Date of show: October 5, 2012
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo
Originally merely meant to be Teenage Kicks’ largest headlining show in Toronto yet, with the announcement that it would be bassist Jeff van Helvoort and guitarist Patrick Marchent’s final show with the band, it took on a newfound significance. Surrounded by friends and a packed venue of avid fans, it was truly a celebratory night, and reminded us that we have a lot to be thankful for in the local Toronto music scene.
Toronto’s Teenage Kicks are that band that makes you believe in music again; believe in life, believe in something real. Working a mundane job to make ends meet and keep your dreams alive, the band voices the frustrations that so many of us share, and their live show offers a release. Introduced by a friend before taking the stage, “You want the best? You got the best – the hottest band in all the land,” they more than lived up to this description.
Frontman Peter van Helvoort came out jumping and despite recently being sick, Jeff didn’t show it. The crowd was ravenous from the first riffs of “Setting Son” and this only built through “And Everybody Knows It” until mayhem really broke out during their new song, with its undeniably catchy chorus “f— you all and go to hell.” As if the crowd needed another trigger to really get their adrenaline pumping, a mosh pit soon formed, and much of the rest of the set was a blur of pushing, shoving, crowd surfing and shards of broken beer bottles littering the floor.
In a moment of hilarity and camaraderie, Teenage Kicks sent out a new song to their friends in The Sweet Mack – during which Luke Bentham (The Dirty Nil) began dousing the band with beer from the top window at the side of the stage. So obviously, they tossed up a tambourine for him to play. Their set ended with Peter rocking out at the edge of the stage for “Hearts of Darkness,” a beautiful crowd sing-along to “If you’re falling to the ground, just build it up” during closer “Brooklyn Bridge” and Peter lifting guitarist Christian Turner up onto his shoulders.
The five members left the stage to chants not for another song but simply for more “TEENAGE KICKS, TEENAGE KICKS.” Returning for an encore, Peter took the opportunity to first play “You Shall Not Want” solo, a song that rarely gets performed live because of its simple nature. The band came back out for “Shook Our Bones” and then having already dedicated a song to Peter and Jeff’s father, they sent out their cover of CCR’s “Proud Mary” to Mama van Helvoort. Proving he’s not yet quite as old as he often says, Peter spent half the song surfing the throes of the crowd.
There is a lyric in their song “I Get What You Give” that goes “Maybe it won’t be long, till they all sing your songs.” If this night was any indication, that time has come for Teenage Kicks. The next while may be rough with the imminent line-up changes facing the band, but this wasn’t a farewell show. Having already announced Jay Reid of Lifestory:Monologue as the new bassist, I can’t think of anyone more suitable to fill Jeff’s shoes.
Having not played in Toronto for a while, the crowd was chanting with anticipation before the band even broke into their sinfully sweet harmonies. There’s just something about The Sweet Mack that encourages dudes to yell, dance, and take their shirts off. By the time sultry island-flavoured “Ivory Coast” came around, shirts were landing at the feet of frontman Mattie Leon. Their set also included “Overachiever,” “Zoe,” “Landslide” and a new song “Night and Day.” Ending with “Lady Cat” and “Stray,” two of their more rocking songs, they left the stage with the crowd dripping sweat and begging for an encore.
Likely a result of having gained experience on the road over the summer, what I noticed immediately was that the band was more comfortable letting loose and taking risks on stage, especially allowing Adam Montgomery to really wail away on the guitar. This also has to have been one of the most technically tight Sweet Mack sets we’ve seen yet – and trust me, we’ve seen a lot of Sweet Mack sets!
There is always a buzz in the air when Hamilton’s The Dirty Nil – or as singer Luke Bentham would say, “TheDirtyFuckingNilFromDundasOntarioCanada” – takes the stage. There were a few distinct differences to this set of theirs: 1. Bentham donned long sleeves rather than the star shirt that he became famous for over the summer; 2) Bentham and Dave Nardi (bass) opted to yell into separate microphones rather than sharing a singular one. (Nardi still rocked out on his toes and drummer Kyle Fisher still ended up shirtless as always, so luckily not everything had changed).
The band kicked off their set dedicating a cover of The Replacements’ “Left of the Dial” to the band of the hour, Teenage Kicks, before getting into the buckets-of-sweat fist-pumping aggression of “Cinnamon,” “Verona Lung” and latest single “Little Metal Baby Fist.” The fact that Bentham does it all with the largest grin possible on his face the entire time just makes it that much better. For any other band, some of their antics could be construed as gimmicky, but for this trio, it’s real and organic and it’s just so obvious they live and breathe what they are doing on stage.
They ended with “Fuckin’ Up Young,” which has quickly become an anthem for this generation, and the song guaranteed to get the crowd even more riled up, chanting along. Without even having released a full-length yet, The Dirty Nil are one of those bands that make me excited for the future of music.
Local four-piece CUBS opened the night. Comprised of Brennan Finlay (vocals, guitar), Brian Craig (guitar), Michael Wickens (bass), and Jon Lubanski (drums), the band played deceptively lighter, folk-influenced rock and roll than I initially expected at first glance. They ended up being a good complement to the poppiness of The Sweet Mack. Their set included “Darlin” and “Hard To Love,” two songs for which they’ve filmed Live In Bellwoods videos. Starting slow, they ended with a catchy untitled track that likely caught the attention of the growing crowd.
Having grown up with Peter van Helvoort of Teenage Kicks, Finlay mentioned that he has been a big influence on their band, and they were excited for the opportunity to share the stage with them. If the company this band keeps is any indication, they will likely be one you want to keep on your radar in the future. CUBS’ EP Easy There is available for free download on their Bandcamp.
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