Maybe everyone was at the Doves/Mercury Rev show at the Kool Haus because the Monade/The Most Serene Republic show was initially sparsely attended especially during the opening band. Previously scheduled openers The Zincs weren't there, so last minute addition The Most Serene Republic started off the evening. The Most Serene Republic were already scheduled as openers for the British Sea Power Show the next day(again at Lee's Palace) which I'll be going to. It'll be interesting to see how consistent they are over their two night stint. This was my first real exposure to The Most Serene Republic. Looking like they were barely out of highschool, they made a musical impression upon me, the lead singer's goofy body movements notwithstanding. The Broken Social Scene-influence was undeniable: the shuffling drum rhthyms, the full-on bass lines, the delicate guitar licks, the modest keyboard arrangements, and the alternating boy/girl vocals. Lead vocal duties lay mostly with the band's enthusiatic male frontman. His body gestures and attempts at dancing...well, let's just say...no comment. ;-) In the hands of a less talented band, the BSS-by-numbers approach might have seemed formulaic, but The Most Serene Republic displayed a solid set of tunes full of invirgorating melodies and dynamics that showed them to be quite capable musicians and songwriters. And at their tender ages, that's quite impressive. They didn't seem to have any merch available yesterday, but I'll be tracking down their debut CD "Underwater Cinematographer" when it's released through Arts & Crafts at the end of June. 
By the time, Laetitia Sadier and her band of merry Monade members came onto the stage, Lee's Palace was thankfully filling in, although by no means at capacity. There was elbow room to spare, but at least Lee's Palace was full enough that I felt comfortable standing near the front. I felt quite lucky to grab a spot off towards the left side of the stage right where Laetitia's mic stand was situated! Laetitia's other band Stereolab has been one of those constants in my life over the last 10 years. I alternate between being really into Stereolab then being bored with them. In the end, I always have appreciated them for continuing onward. Having only seen Stereolab once live(in April 2004), I was glad to get another opportunity to see Laetitia perform. I'd only sampled some of Monade's music yesterday, actually a live session which Monade had done for MPR's 89.3 The Current on May 13th. It was only Laetita performing solo but the tunes, while pleasant, didn't really grab me. Thankfully, the full band setting which Monade took on for the Lee's Palace show was much more impressive. I think Laetitia could sing just about anything and I'd still think of Stereolab. Yes, Monade can sound like Stereolab as a result of Laetitia's vocals. However, what set Monade apart from Stereolab is the directness of their songs. The songs were quite to the point and never dwelled in that drone-y territory that Stereolab have been known for. While keyboards were still apparent in Monade's music, guitars and drums were much more to the forefront. I also thought the background vocals of the other female member of the band were slightly more coo-ish and more substantial than the late Mary Hansen's(of Stereolab) metronomic background vocals. I liked the dare-I-say-funky instrumental excursions the band took during a couple of their songs. A member of the audience yelled out a request for their song "Le Swim"(which the band later played and dedicated to the fan) and Laetitia got into a ramble about having not swimmed in a while which prompted another member of the audience to offer to let her into the pool at the community centre where he worked. I'm a sucker for such stage banter. :-)I wonder if the next Stereolab album'll feature a stronger musical(rather than just lyrical) influence from Laetitia because she's definitely proved herself with Monade. And brownie points for the low merch pricing. I picked up Monade's "A Few Steps More" and "Socialisme ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings" for $12 CDN each. Photos to be posted in the near future. :
:
According to Soul Shine Magazine, Cuff The Duke's new album is set for release on August 30th through Hardwood Records. The first single is entitled "No Sleep, No Heat". The band plan's to stream their new album on their official website starting August 1st and they also have plans to post different tracks from the new album for downloading. The band'll be in Toronto at the Horseshoe on June 11th, but will mostly be doing the summer festival circuit.
We can all agree Ivy's a great band, right? Although, apparently their tour manager's a douche bag. Anyone planning to snap any photos at Ivy's upcoming Toronto show at Lee's Palace, beware. [from copacetic zine]
And according to Dissolve Into Molecules, The Organ are NOT scheduled to play at Lee's Palace on June 9th, as part of NXNE. :-(
[note: It's actually 1:10 am[May 18th], and I just came back from the wonderful British Sea Power show at the Lee's Palace. I would've posted this post earlier(around 9 pm), but damn Blogger was down. Therefore, I've backdated this post...I hate to have ruined my 8-day blogging streak.]
No comments:
Post a Comment