Sneaky Dees was a flurry of spastic energy yesterday as they were hosting a showcase of bands as part of the Over The Top Fest. Actually, this was my first time EVER being there(I can't believe I've never gone to one Wavelength show in my life!) and I found it to be a quaint little venue. It's on the second floor and overlooks the intersection of Bathurst St. and College St. I sort of wish that they hadn't curtained off the view overlooking College St. however. And damn, $3.50 for a Keats beer. Awesome.
I missed the first opener The Inflation KIlls, but I made it in time to catch the "Super Secret Guest Band That You Must See". I was anticipating some sort of big-name band/artist showing up to peform. How cool it would have been had say, Sloan or Feist shown up. (I'm not sure of their availability, but it would be cool, wouldn't you say?) It turns out the secret guest was Detroit's Thunderbirds Are Now! They were pretty energetic, with echoes of Pixies, new wave(via the cool keyboards), and maybe just a bit of the Detroit garage rock aesthetic. One thing I realized about Sneaky Dees during the Thunderbirds Are Now! set was how spring-y the floor is in the venue. It was so spring-y and bouncy that it felt we'd go right through the floor. (And the spring-iness doesn't nessarily help when I'm trying to take photos.) At one point in the set, the keyboardist's face was dripping blood due to him popping a zit. He seemed kinda aggravated at first, yelling out into the audience for a bandage(a few people offered paper towels for him to clean up), but he took it all in stride, cleaned up and they continued their set. They'll be playing Sneaky Dees again tonight.
The next two bands were bands I've seen before, The Golden Dogs and From Fiction. The Golden Dogs have energy to spare, them some, especially the husband/wife team of Dave Azzolini(Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals) and Jessica Grassia(Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion). The pair started off the set taking center stage amongst the chatter of the place, Dave with a mini acoustic guitar and Jessica standing on top of chair with a paper bag in the hand. They performed a playful acoustic tune with an enticing melody and Jessica using the paper bag as a sort of makeshift percussion instrument. The pinnacle of the song was when she blew the paper bag up and then popped it at just the right point in the song. Great start to their set. From there, the rest of band joined them on stage and they played a selection of tunes from their album "Everything in 3 Parts" including melodic rockers like "Birdsong" and "Don't Make A Sound". They maintained a fairly consistent level of energy throughout their set. I think they have some musical similarities to By Divine Right who also played during the Over The Top Fest this past Thursday. It was fun to watch Dave reach up to the low ceiling, grab the exposed electrical wire and pretend to get shocked. Rock theater at it's best. 
I ducked out of the club to get some fresh air and then came back just as From Fiction were setting up their gear. Their music, a combination of math rock influences, emo, and touch of hard-core influences, isn't something I'd necessarily listen to all the time, but they do what they do well. "Car Thief"[mp3] was the only song I knew beforehand and is a perfect example of their sound. The distinct guitar arrangements, rhythmic drumming and soft-loud dynamics of their tunes were pretty cool and subtles melodies had a way of wafting in and out which made the music more interesting for me at least. The best thing by far was watching the band; the drummer and bass guitarist especially exhibited body movements that looked like electrical voltage going through their bodies. Their set seemed short and the drummer preceded their last song saying that it'd be their last song because they don't have anymore. The band currently only as an indepedently released 4-song EP out. They apparently are recording(recorded?) an album with Steve Albini so look out for that in the future. [photos from the show]:
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Largehearted Boy points to a torrent of a live show by The Arcade Fire in Paris on 2005-03-09.
Check out some live video downloads of some Canadian indie bands including From Fiction, Republic Of Safety, Picastro, Purple Hill, Lenin I Shumov, No Dynamics, and Everybody Get Sick. [link from stillepost.ca]
Brooklynvegan's got some photos of a recent Junior Boys performance in New York City at Bowery Ballroom on May 5, 2005. The guys were opening for Caribou. Junior Boys(with Caribou and The Russian Futurists) will becoming back to Canada on the west coast at the end of May and will make their way east, ending their tour in Hamilton, ON for a show at The Casbah on June 10th.
Just thought I'd pass this on to anyone in Toronto: pass by the Urban Outfitters at 235 Yonge St.(across from the Eaton Centre) and pick up their exclusive Tsunami Relief CD. It's $18 CDN and features 2 discs of songs from some great artists. They seemed to have a bunch left, so pick it up while you can.
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