Young Empires @ Steamwhistle Brewery, Toronto (November 19, 2010)

  Robert Aaron Ellingson of Young Empires: photo by Michael Ligon

I went to check out Toronto electro-rock outfit Young Empires several weeks back at the Steamwhistle Brewery part of the venue's UNSIGNED Indie Music Series. My interest had been piqued by the band's song "White Doves" and after missing multiple opportunities to catch them live when I was in New York City in October for CMJ I vowed to drag myself out on a blistery Friday night down to the Steamwhistle Brewery.

I caught the tail-end of opener DVAS's set and missed the headliner Rich Aucoin, mistakenly thinking that Young Empires were the headliner, so it was a short and sweet night for me. After seeing the band live, what I wrote back in October about my impressions of the band still stood true - "White Doves" remains their piece de resistance, "a fully realized slice of melodic electro post-punk" as I put it, and that makes it one of the best singles/songs of 2010. As a band they did exude a certain amount of energy onstage, with exhuberant guitar playing and keyboard noodling from member Matthew Vlahovich being most notable. While singer Robert Aaron Ellingson made a valiant effort to maintain the urgency of the performance, it seemed he lost track of his vocals because he seemed out off-key at times. I'm interested in seeing what this young band may bring and if they tighten up the loose ends they may just live up to the hype.

Eye Weekly and Lithium Magazine have reviews of the show.

Untold City has uploaded a video clip from the show.

Photos: Young Empires @ Steamwhistle Brewery, Toronto (November 19, 2010)
MySpace: Young Empires