(Toronto) Last Wednesday my girlfriend Karen and I went down to see Laura Barrett and Valery Gore at the Horseshoe. I have been hearing Valery Gore’s song Worried Head for a couple of months now and really enjoying it. Also, since my secret crush Laura Barrett was opening up, AND because Karen was OK accompanying me to see my secret crush, I had high hopes for this show.

I was first introduced to Laura Barrett back in 2003 when we were both volunteering for the NXNE music festival here in Toronto. I noticed her carrying her bicycle helmet and wearing her plaid pants into our festival volunteer meeting. When I say ‘introduced’ to her, I really mean observed from a far because I couldn’t think of anything witty to say to her at the time. I probably still couldn’t today.

Now I must admit, my initial review of last Wednesday night had a few comments about how hot Valery Gore and Laura Barrett are mixed in with how great the show was. I mean sure, Valery Gore and Laura Barrett are both very attractive women. I then began to wonder how often they get reviewed where there isn’t any mention of their physical appearance in the review. Probably not very often. Does this take away from their musical talent? Do guys only go to their show to gawk at them?

The day after the show, I was directed to a Globe And Mail article on Laura Barrett with the title This Thumb Plucker Is One Sexy Nerd. A quick glance through the comments and you will see a brief discussion regarding the use of the word ‘sexy’ in the articles title and how it relates to the music of Laura Barrett.

So what is my point here? I’m not exactly sure except that I felt like a dirty old man mentioning the physical properties of Laura and Valery in this post. It happens a lot and maybe it isn’t a big deal, but maybe it is? I guess I am just aware of it now.

Today I woke up and read this review on BlogTO of the all male, Halifax based band, The Darcys, Saturday night show at the Horseshoe.

“…it doesn’t hurt that these guys are so easy on the eyes, and snappy dressers too.”

Pftt…guys being objectified. Fuck me I guess.

Laura Barrett – Robot Ponies. Man, this song rocks. Lyrically, it is kind of out there but if you really listen to it, it makes total sense. Yes, they would have nylon fur and eat plastic bags. The swimming ponies would have to be airtight. If you can justify using the word fuck in a song about robot ponies, you have my vote.

Washington DC – Hello, this is the first posting by me, Tom, the Panic Manual’s new correspondent located in Washington DC. My roots are Canadian, but my studies have taken me into a foreign and strange land…albeit a land filled with good music and good places to listen to music.  I am going to start this post with a brief review about the Washington DC music scene, as well as the 9:30 Club as a venue.

Now, Washington DC has a quite diverse and varied musical past. Starting with the US Marine Band in the 1800’s, music in DC has progressed quite a bit, including being home to reknowned artists as diverse as Roberta Flack (“Killing Me Softly with His Song“), to the Thievery Corporation, to rock icons such as Dave Grohl.  There are also numerous famous venues in Washington DC that have hosted momentous shows, as well as helping artists ply their trade.  The most famous of these locations is the 9:30 Club (or Nightclub 9:30).  This club hosted the first American show for The Police, as well as a performance by the Beastie Boys after a 5-year hiatus.  Over the years, the 9:30 Club has developed into one of the best venues in the area, winning Pollstar’s “Nightclub of the Year” Award 4 times.  In my opinion, this venue is by far the best in DC, featuring great acoustics, an intimate setting, accessible bars, good sight-lines from many locations, and a great location in the city.

The concert featured two opening bands: The Jealous Girlfriends and Delta Spirit.  As is the custom in most areas, my friends and I skipped the first opener (The Jealous Girlfriends).  From the accounts of people that I talked to at the show, these guys actually put on a decent performance.  A little bit more research uncovered a song called “Organs on the Kitchen Floor“, which I apparently like a fair bit.  The other songs that I briefly checked out had a New Pornographers-esque quality to them.  They also had a song featured on the Grey’s Anatomy Volume 3 soundtrack, which is excellent publicity for a band.  I think I will need to listen to a few more songs from this band.

We arrived in time for the last 2/3s of Delta Spirit‘s set.  This band is from San Diego, CA and have been described as a “hybrid of rock and northern soul”.  Immediately, this band impressed me by their high energy and use of non-traditional instruments (the song “Trashcan” actually features the use of a garbage can lid, to great effect).  The lead singer’s (Matt Vasquez) voice struck me as being similar to Brandon Flowers, although Delta Spirit’s music was much more upbeat and energetic than The Killers.  Unfortunately, the sound engineers were not on their game, and the lead singer’s voice and lyrics were drowned out by the instruments during most songs.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy what I heard, and would suggest checking this band out.  The song “People C’mon” particularly stuck out to me.

Prior to attending this concert, I was only familiar with Nada Surf’s third album “Let Go”.  This album actually impressed me a lot, and I quite enjoyed it.  “Let Go” had mostly a laid back quality to it, where you could actively enjoy the music or just have it playing in the background.  However, this band was mainly known in the 90’s for their song “Popular” (an odd video to be sure), which I had never heard at the time, and which wasn’t played at the show.

Nada Surf’s set-list comprised songs mainly from their last three albums “Lucky”, “The Weigh is a Gift” and “Let Go”, and lasted for just under 2 hours….and they rocked out for all of it.  Their sound was very crisp, with the balance between the vocals and instruments ideal.  However, although I enjoyed the concert, the overall sound was very generic.  If you went into the concert not knowing the band at all, I think you would kind of shrug your shoulders, and say “well, that was alright, but nothing special”…a sentiment offered by my friend Barry.  Consequently, the show was unlikely to have won over many new fans.   The extreme example was brought forth by my friend’s roommate, who actually left the concert early.   Nevertheless, I think that if you were a fan beforehand, the band did not disappoint.  Highlights of the show include the playing of “Blizzard of ’77” (my favourite Nada Surf song) as the first song of the encore.  Also, in a show of force seldom seen anymore, members of The Jealous Girlfriends and Delta Spirit joined Nada Surf on stage and rocked out for a while during one of the last songs, as a celebration of the end of the tour…a refreshing reminder that music is often about making connections and having fun.

Overall, a very solid, enjoyable show.  The only drawback is that people with no knowledge of the band would not have been as engaged as I was.  For that reason, this concert gets a rating of:

3.5/5