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| (c) Geoff Thomlinson |
First up was Valleys. A 3 member band comprising of 2 male guitarists, one of whom sometimes does double duty on a floor tom, and a female synthesizer player. The lead guitarist and the pianist often sing together in soft breathy tones. The other guitarist spent most of his time staring at his array of effects pedals, which is no doubt why they classify their own music in the shoe-gaze genre. It was dreamy, ambient music with occasional sonic bursts from the guitar or drum.
Next was Suuns. This all-male band can best be described as dance music/electronica meets hard rock. The pianist typically lays down looping samples and fat beats (all the while twitching like mad) backed by the drummer. Eventually the other 2 guitarists come in with cacophonous chords, riffs, and pedal effects. The energy level was very high, and they were the highlight of the night for me.
The main act was Besnard Lakes. I'm a bit surprised at the ages of the group's husband-and-wife leads. It's a bit strange to see people in their 40s/50s still tour the smaller clubs. But if you still have passion for the music I suppose you keep at it. Their music was in the same vein as the previous two bands, mainly rock with lots of layered effects. They did bring their own light show. But for some reason, I wasn't as into them. After a couple of songs, I realize why. If you strip away the guitar effects and other accoutrements, the bass, drums, and arrangements have a very middle-of-the-road "classic" rock sound. Besnard Lakes are at their best when the male lead, Jace Lasek, plays the piano and uses his falsetto voice. This really elevated their atmospheric music to something unusual and interesting.
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