Date of show: September 10, 2010
Shot of choice: Jack Daniels
Lovely Killbots play dance rock that sounds much bigger than their two-person band, made up of Lauralee Sheehan (keys) and Ryan Beattie (drums). They closed out the night to a still-crowded Sneaky Dee’s. There was a good-sized crowd up front and dancing away. Lauralee said, “I think you guys are our favourite audience ever.” Ryan added, “I hope the floors are shaking out there. Hope it feels like it might give way.”
Lauralee is such a charismatic frontwoman with a great voice and Ryan is quite the skilled drummer. Their meld of keys, synths and drums creates a dark yet energetic atmosphere. They work so well together and it is easy to tell that chemistry is on their side, so much so that they don’t need any other bandmates. They played a very fun set and it was a great way to end the night. Check them out and buy them a shot!
The Wilderness is a Toronto-based band made up of Lee Piazza (vocals), Nate Lyons-Fisher (guitar), Jay Organek (bass) and Chris Mason (drums, synth) and they certainly played an energetic set. There is no way you can say that The Wilderness does not attempt to pull out all the stops when they play; they had poster boards with their lyrics, balloons, a glitter shaker, and a typewriter that was being used (yes, a typewriter).
Their meld of alt-roots and upbeat almost-dance rock was a good transition between Trevor James & The Perfect Gentleman and Lovely Killbots. They managed to get the crowd all riled up for the change in pace of music. They played a fun and energetic set that was worth watching for amusement alone, regardless of what their music sounded like.
I will say that I have never seen a crowd so entranced. Taking a look around the crowd, people were either dancing away without a care in the world or transfixed on Lee. People were actually rushing the front of the stage in hopes that they would be covered in glitter when Lee started to remove the lid of the bottle of glitter. Although that sounds like a lot of fun, especially if you’re extremely intoxicated, I must say that not everyone might want to be completely covered in glitter (i.e. Amanda who was holding an expensive camera). And it was literally EVERYWHERE afterwards – on the floor in front of the stage, on people, on the stairs, etc. Got to give them credit, though; they really know how to keep a crowd on their toes.
Trevor James & The Perfect Gentlemen
By the time Trevor James & The Perfect Gentlemen hit the stage, Sneaky Dee’s was already pretty packed. The only drawback was that people seemed to be more interested in socializing, especially given that there was a sizeable crowd there for a bachelor party. However, the guys still played a solid set of folk-rock.
This Ottawa/Montreal 3-piece band is led by Trevor James (Lapointe) (vocals, guitar), with Tyson Hiseler (bass, vocals) and Hamish Robertson (drums) as The Perfect Gentlemen. I like their minimalist approach. There’s just 3 guys that like to play some good tunes, no bells or whistles, just some brazen hearty folk-rock. It works for them. Trevor has a great voice, with some great harmonies from Tyson, and it’s nice to let the music speak for itself sometimes.
Hands & Teeth were likely my favourite act of the night and I can’t think of a better way to have started off the night. It was already a fairly good turnout when they started, though they did have to ask to crowd to move up a little. By the time Hands & Teeth ended their set, it was quite packed at Sneaky Dee’s. This 5-piece band is made up of Kevin Black (vocals, guitar), Adam Kolubinski (drums, vocals), Derek Monson (bass, vocals), Natasha Pasternak (vocals, guitar, keys), and Jeff Pinto (keys, guitar, vocals).
They played quite the energetic set and they don’t adhere to any specific vocalist, as they play a bit of musical chairs with Natasha and Jeff switching spots. With all five members contributing some amount of vocals, the harmonies were impeccable. Natasha, when on lead vocals, was on the speakers reaching out into the crowd. Their sound is pop rock with some classical elements influencing them, some songs being dreamy ballads and some being more boisterous pop. To put it simply, they’re just fun to watch.
Although longtime friends, the band has not really been around that long and they only have one live recording under their belts, Live at Harrowing Heights, which you can listen to on their website. However, they are looking to release their Enjoy Your Lifestyle EP soon. Check them out!
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