Don't Fence Me In

After a rich Cuban dinner, I figured to do some dancing Saturday night with a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the crowd was rather light. But the conditions weren't too inviting. To satisfy their sponsor Molson, the Pride organizers had erected opaque metal barriers around the entire square to turn it into a large beer garden. Though you could get in after a line-up, the set-up did not encourage curious passer-bys to enter. Without a head-liner, a lot of casual visitors grew bored with the DJ and left.

Eventually at 10:20 pm, 15 minutes later than the announced start time, dance-pop band Austra took to the stage. Lead singer Katie Stelmanis reminded me of another folkie-turned-electronica Kat Burns (Kashka): same light voice, cutely awkward stage dancing, and penchant for surprisingly deep lyrics for the genre. But Austra's songs were much more steeped in the thumping beats of dance. Which unfortunately for tonight was under-served by the sound system. The set-up was beefier than last night's smaller stage for Carole Pope and Parachute Club. Yet the latter delivered satisfyingly robust volume with clarity, and the former was anemic and muddy. Dance music without booty-shaking sound (and muffled lyrics) is not very interesting. So it was the slower songs including a cover of Nothing Compares 2 U that shone.