Toronto – “So this is an interesting evening … I think, anyways.” These were the words of Peasant, AKA Damien DeRose, as he began his set this evening, and truer words were never spoken. This was certainly an interesting evening, one full of a wide range of musicians and a lively crowd.
Peasant started the night off early, playing a short but sweet unaccompanied set of acoustic guitar based songs which brought to mind performers such as Elliott Smith or Badly Drawn Boy. The crowd was pretty sparse at this point, leading to the somewhat odd sight of one man playing to a largely empty and cavernous seeming Opera House. This may have inspired his comment of this being an interesting night, or perhaps it was the fact that he was almost the sonic opposite of the night’s headliners. Still, a small group listened appreciatively. His gentle folky songs were a nice way to start off the night and he had a funny off the cuff manner of interacting with the crowd, telling them about how his shoes were wet from the snow and joking about how he was “a little scared” about playing this show.
Next up was Give, who I believe are from Washington. They were OK, but pretty unremarkable. Sounded kind of like a mix of ’90s grunge (the really obscure kind made by bands that never made it big) and hardcore with a singer who sounded a little bit like Glenn Danzig. Also, I swear they started off one of their songs with the intro to Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow.”
The D’urbervilles are a local band fronted by John O’Regan, who also performs as Diamond Rings. They played some synth heavy, punkish indie rock tunes that at times had hints of ’80s Rush (at least in terms of the types of sounds the syths were making – they actually sound nothing like Rush. But if you’re reading this, D’Urbervilles, a Rush cover would be pretty sweet. I’m just sayin’.). O’Regan was an engaging frontman, switching between guitar and synth and dancing. Also, their bass player looks a little bit like Morgan Grimes from Chuck, which, combined with the 3 synths on stage, made me think of Jeffster. Unfortunately, Jeffster would not be appearing tonight.
Kurt Vile took to the stage and definitely switched things up a bit. Playing along with one other guy, who accompanied him on guitar and percussion (as well as with Fucked Up drummer Jonah Falco joining him for one song), Vile delivered a set full of spacey , bluesy psychey tunes. For 2 guys, they made a fair bit of noise. While the Philedelphia singer has been compared to Springsteen and Tom Petty, I heard a bit of a Spacemen 3/Spiritualized vibe or maybe even hints of The Verve in his sound. Kurt Vile also brought one of my favourite moments of the night when a heckler shouted “You Suck!” after his first song. His response: “Your mom.” delivered in a total deadpan and filtered through the reverb and echo effects on his mic.
Another favourite moment from the night came between bands, when a crowd of hockey fans gathered near the back bar and cheered loudly when Canada won. Shortly after this, Fucked Up took to the stage and began playing their album, The Chemistry of Common Life in it’s entirety. They were joined by guest stars galore, including a flautist, a bunch of backing vocalists and for several songs, former Deadly Snake Max McCabe-Lokos. It was a high energy set – for both band and fans. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen that many people stage diving. Unfortunately, one individual got a bit too excited and strangely attacked a friend of the band who had briefly taken the mic. This excitable idiot was taken off stage and thrown out of the club. Regardless, the show went on from there and even continued on after it was done with an after party at Blue Moon, a bar three doors over from The Opera House.
An interesting evening indeed.