It couldn't have been a better band than Luna to drag my butt out to Lee's Palace on a Sunday Night, and thankfully, Luna was scheduled to come on at 10:15. Before them however were Toronto locals, Wayne Omaha. I've been hearing Wayne Omaha's name floating around for a few years now but never got around to seeing 'em. Although, I'm not sure it's entirely my fault for not seeing 'em live since I don't seem to remember seeing their band name much in the local Toronto music listings. Either the band chooses to perform infrequently, or, and this would be a shame, they have trouble getting booked. I choose to think the former. Sonically, Wayne Omaha has hints of Neil Young and Wilco, with solid drumming, tasty guitar playing, and invigorating melodies. I only caught about half of their set but was quite impressed and hope to catch them again live soon.
Thinking back to at least two previous times over the last 5 years at which I could have caught Luna live, I can't fathom why I didn't make an effort to see them live before. I know they've headlined their own Toronto show before, and I also recall Luna opened for Yo La Tengo. [ok that second show, I actually TRIED to go to but it was sold out!] I mean, I've known about Luna for a while, first hearing a cassette of their album "Luna Park" from the public library back in the mid-90's, with such pop nuggets as "Anesthesia" and "Slash Your Tires". I quickly made a dubbed copy for myself and played the shit out of it. Then, of all places, at Walmart, in the cut-out bin, I found a cassette copy of "Bewitched" with tasty songs like "California(All The Way)", "Tiger Lily" and "Into The Fold". With their Toronto farewell show yesterday, I'm only realizing now how truly great this band was. The current and final incarnation of Luna, with Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, Sean Eden and Lee Wall, took the stage at Lee's Palace to an unabashedly jubilant Toronto audience. I managed to snag a tasty spot up front near the stage to watch the show. The Dean Wareham in front of me at the time was definitely a demystification of the enigmatic figure I thought he would be. During the show he appeared positively approachable and if given the chance, I would have made an effort to compliment him on the wonderful show the band put on. Sean Eden, playing upon his Canadian origins at one point, was very chipper and playful. Britta and Lee were more laidback but then, they can't all be jokers. On record, Luna's tunes can be somewhat sleepy, but their live performance at Lee's Palace proved their versality and energy. The band played a pristine set of their 'hits' including "Chinatown" and "Tiger Lily", with such beautiful melodies that would make your knees buckle. Luna veered off into a flurry of instrumental noise at the end of one song, showing that they aren't the sleepy band they might be pegged as. Surprisingly, the band had an energy that had me bopping my head and almost dancing at times. The complexity of the guitar work on several songs was something I've never noticed before, and added a dimension to the music that made it much more interesting. Had I been more of a fan of the band before the show, I could have probably given you a song-by-song rundown of the show, but unfortunately I wasn't familiar with a majority of the songs. Nevertheless, the show has shown me the err of my ways, and I'll definitely be giving my Luna Cd's a more thorough listen. With the demise of Luna, I'm thankful that at least Dean and Britta are around to continue the family traditions. ...For another perspective, Frank was also at the show and has some fond things to say about it.
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