Toronto – Had I seen Ricky’s review of WOMEN’s June 17 show, I might have thought twice about checking them out. Not that they were bad, but I have to say, I pretty much agree with everything Ricky said. They do have a lot of interesting sounds and i was really digging a few of their songs … but the songs themselves weren’t really that memorable. As Ricky already said, it does almost tend to become background music and the vocals were kind of just muttered into the mic. The room was packed and a lot of people were really into it, but something about it left me a bit cold. It could have been the fact that it was 2:00 AM and i probably needed something a bit more jolting and less contemplative to keep me awake. It could have been that they were just noodling around too much for my taste. It could have been that I left the Zeus show at The El Mo to check these guys out. (By the way, Zeus played an awesome cover of Genesis’ “That’s All.”) “They sound like Fugazi on crack,” said a friend of mine who was at the show. I don’t think he meant it as a compliment, but to me, the song they were playing at the moment was one of the best in their set maybe because it sounded like Fugazi on crack.
The room pretty much emptied out as 3:00 approached and Murder Ford Monument prepared to take the stage. Which is a shame, because the Montreal band played a pretty great set of epic, moody indie rock. A bit like The National, only heavier. The whole set was a slow build of sorts and those who stayed seemed to enjoy it, especially the crazy dancing Filipino guy who seemed to be drunk or high or something. There was a lot of swaying and jazz hands on this guy’s part. “Thanks for the dancing,” said singer Jesse LeGallais at one point. The dancing guy persisted for quite a few songs before disappearing into the night.
Women:
Murder Ford Monument: