Wind Up

A music festival like NxNE could be a time to discover a slew of new bands. But two good bands were playing at The Rivoli on Thursday night. With its impeccable sound, this is one of the best venues in Toronto. So I couldn't pass up the chance to check our their early time slots.

Along with the great sound mix, there was a lighting dude mixing things with strobse, lights, projectors. He did a nice on-the-fly job supporting the musicians. It was perfect for Fevers and their dance-pop music. Though the first song was more introspective, it was followed by energetic numbers like Pray For Sound and Dance Cry Dance. Even a slow burner like the final song (Angélie) got amped up by the end. It was too bad their 8 pm start meant a sparse crowd. But those who were there did shake their booty.

With the short gap between sets and their complicated set-up, Sidney York was 15 minutes late. But they made up for it by eliminating almost all banter or gaps and played one upbeat song followed immediately by another including Weird Like You, Mile High Love and Dick & Jane. They did chatted with the crowd when they covered new songs (ElectroLove). It was also a popular set with the much larger audience. But the pace meant they had less time to highlight their unique instruments like bassoon and french horn.

Hannah Epperson wasn't quite as dancey, though with an accomplice manning the synth drum pads, there was an element of slow electronica to her music. This singer/violinist liked to layer and loop her playing to generate rhythm, melody, and chords. Somewhere on the classical/pop border, it was a music of arpeggios and pizzicato picks, as well as bits of discordant chords or effects. Sometimes loopers can be predictably dull: lay down a track, loop it, lay down another, and so on. Epperson added snippets, brought them back in different contexts, and in general made her songs (Shadowless, Cat's Cradle) flowed dynamically. An excellent set but a rather reticent stage presence.