In-Flight Safety, Oh No Forest Fires @ The Horseshoe Tavern

In-Flight Safety @ The Horseshoe Tavern
In-Flight Safety @ The Horseshoe Tavern
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


David Usher @ Barrie Earth Hour Festival
In-Fligth Safety @ The Horseshoe Tavern
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


I'll be honest. I was waving back and forth about going to this show. After listening to the new songs from "We are an empire, My Dear" which is really quite good I just didn't get the feeling that I was going to be "rocked". I decided to go based on the fact that one of the openers was Toronto's own Oh No Forest Fires and they were sure to provide that feeling.
My assumption couldn't be farther from the truth. From the time In-Flight Safety took the stage it was evident that their sound was much more powerful that what you hear on their album. Once again I repeat this album really very quite good, lovely in fact but much more subdued than the live show. The band played songs mostly from their latest release and surprised and delighted me and the crowd with this full sound that you would expect from a "bigger" more well known band. This made it all the more special since it really had the feeling of a big band playing a small venue.
Front man John Mullane also made a point to move up closer to the crowd a few times in the performance and at one point allowed a fan to do some strumming on his guitar at the end of his set. (After doing some surfing I found out that the person doing the strumming was actually another of Toronto's bloggers "It's not the band I hate, it's their fans"). The band came out for a couple of encores one of which included a cover of Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning" which completely blew away the crowd. As I sit here writing this I'm listening to the bands myspace songs wondering why I haven't purchased their new cd. This is one time I was more than glad to be wrong.

David Usher @ Barrie Earth Hour Festival
In-Fligth Safety @ The Horseshoe Tavern
Originally uploaded by vasquezr




Oh No Forest Fires:

On No Forest Fires @ The Horeshoe Tavern
On No Forest Fires @ The Horeshoe Tavern
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

So here it is the band that pushed me off the fence in my debate on attending this show. What can I say I love watching these guys play live. Their energy is boundless, their songs are great, Front man Rajiv's banter is always fun. And hey they are climbing the CBC R3-30 indie chart ! Oh No Forest Fires proved to be a great opener for the night rocking the early crowd with their performance. I had only one issue with their set... it was too short.

It was a special night. One of those when you are just glad you went.