Sweet Thing, We Are The Take @ The Mod Club

Sweet Thing @ The Mod Club
Sweet Thing @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I saw Sweet Thing last year @ The Supermarket and was very impressed by their catchy tunes and showmanship. I was glad to be able to see the Toronto quintents show @ The Mod Club this time around. The band played a solid set including songs from thier EP "Sweet Thing":"Winter Night", "Everyone", "Change of Seasons".

Sweet Thing @ The Mod Club
Sweet Thing @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The thing I like most about Sweet Thing is their connection with thier fans. This is usually achieved through their super catchy pop songs and front man Owen Carrier's involvement of the crowd getting them to clap along with him.
This night he brought out two bag fulls of colourful plastic tambourines promoting their website www.sweetthingmusic.com dumped them on the stage as the band proceeded to hand them out to fans to play to "Kite Fight". Great way to make a connection. Great Job!



We Are The Take:
We Are The Take @ The Mod Club
We Are The Take @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


This was the third time I've seen we are the take play live. I have to say they just keep sounding better every time I hear them. They keep quite busy. They are playing another two shows @ The Tattoo Rock Parlour as long as a few other shows in Southern Ontario and Montreal in the next couple of weeks. They proved to be a quite solid opener playing songs like "Tenderhooks", "Wait it Out" and the very popular "Montreal Love Song". The highlight of the set was the bands cover of the Pixies "Where Is My Mind".

Oh No Forest Fires , Dinosaur Bones, Still Life Still, Arietta @ Lee's Palace

Oh No Forest Fires @ Lee's Palace
Oh No Forest Fires @ Lee's Palace
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Great night of local rock bands. Lee's Palace hosted a Friday night with four local indie rock bands.

Oh No Forest Fires:
Ok, let me start off by saying that I really, really, really, really, really like this band. So I hope this doesn't come of as being too over the top. Oh No Forest Fires consists of Rajiv Thavanathan, Brock Swanek, Matt Del Buono and Adam Nimmo (and friends, to many to list) out of Toronto. Their sound is some kind of indie math pop rock fusion filled with starts, stops, edgy hooks and sweet slow melodies that grow and build leaving you entertained and fully engaged.
Their live show is that and much more. Frontman Rajiv Thavanathan possesses the boundless energy of a dancing electron. My brother in law once described him as a Rock n' Roll Tornado and I quite agree. What's more by the end of the show the rest of the band seem to catch the fever and the chaos ensues. They're a fun band with great sound. And a must see.
On a side note: I've been listening to their EP "A War On Geometry" alot as of late.
There is a special place in my heart for "New Cove Road Back Home" not only because I love the violin in it, but also because I live in Barrie and work in Toronto and quite often it feels like I spend all day on the 400 highway too.



Dinosaur Bones:
Dinosaur Bones @ Lee's Palace
Dinosaur Bones @ Lee's Palace
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


This is a band I just seem to keep missing. I was glad to catch them playing Lee's this night. I wasn't able to stay for the whole set but what I did hear was quite promising and I'll make sure to catch them again soon.



Still Life Still:
Still Life Still @ Lee's Palace
Still Life Still @ Lee's Palace
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


I had seen Still Life Still once before opening for The Kaiser Chiefs @ The Mod Club. Having heard a few songs on their myspace page I was quite excited to see them live. Their sound seemed to be off and was not quite indicative of what I thought they could be like live. On the strength of their myspace songs and being on a great local band bill I was quite glad to give them another chance. I found this performance to be a hell of a lot better and quite entertaining. Their vocals remind me of some early Sloan back when I liked them more. I'm quite eager to see and hear more from them.



Arietta:
Arietta @ Lee's Palace
Arietta @ Lee's Palace
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Another band with a great track on myspace "We Were All Invincible". They played a solid set. I'll be looking for their release and next shows.

The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club

The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The first time I had heard of The Airborne Toxic Event was last summer before the Virgin Festival in Toronto. On the strength of some of the songs I heard on their myspace page I marked them down as a band to see. Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch their set. Since then I've noticed the band getting quite a bit of publicity. From a horrible album review in Pitchfork to a great performance on Letterman. I was quite eager to see them live to see the real deal.
The Airborne Toxic Event played at the Mod Club in Toronto after having sold out the El Mocambo. The band which consists of singer and guitarist Mikel Jollett, guitarist and keyboardist Steven Chen, bassist Noah Harmon, drummer Daren Taylor, and keyboardist and violist Anna Bulbrook took to the stage playing songs from their debut cd including Wishing Well, Papillion, and Gasoline.

The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Though it was evident that the bands singer Mikel was not feeling well the band continued much to the delight of the fans at the Mod Club who were fully engaged by the time the band got to playing Happiness is Overrated.
A big part of this band's sound is the violin played by Anna Bulbrook. A sound which led the band into their performance of Sometime Around Midnight (their current hit). The band finished this part of their set with Innocence which featured most band members jumping off of speakers onto the stage including the violinist.
Unfortunately I had to make my way out as the band got into their encore which started with Does This Mean You're moving on ? The answer for me was yes... but hopefully not for long. Although I do hear quite a few strong influences (as suggested by the Pitchfork review) when listening to the bands songs I still can't stop myself from playing them my on iPod. Their album in my opinion is really really good, their live show is even better. I'll be sure to catch them the next time they are in Toronto.

The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr