First up was Grimes. She's a petite one-girl-band channelling 80s Madonna, Kylie Minogue and a bit of Bjork. With a synth, drum machine, samplers, and a mike she's her very own dance party. It's danceable music except for 2 caveats: Clair Boucher likes to switch up several times in a song which tends to kill the groove, and her stage experience is weak: songs tend to die off abruptly followed by some mumbled apologia. She is going on a US tour which hopefully will hone her skills.
The 2nd band was Eric Cheneux Electric Trio which actually had 4 members, the percussions and drums were split between two people. The percussionist was the happiest performer I've ever seen. He spent the whole set with his eyes closed and a beatific Buddha smile on his face the entire time. Eric was the singer and guitarist who seems to fuse jazz, blues, and folk music together. His songs had wonderful lyrics and melody but the 3 minute odd, atonal guitar solos left me cold. To be fair, the lead guitar mix the whole night had a hard, shrill metallic tone.
Little Girls was an punk band who hook their instruments to a laptop so we can see a digital visualization of their playing. All pedal effects and reverb, it was a bit hard to make out what the singer is singing. They had a lot of energy on stage but their music actually sounds better on CD, where it's easier to hear the mix, than live.
One of the highlight of the night was the penultimate act: Maylee Todd. I didn't know what to expect from this Jamaican-Chinese singer when she came up on stage in a fuzzy white felt suit, half of her face painted like a Maori warrior, with super-elongated false eyelashes. The rest of her band was practically sedate, having only a bit of face paint. When she strapped on a small harp, I thought quirky Bjork. In fact, her first 2 songs (and almost all of the tunes on her debut CD "Choose Your Own Adventure") were quiet, complex and dreamy. As it turns out, Maylee has done a 180 since her CD as evidenced by the last song on it "Aerobics In Space", which she also sang live. Channeling Aretha Franklin and James Brown, she went into full soul/funk mode (check out her new song Hooked) and did all new material. A James Brown who also sometimes like to break out into tribal dance a la Ballet Creole and boogie with a tooth-shaped mascot. The crowd ate up her performance and music, culminating in a Soul Train line dance on the floor. My first encounter with Maylee won't be my last, she's a great act to watch for in the future.
The other highlight is the final band: Hooded Fang. They always put on a good show and I was glad they got a good venue and great sound mix. Although ostensibly the head-liner, the crowd had thinned after Maylee because it was approaching 1 am. No matter, those of us who stayed got treated to catchy, danceable pop songs with lots of opportunities to clap along. They also did 3 new songs, one of which had a great 50s doo-wop feel. I think that one sealed the deal for the two drunk strangers slow dancing next to me. Doobie doobie doo, indeed.
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