Play - Do

The Bell House, Brooklyn (c) TheMst.com

I sometimes complain about the lateness of some music acts. Some of us have to get up early the next day. So a pair of acts at Wrongbar scheduled for Saturday from 6-10pm sounded just up my alley. Having bought my ticket at Soundscapes (original concert location: The Mod Club), I spent a lazy afternoon doing acro yoga at the park. A leisurely dinner until 8 or so was the plan until I found out from a Facebook post that the opening act was at 7 pm. They're serious about that early start!

I saw Allie Hughes back in March. Back then, I thought she had a powerful voice but not much else going on. I wanted to see if things have changed. A sparse crowd of about 20 was scattered around the room when I arrived at 7:20 pm. I caught the last 3 songs in her set. Her band was much more polished and greatly benefited from the good sound system and smaller venue. She still likes to harness that big voice to some quirky tunes but she's growing into her style. But her last number, a more mainstream duet called "Not The Stars" (1st track here), was an excellent crowd-pleaser. I wonder if she should grow her concert fan-base with these conventional songs and let them discover her more avant-garde stuff when they buy the CD.

The ♩ø (as in do-re-mi) is a Finnish-French duo who had success with their debut album, A Mouthful, when it was released in France in 2008. Not sure how they were received in Toronto last year but only about 50 or so people came to see them tonight. Well, they missed a fun show and gave me a chance to stand right up at the stage and discover this great act.

The Bell House, Brooklyn (c) TheMst.com

Dan Levy is a multi-instrumentalist who stayed mainly with his electric bass though he will occasionally play the electric organ or reach into his grab-bag of instruments (flute, percussion, chimes). A twin to Johnny Depp, he spent the night either strutting or hopping around on stage, laying down some groovy bass. Early on though, he did give an appreciate Gallic stare at some girls next to me. And well he should. One cute girl, in a chin-length bowl cut, was bobbing along in a 60s-style dress - snug to the body with a loose knee-length skirt. The other girl was Robyn sexy with a blond bob and a red top.

The Bell House, Brooklyn (c) TheMst.com

Olivia Merilahti out-shoned them though in her white suede boots and a red-yellow designer dress. A tiny tricorne perched fetchingly on one side of her red-maned head for half the night. They say Finland has some of the most beautiful women in the world; she is rather spectacular but in an otherworldly super-model way (all high cheek-bones and strong jawline) instead of your everyday attractive woman (round faces and soft cheeks). Her breathy alto voice is more full-bodied live than on the album and she also played guitar on some songs. An interesting guitarist and able drummer rounded out the band.

Their dance pop style sounds even better live. With the studio instrumentation stripped away, they acquire a rawer, more rock sound while still retaining those catchy beats and rhythms. Their cover of Janelle Monae's Tightrope is a blues-rock number with a massive crescendo. Their newer tracks are also fun to listen to. In fact, their last number - and one of their best - is a new song called "Dust It Off". A folk-like ballad that became a sonic explosion as Olivia layered on looping samples of her singing and the two guitar players abandoned their instrument to simply play with their effects pedals.

It was on the strength of that number, and the rest of the set, that got them an encore. Though most of the audience was packed right up against the small stage, it wasn't a big crowd. So they and the management thought the show was over when they stepped off. The house music had already come on. But the persistent clapping of the audience convinced the technicians to run backstage to grab them for another song. They seemed genuinely surprised and pleased, and ended the night with "Travel Light" - a song whose announcement elicited a delightful shriek from one of their fans.

The Do is the first act since Basia Bulat where I became a fan right after the concert. Having bought their debut CD afterward, I hope they release their second album soon and come back to Toronto again.

EDIT: Photos of the Wrongbar concert can be found at Chromewaves.

MORE EDIT: 2 acoustic songs (The Bridge is Broken, and new song Dust It Off) filmed in Toronto by Mitch Fillion.