Concert Review: Jane’s Party, Feb. 2, The Piston

Toronto – “So much for the blizzard … you guys all made it out,” said Jane’s Party singer/guitarist/bassist/keyboard player Jeff Giles by way of introduction, mocking the so called “Snowmageddon.”   Not only did this show take place on Groundhog Day, but it was also the day of the “Great Snowstorm” that wasn’t really that big of a deal.  Seriously, that storm was over-hyped.  Toronto schools actually closed for their first official snow day in about 10 years.  This was not a day worthy of being a snow day.  Chevy Chase would be ashamed of you, Toronto.  Really, think about that … it probably takes a lot to shame Chevy Chase.  But I digress.

Back to Jane’s Party, who put on a pretty good show.  Having only heard a couple songs by them beforehand, I was expecting some power-poppish stuff with a bit of a 70s influence.  I wasn’t wrong, but there was a lot more to their sound than that, including some jazzy indie rock influence in one song, a country rock number, and a bouncy Grizzly Bear cover.  They had a fair bit of variety in their sound, which is probably due to the fact that they have multiple singers/songwriters in the band.  In that sense, they reminded me a bit of Sloan – they don’t exactly sound like Sloan, but like the Haligonians turned Torontonians, I also get the impression that these guys are students of pop music.  It seems like they’ve listened to a lot of stuff and have now synthesized those influences into a bunch of catchy tunes.  All in all, not a bad way to spend a slightly snowy evening.

02 Things Are Different by janespartyband

Posted on by Paul in Concerts, Everything