WHERE: sound academy, toronto
WHEN: october 15, 2009
ok so i've been waiting to see this show since like forever. i bought the tickets way back during the advanced presale! needless to say, i was pretty excited. i saw SSPU for the first time at sasquatch this summer and i'd never really heard of them. but i enjoyed them and started listening for them on the radio. the more i heard, the more i liked!the show was very well performed. lead vocalist brian aubert has a very distinctive voice and in my opinion is a very good singer. he was no disappointment live. the whole band was full of energy and genuinely happy to be playing to this crowd. toronto has been very good to them and they enjoy putting on shows here.
the only disappointment i can think of is that they didn't play a show for casual fans. this can be a plus or minus depending on what side of the fan fence you sit on... the hardcore fans were probably thrilled that they played a super long set. casual fans maybe not so much... they music was good but waiting for your favourite (read: radio played) songs can really drag a show out. even though i was really excited for the show, i would class myself as a casual fan and i found myself dipping mid-set. instead of spreading out the easily recognizable tunes, they bookended the performance with them. it made for an AWESOME finale but it was a long time coming.
being older than i'm willing to admit, i am starting to seriously dislike midweek shows... doors for this show didn't open until 8 and on the way to the show the radio announced that SSPU wouldn't be going on until 11! so you bet on at least 45-50 minute set + an encore and things NEVER run on schedule... so then damn! you're not home and in bed until 1:30! having to get up for work 5 hours later just ruins your friday.
despite what sounds like a long list of complaints i would most definitely see them again next time they hit toronto. you should too.
backing bands:
an horse - a rocking and folksy (if the two can co-exist) from brisbane, australia. they played a good little set... so much sound for a little twosome! i don't have any of the lyrics or melodies stuck in my head but i definitely enjoyed them. there were definitely some people in the crowd who REALLY enjoyed them. i can never understand how some fans can get SO worked up with all the screaming and the yelling and the jumping up and down for mellower-sounding bands - such a contradiction... but whatever, all of their cds were sold out before i even got into the building!
cage the elephant - for only knowing their one overplayed radio hit, i thoroughly enjoyed this performance. my only complaint - the voice mic was cranked up way too loud... other than my slightly annoyed eardrums, the rest of me was (pardon the retro hipster in me) moving and shaking to the beat. lead singer matt shultz apparently didn't take his ritalin for the past month because he was bouncing off the walls, the floor, and the crowd. if he didn't have a mic in his hand, you might have thought he was having a seizure. i will definitely be downloading their album in a no way illegal manner.
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