It was a star-studded event at the Tranzac on Thursday night to catch The Phonemes warm up show before their west coast tour with Laura Barrett. Yes, all the local celebrities were out; Levi MacDougall, Katie Crown, Gentleman Reg and some really drunk bastard. Yes, nobody pulls off the slacker cut off capri pants quite like Levi Macdougall. Come on Levi, I’ve seen the Rogers and Tim Hortons commericals, buy some decent pants, I know you can swing it.
I’ve been trying to catch the Phonemes for a while now since they paly around town all the time. The musical project of Magali Meagher, the Phonemes’ are quiet, cool and rely on simply melody driven songs. After reading Magails’ bio on her Phonemes website I learned that besides being a corner stone in the Toronto music scene, she has backed up Daniel Johnston. If you haven’t seen The Devil And Daniel Johnston, you need to check it out. Great flick.
The Phonemes played a quiet set, occasionally interrupted by the drunk dude, the cash register and the opening of cans of pop, but what do you expect at Bloor and Brunswick at 11:00 on a Thursday night.
Catch The Phonemes out west this month and across the pond with Forest City Lovers in May. Hearing Pain Perdu performed live is reason enough to get your ass to a Phonemes show.