Chunky Funky

For music festivals like CMW, I only go out one night and limit myself to a single venue nowadays. So I was at Longboat Hall for a show sponsored by radio station The Edge. I skipped the 7 and 8 pm because spending 5 hours here would be too much for these old bones.

I arrived as the 3rd act started their set. Cheap Tobacco is a rock band from Poland. Given their relative unknown status and the early slot meant that there was just a smattering of people milling around at the back, as stand-offish Torontonians are wont to do. It was too bad they had flown all this way for a diffident reception but Cheap Tobacco tried their best to play a high-energy set. With Natalia Robert Michal on lead, big chords, long guitar solos, and repeated choruses, they reminded me of female-fronted 80s band like Lee Aaron. Which is to say, perfect for listeners of The Edge, but probably not  100% mesh with an indie crowd.

Walker Lukens did better in the 10 pm slot. The 80s-inspire pop got the crowd dancing and moving closer to the stage. Songs like Heard You Bought a House and Black Mirror were catchy, with thick bass, drums, and punchy synth and vocals. But the indie side of Lukens often peeked through, with odd effects and bridges between verses. It kept his music fresh and interesting.

Despite the official short set requirement, The Bright Light Social Hour brought a whole show. Since they were on tour for their new EP, they had a full lighting set-up. With a light tech on the side, TBLSH had a projector and cascading strands of controllable LEDs up on stage. These would be lit up all night with multi-coloured effects that pulsed, swirled, waved, and shimmered. And if that sounded psychedelic, well TBLSH has gone full 70s psych funk. There were certainly hints of it on their last album Space Is Still The Place. The crowd ate it up and gleefully danced for the whole set. Appropriately enough, the bassist wished everyone "love from the whole universe" to close out the night. That's like, totally rad, man.