To all the naysayers, Stereolab at the Phoenix yesterday evening proved they are no one trick pony. Space Bachelor Pad Music my ass. They were so much more. It was definitely the better show of the two times I've now seen them live, the first time being in April 2004. The two year wait between Toronto appearances was definitely a long one and the crowd was eager in anticipation. When Laetitia Sadler, Tim Gane and the rest of the gang finally came onto the stage, there was a little disappointment that sometime-Stereolab conspirator Sean O'Hagan wasn't there. The initial disappointment quickly receded into the night, and the set just got better and better as it went on. There were some nice bits of rock instrumentation courtesy of the the drummer's loose rhythmic style and guitarist Tim Gane's strummy(sometimes aggressively so) guitar playing. I really liked the arsenal of keyboard sounds, touches of French horn, Laetitia's competent trombone contributions and energetic tambourine shaking, and of course, Laetitia's silky vocals. One of the most satisfying things of the show, was to see how much of a boogie-mood Laetitia was in. French Disko. Qui.Stereolab had some great song selections. "Pack Yr Romantic Mind" was exhilirating for it's loungey Space Age Bachelor Pad vibe. "Miss Modular" shifted to a dance-able vibe, complete with it's staccato trumpet arrangements. "Mountain" saw the band getting into 'punk-rock' mode with that more guitar-oriented tune. They performed a whole bunch of songs I didn't recognize, alot which were more funky/disco-y than much of their past catalogue, and perhaps from the new album "Fab Four Future"; they did perform that album's "Eye of The Volcano" as well as "Vodiak"(which Laetitia cheekly referred to the title as being similar to 'Zodiac', but with a 'V'...and a 'K'). "Cybelie's Revenge", which is in my top 3 of my favourite Stereolab songs, turned out to be the set closer, which was a relief because I'd been waiting for it ALL NIGHT. And it turned out to be even better than when I'd heard them perform it a couple years prior at the same venue. As set closer, "Cybelie's Revenge" had much more of an impact, starting out unassumingly but very pleasantly with it's pop song leanings, but building to a noisy wall-of-sound climax in its latter half. The two song-encore after that paled in comparison but was still much appreciated.
Did anyone notice how happy Laetita appeared onstage? It wasn't just the playful dance moves, hand movements and such, but I caught her glancing around the crowd making eye contact with individuals every now and then, and then she'd smile. Man, she is sexy and I swear she made eye contact with me. Ok, maybe not.
To quickly mention, although not to undermine their talent, Philadephia band Espers opened the show with their languid tunes. They almost defy categorization, at least in my realm of musical tastes. The 6 member band, consisting of three males and three females, had a hush Red House Painters quality but with a less straighforward melodicism, a chamber-classical element courtesy of the cello, and a Doors-y, jammy feeling at times with the young Joey Ramone-looking guitarist/vocalist's meandering guitar solos. Alternating male and female lead vocals kept things interesting. They performed a cover of a tune which was more melodic than their originals and I would have preferred more of that melodic sensibility. Interesting to say the least, but they'd go over better with me in a smaller venue.
[photos from the show]
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