Date of show: September 6, 2012
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo
Confession: I went through a pretty serious bubblegum pop and boy band phase growing up. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I enjoy Jane’s Party so much. Blending the essence of The Beach Boys with that of Backstreet Boys, Jeff Giles (vocals, guitar, keys), Tom Ionescu (guitar, vocals), Devon Richardson (vocals, bass, keys), and Zach Sutton (drums) take everything that I loved about that classic genre – smooth, sensuous vocal harmonies and catchy beats – and spin their hooks in such a way that the syrupy sweetness still appeals to my now matured musical palette.
With an overabundance of show options available this Thursday night – including TIFF kick-off parties – the band took the stage to what was sadly an only half-filled Horseshoe. Regardless of the less-than-stellar turnout, the headliners wowed the audience with the energy they put into each and every performance. Their voices were like a hot summer breeze in the September air. With Ionescu and Richardson often sharing one microphone, there was an added sense of intimacy to their set, and they soon had couples in the audience dancing, especially to favourites “Alone Together” and “Bringing Me Down” from the band’s self-titled EP.
The boys of Jane’s Party are set to release a full-length album later this year, which was produced by Taylor Knox (drummer of The Golden Dogs, Rich Aucoin). Their set was filled with new songs, giving the audience a sneak peek into what they can look forward to. Based on this performance, I can’t wait to hear more of what’s coming next from this fab four.
I’ve had a bit of a crush on Toronto band Cai.ro for the past little while, in large part because of their live performance. On this occasion, they set up some mood lighting across the stage. The softly glowing orbs helped set the tone for their richly romantic, yet sometimes dark and haunting set. While opening song “Vampyre” was actually frightening, with the anguished repetition of “no, no, no, no” coming from deep within frontman Nate Daniels, the piano in the expansive and lush single “All These Colours” was soul-lightening. This one once again stole the show for me.
The band has been working on new material, with many new songs making their way into the setlist. One that I was most taken by was also their closing track “Fuck You Up.” Whether it was the endearing way they asked the crowd to let it all out and yell at the beginning of the song, or the hypnotic chanting of “who-na-na” partway through that was almost tribal and/or cult-ish, I still can’t get this one out of my head.
Local band Alright Alright have quickly become one that I look forward to seeing each chance I get. Their Brit-inspired garage rock is powered by Curtis Courtemanche’s crashing drums, the high-energy guitar of Dave McCamus and bass by Graeme Moffatt. Unfortunately during this set, this meant that Omar Saab’s fuzzed out vocals – which sound great on record – often got lost in the shuffle, taking the back seat to the sounds of the instruments. Though then again, it was often difficult to concentrate on anything other than McCamus’ face-shielding mop of curls bouncing along.
In addition to the swinging single “Jackie Monroe,” a highlight of the set was their cover of The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There,” that inspired some dancing in the crowd. It channeled, and effectively brought to mind, everything that was so great about music of that era. They finished with “Blue Jean Baby,” which was such a poppy burst of fresh energy. This song is available as part of their recently released Cellar Singles Volume 2, now available on their Bandcamp for free download – check it out and just try not to dance to it!
buying shots for bands 
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