Bon, tant qu'a mettre en ligne un review du show de Half Baked a Toronto, aussi bien mettre le review du show de Sound Of Sea Animals a Toronto...
A l'originel, ce review est paru sur le blog "it's not the band I hate, it's their fans"
"Legion Hall was probably the most unique and hilarious venue I've ever attended for a live concert. Although its ambiance was settled somewhere between high school dance and bar mitzvah, that didn't stop the bands and fans from rocking out most triumphantly as Toronto welcomed its very first visit by Montreal psych rockers The Sound of Sea Animals.
Opening the evening was Broken Bricks, who are a Toronto band who give off an organic rock 'n roll vibe that is tempered with a knack for presenting a decent pop hook. I realize that I tend to compare a lot of bands with The Kinks but hey, if the shoe fits, right? It's pretty hard to ignore the fact that their sound is steeped in the idiosyncrasies of the British music hall combined with the awesome shuffle of the distinctive beat era. The harmonies were beautiful, the performance was gold, the guitars were loud, the energy was high and we all know how I feel about that authentic 60's sound!
The second act of the night was Dinosaur Bones and they were ... well ... Dinosaur Bones. Although this is only the second time that I've ever seen them, I think I pretty much know what to expect when they play, and that is certainly not a bad thing. The organizers needed a ringer for this show; someone that they know is going to bring the people around, and someone who is certain not to disappoint. If that's your goal, then there really is no better choice than Dinosaur Bones, at least not here in Toronto. They always do a solidly energetic show, and fans and music lovers alike are guaranteed to show up in droves. As per usual, the crowd went nuts when they played Royalty and N.Y.E., while the rest of their set was comprised of their more brooding material. After the show, there was also the usual buzz of fans singing their praises as well as the ecstatic din of new converts. The only downside is the fact that fans of the 'Bones are not necessarily going to be fans of the psychedelic scene, which means that the other two acts were not to be greeted with the same rampant enthusiasm. Trust me though, this is through no fault of the bands themselves.
The Sound of Sea Animals were brought to our fair city for the specific purpose of being an initial ingredient in building a psych rock revival from the ground up. In other words, start with smaller bands, establish a solid psych rock scene in Toronto, and hopefully allow the buzz to lure other great bands of a psychedelic nature to play here. It's a lofty endeavor since the psych scene doesn't get nearly as much publicity as some of the others scenes here, but I for one can never seem to get enough of it. So I say "Vive la psychedelia!" and this Montreal band was definitely a great way to get the ball rolling.
On record, the "band" is pretty much the pet project of Etienne Chan Kane, who basically recorded and performed the album himself. For this show, an entire band was present, and they were definitely in 'perform to impress' mode. The trippy ambiance of their sound would lend itself nicely to a more reserved performance and given the nature of this beast, I think most fans of the scene would've been cool with letting the music transcend on its own, without a lot of show. What makes their music unique however, is the fact that it also takes a cue from some of the more indie-centric jangle pop of the past, which means that stoner droning is not what this band is about. This aspect of their sound is what enabled them to show real professionalism by refusing to settle with a performance that was merely adequate. Their heady rock assault never let up for a minute, as their performance was an example of 'how to be a rock star 101' most notably displayed by the swagger filled antics of Yann Godbout. In simpler terms, they killed!
Hopefully the next time around they are featured on a bill that is more geared towards their style, since a large number of people had left already by the time they hit the stage, which was a real shame as far as I'm concerned. The smart ones who did stick around seemed suitably impressed, and there were even a few up front who were dancing around and really taking it in. Although everybody put on a great show, The Sound of Sea Animals was by far the money act and I'm certainly looking forward to their return."
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