Devil at the Crossroad

Wednesday night, I went to the Junction Music Hall at Keele and Dundas for the first time. This slightly grimy basement bar seemed a better fit elsewhere than in the gentrified Junction area. I came a bit later because I wanted to avoid drum-and-bass (not the genre) duo Baa. No such luck. I'm sure playing music is fun but as a listener, a bunch of songs made up of similar-sounding bass riffs and drum rhythms got old quickly. On the brighter note, they didn't attempt any slap-bass technique.

The major feature of this venue was the wall of retro arcade cabinets and pinball machines. Along with the narrow space, it created a room for drinking and chatting up friends. Unfortunately, this atmosphere didn't help L Con and their airy synth-pop. But those of us paying attention was rewarded with bjork-esque tunes like Come To Autumn and song off their latest 7" (The Distance of the Moon, Without Colours). They ended with a new number that, if sped up, would be a sure-fire club hit.

I saw The Burning Hell at The Dakota in a mini-band format. His verbose songs were often wry and carried a dry wit. But as it turns out, with a full band, his set also turned into fun and danceable music. This was the first time I've ever seen duelling solos between an electric guitar and a clarinet. He stuck with newer numbers, whether off his latest album (Realists, Grown-Ups, Barbarians) or literally new and as yet un-recorded including an ode to his first cassette Pop Goes The World. This may be surprising since he had 4 albums of material, but as he told the crowd after a particularly raucous number: "It's fun playing new songs". It was a great set and the audience was loudly appreciative.