[Note: This is only 3/5 of Gramercy Riffs.]
Date of show: August 27, 2010
Shot of choice: whiskey
On this Friday night at the El Mocambo, every single band shared members. No band was complete and Mara Pellerin of Gramercy Riffs said this was a “pretty good representation of the St. John’s scene… everyone plays with everyone.” Lee Hanlon called it “incestuous.” Regardless, the Bonavista Social Club’s Newfoundland indie showcase brought 3 bands, a comedian host (Jonny Harris) and a finale of Ron Hynes covers. Although the venue was not filled to capacity, the energy was certainly there.
If you check out their Facebook, Gramercy Riffs label genre of music as “heartbreak/nostalgia pop” and I assure you that once you hear the lyrics coming from the voices of Lee Hanlon (vocals, guitar) and Mara Pellerin (vocals, keys), this will make complete sense to you. Rounding out the rest of the band are Daniel Banoub (bass), Jamie March (drums) and filling in for Adrian Collins on this night was Jimmy Rose on guitar, who played the previous set with Jetset Motel.
There is maturity and passion in the vocals of Lee and Mara that command the stage, but they also bring freshness that makes you want to smile. Gramercy Riffs are infectious and adorable. In fact, if you looked around at the crowd at the El Mocambo, most people couldn’t help but tap their feet and some were even dancing along, which can be attributed to their danceable drumbeats. However, their sound is not confined to catchy pop, as they played a song for their friends in St. John’s that has an almost bluesy sound. What is clear when seeing Gramercy Riffs on stage is that they are having fun and the vibe that comes along with a Gramercy Riffs show is certainly something to be experienced.
The group also has a great story about the formation of the band. It started with Mara and Lee writing songs together over the Internet while Lee was studying in Germany and Mara was home in St. John’s. When Lee returned to St. John’s, Gramercy Riffs were born. Although the band now calls Toronto home, this 5-piece brings a refreshing east coast dream-pop sound that is worth checking out live. Hey Gramercy Riffs, I think I might have walked away with a bit of a crush on you.
Jetset Motel were second on stage and brought their rootsy alt-country to the El Mocambo. Comprising this 4-piece of Newfoundland transplants to Toronto are David Picco (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Jimmy Rose (guitar, vocals), Sheldon Kelly (bass, vocals), and filling in for Dennis Keough on drums was Brad Kilpatrick, who was seen in the previous set with All Day Driver.
The band played a hearty set to a fairly modest crowd at the El Mocambo. David Picco has a great feel-good voice, but Jimmy Rose also took the lead on vocals for a couple of tunes. Brad Kilpatrick showed a lot of personality on drums, which was wonderful to see considering he was called upon at the last minute to fill in. It was just unfortunate that there was not a bigger turnout for this band, as people were still not trickling in until their set was almost done. There is a sense of soulful sense of earnest to their sound that is enjoyable, but I think with a bigger crowd this band is capable of adding a little fire too.
All Day Driver opened up the night, noticeably missing members. Jon Hynes (vocals, guitar) explained that they normally are a 4-piece but said, “some of them couldn’t be here, some of them decided to go away to med school and we decided to play the show anyway.” They played a stripped down version of their songs with percussionist Brad Kilpatrick not on drums but on guitar and xylophone. Joining them on stage was Mara Pellerin of Gramercy Riffs on keys, French horn and vocals.
For some background on the band, All Day Driver is a sort of side project band. The other members are Brett Caswell, who you can find doing his own solo project as Brett Caswell & the Marquee Rose, and Rajiv Thavanathan, back in Newfoundland and was frontman of the now defunct Oh No Forest Fires. Both members who were able to be at the El Mocambo also have other musical affiliations. You can regularly find Jon Hynes playing with Gentleman Reg and The Hidden Cameras and Brad Kilpatrick is the drummer for Hawksley Workman. Also, Mike le Riche of the The Darcys is a former member of the band. To put it simply, there is a lot of talented associated with All Day Driver.
I must say that the stripped down version of their catchy pop rock tunes worked out quite well. That Jon Hynes has quite the voice on him and I can only describe Brad on xylophone as pretty badass. Mara added a unique sound on French horn and I actually learned that night that she has her Masters in this instrument and it’s truly a shame you don’t see more bands pull out the French horn; it adds such wonderfully unique sound. Although it’s hard to tell what the future holds for All Day Driver, I recommend you download their self-titled EP for free (you can find the link on their MySpace) and keep your ear to the ground to see what else these guys have up their sleeve.
buying shots for bands 
we took a cue from buying shots and bought a beer for jonny harris 🙂 he also plays constable crabtree on murdoch mysteries (a great sherlock holmes-esque show filmed in toronto/hamilton) that bf is obsessed with.