Date of show: February 8, 2014
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo
It was a packed Horseshoe by the time Vancouver’s The Belle Game graced the stage. The first heavy strands of blanketed baroque beauty from the quintet echoed through the hushed crowd before frontwoman Andrea Lo (vocals) picked up the tambourine, breaking the spell momentarily before the band launched into the darkly groovy “Wasted Light.” Instantly mesmerizing, there is some sort of magnetic hypnotism to her voice that quickly draws you into her melancholy embrace – especially when belting her heart out on songs like “River” and “Little Wars (Causing You Trouble).” Behind her, the rest of the band set the scene with layers upon layers of dizzying otherworldly sonic effects.
Prior to the show, the band had hinted on social media that there would be a special guest for their set. This turned out to be none other than the honorary seventh member of the band, Kevin Drew, who joined them for a new song, which he co-wrote. The captivating dynamic between him and Lo was electrifying throughout the back-and-forth duet, making it easily one of the most memorable moments of the night – narrowly beating out their cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. The band concluded with the percussion-driver “Wait Up For You”, which had keyboardist Katrina Jones – somewhat reluctantly – take up the maracas.
Soon returning to the stage for an encore, the band apologized that they in fact didn’t know any more songs so they opted to cover Nirvana’s “All Apologies.” The audience didn’t need any encouragement to sing along to that one. Lo ended the night with the exclamation to the city of Toronto – “you guys make it so easy to want to come back!” – I’m pretty sure Toronto will welcome you back any time you like, The Belle Game!
Turning the lights down low to provide the right ambience for their shadowy projections, next up was ANAMAI. Fuelled by psychedelic and moody minimalism from Anna Mayberry (vocals, guitar), also of Toronto grunge-rock band HSY, her stage presence was somewhat similar to that of Simone Schmidt’s post-One Hundred Dollars work with Fiver, except the chilling sweetness to Mayberry’s voice was enough to send shivers down your spine.
ANAMAI’s reverbed expansiveness could likely take on a life of its own if given the right atmosphere – the Horseshoe on a Saturday night may not have been the appropriate venue just yet for their low-key nature, which couldn’t quite combat with the audience’s chatter. “Black Crow” and “Pizza” proved to be highlights of the band’s short set. If you missed out, ANAMAI’s three-song EP, The Altar Set can be streamed on Bandcamp via Buzz Records.
Ottawa band FEVERS opened the night with high levels of buoyant energy ladled onto their sampler-driven electro-pop grooves.Like a fever you can’t sweat out, their set was filled with catchy song after catchy song. It was often difficult not to be upswept by the intense vigor of bassist Jim Hopkins. Always a sucker for guy-girl vocals, the depth to Colin McDougall’s (guitar, vocals, keys) vocal contribution complimented the girlish charm of Sarah Bradley’s (vocals, keys) nicely.
Having had to cancel their January Toronto date due to Bradley battling pneumonia, she was still in recovery-mode but hid it well. It would still be good to see her able to go full throttle as she does on the band’s recordings however. They ended their set with a track that proved their capability at even making songs featuring a ukulele ultra dancey – quite the feat! While the band had a fair-sized crowd in attendance for a first opener, unfortunately everyone remained back in the seating or bar area and despite their efforts, Fevers didn’t sway them to get up and dance. Perhaps next time. Until then, their latest album, No Room for Light, can be streamed on their website.
buying shots for bands 
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