La Nouvelle Vague

On Saturday, I went to a show at The Garrison. It was part of a 3-day mini-festival of the long-running series Wavelength. Although there were intriguing acts throughout the week-end, I only picked one night because the sound at this venue is poor and Wavelength's shows are notoriously late (while usually booking 3 or more acts.)

So I wasn't surprised that when I showed up the 2nd band was only halfway through their set and around 20 minutes behind. This would increased to almost an hour by the time the headliner played.  Future Peers played a fun set of rocking pop songs with a touch of new wave 80s. The singer kept the crowd engaged with his stage antics. Next up was Twist headed by Laura Hermiston (BB Guns). Last time I saw them, they had a garage-band DIY feel. But tonight they were solidly in Alvvays meets Indigo Girls territory.

Tonight's headliner was Montreal's Anemone. This was also their Toronto's album release for the new LP Beat The Distance. Their set was wall-to-wall French go-go updated for the 21st century and the crowd joined in the non-stop dancing. Fronted by a mesmerizing Chloé Soldevila, they have the ingredients to break into the mainstream. Perhaps they could get a lucky break and have a song featured in a hit movie or TV show. But Anemone's tendency to spin off mid-song into long extended jams did wear on the audience, especially as we approached 2 a.m.