Review by Michelle Da Silva (@michdas)
Photos by David Thai (@david_thai)
One of the most hyped-about shows this month almost never happened when Toro Y Moi Tweeted “Wow. Canadian border is bein a total pain in our ass. We may not play” several hours before the show was to start. But fans were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief when he announced that he had stepped into the Great White North three hours later.
The artist with Chazwick Bundick stamped on his passport was headlining a show with Canadian electro-pop darling Teen Daze and experimental rockers Braids, which seemed more of a triple billing rather than two openers given the excitement surrounding the lineup.
Things got started with Teen Daze just after 9:30 p.m. at the Biltmore Cabaret. A sold-out crowd had been pouring in from Vancouver’s damp, mild start to spring an hour beforehand and was ready to get down with sweaty cans of PBR in their hands. After a brief introduction along the lines of “Hello I’m Teen Daze and I’d like to play you some dance music,” the young, blonde DJ from Abbotsford started pumping out the happy, electro-pop dance music found on his 2010 EP, Four More Years. Teen Daze isn’t doing anything too sensational or innovative, which is probably why he’s developed such a healthy following from critics and fans alike. His sound comes from the same vein as mid-2000′s Ed Bangers like Justice and Busy P, and in this case, a little goes a long way. Songs like “Shine On, You Crazy White Cap,” “Saviour” and “Gone For the Summer (Part 2)” follow the classic chord progressions of VI-V-IV-I, with solid 4/4 dance rhythms below and galaxy-like arpeggios above. Bottom line: it’s feel-good dance music.
After Teen Daze’s half-hour set and another half-hour break in between, Montreal-based rockers Braids took to the stage. Fresh off their SXSW showcase, the young quartet opened with the fuzzy but loud “Lemonade” off their full-length debut Native Speaker. While lead vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston was losing her voice, she didn’t let that stop her from producing wailing Bjork-like vocals and reaching an impressive falsetto overtop of initially confusing yet happily puddled instrumentals. Perhaps the song closest to being straight-laced is the lullaby “Glass Deers,” which starts with gentle guitar strumming before Standell-Preston sings unrestrained into the mic “I’m fucked up.”
Toro Y Moi must have thought he was some heavyweight champ or something, cause he started his set nearly half an hour later than his scheduled set time (and this was after a 45-minute break). But alas, the afro-topped musician from South Carolina brought the room to funkytown as soon as he hit the stage. Armed with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, Toro sang from behind his keyboard, diving right into the dirty, sexy “New Beat” off his latest, Underneath the Pine, which followed up last year’s Causers of This.
I know the Biltmore isn’t the most acoustically-friendly venue, but something sounded off and unbalanced during Toro’s set. It was far too bass and drum heavy, and Toro’s soothing, subdued vocals sounded diminutive, growly and muffled by the live band.
Still, Toro and his band weaved through most of his new album, covering favorites like “Still Sound”, “How I Know” and “Blessa”. While the sound balance seemed to change as you moved towards the back of the room, the crowd didn’t seem to care, pressed up right against the stage and dancing well into the morning.
For more concert listings from Timbre, check out their website: www.timbreproductionsconcerts.com.
No comments yet, be the first!