Toronto – If you have read the Panic Manual at all in recent months, you will know that I am a massive fan of British Sea Power’s new album “Do You Like Rock Music?”. So it was no surprise that I was anxiously awaiting the band’s show at Lee’s Palace on Friday night. I had missed the bands prior outing here at the Berkeley Church as part of the Beautiful Noise tapings. Damn you Tokyo!
The show at Lee’s Palace was actually a double bill, with the Rosebuds opening for BSP. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to attend the Rosebud’s showing although a friend of mine said it was ‘good’. That is no surprise. I arrived just as they were finish setting up the stage – the typical BSP stage, that is – foliage and all. There was definitely more greenery here then last time. The show was sold out, which goes to show the enthusiasm of people towards the new album.
At around midnight, the chimes of “All in It” signaled the start of the show. Kay Von then came out and introduced the band. He did this last time too, I believe. I am actually not sure which came first, the intro or the song ‘all in it’. Alcohol – bad effects on memory at times. It doesn’t really matter since that tune was just a recording/intro song. Once the band took on stage, they started to rip into “Atom”, off their most recent album. The normal four piece band was also joined by a lady on the violin and did little talking through out the eighty minute set.
The set consisted of songs mainly from DYLRM and some songs from “The Decline of..” (“Carrion”,”Remember Me”,”Fear of Drowning”, “Blackout”). The sophomore album – “Open Season” got mostly ignored, except for “Oh Larsen B”. I believe. Having seen them tour for each of the three albums, I found that the band seemed extremely polished now. The sound was crisp, the vocals were clear and breathy and unlike the past two shows, there was little shenanigans this time around – maybe because Eamon left for Brakes, or maybe because the band has now matured to the point where they can rely on the strength of the music to carry the show and not having marching drummers run thru the crowd or nearly getting decapitated by a ceiling fan when hoisting the guitar player on your shoulders to play a solo. I am not sure.
Overall, I enjoyed the show quite a bit – DYLRM translates nicely in concert and the older material is still strong. I was kind of disappointed they didn’t play “Apologies to Insect Life” or “Please Stand Up”, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be there the next time they visit, so it is not a big deal.
4/5