Praise The Lawr!

Saturday night, a small gathering came to the Tranzac for MINOTAURS cd release party. The evening started on a surreal note with mime-clown Foo, a "psychic" who spoke in non-sensical syllables. She wandered the floor doing mind-readings and then invited various participants up on stage for a one-on-one. Kashka (Kat Burns' new dance project) played some catchy pop. With 3-part harmonies and an excellent sound mix, the music was infectious while highlighting Burns' continued use of interesting imagery and enigmatic lyrics from her Forest City Lover days.

Before MINOTAURS, Nick Flanagan entertained the crowd with some stand-up comedy. It was a bit hit and miss, with most of his material coming from being broke and crashing on various friends' couches. MINOTAURS came on (almost in a "Play him off, keyboard cat!" way), 13 strong and headed by Nathan Lawr, to play 70s-style funk protest songs. Drawing from the new release, New Believers, Strange Fire, Windchimes In The Evening and Open The Doors had tight horn section, thrilling guitars and drums, and polemical lyrics. The songs got an enthusiastic reception from the crowd. The only negative was the odd decision to set up cabaret-style seating, when this music was meant for dancing. So despite several exhortations from band members, people stay planted in their seat or stood milling at the back behind the tables.