I was at The Monarch Tavern on Thursday for my first live indie show since March 2020. With individual tables scattered throughout, it had a loungy look different from its more neighbourhood bar vibe (though The Monarch was never a dive like The Silver Dollar). This socially distanced set-up was more fiction than fact since you share tables with other people and there was plenty of mingling. But since vaccination proofs were required, as well as being masked if you walked around, it felt safe enough.
Nyssa was the opener and her set of queer Americana was taken mostly from her album Girls Like Me such as Go Away Evil and Misty Morning. She also debuted some new material like The Mystery about a "pansexual love triangle". With her hair now dark instead of platinum blonde, there was a Carole Pope vibe with her look. Nyssa was compelling enough to get an encore call from the audience (Champion of Love) which reminded me of her last equally fun set at this venue. So much so, in fact, that Sir Babygirl asked Nyssa to tour with her in the U.S. after that show.
With Tallies first song, I immediately thought of The Cranberries. Sarah Cogan's singing had a slight lisp that sounded oddly like an accent to me. Yet even after that brain-fart, my impression didn't change. With a pulsing bass and shimmery guitar chords floating over top, their songs from their debut album had that same wistful pop feel. I was tired (even 10:30 pm was now past my bedtime) but Tallies' music contained enough interesting details (despite no straight-up hooks) that I stayed until the end.
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