Chat played well enough, the title track came across though it didn't add anything. The general feeling I had going away from this show was about as weak as the feeling in my frost bitten toes - it did nothin to improve upon the record.


See City & Colour who closed out the night.
See Shad who opened the party.