I'm just back from an amazing free show that I attended at the Mod Club courtesy of the XM Verge Awards. I won tickets a couple of weeks ago by quickly responding to an email from the Weakerthans mailing list. As soon as I read that not only the Weakerthans, but Hey Rosetta! and Metric would be playing, I could hit reply fast enough. But I did, and I won, and I was psyched.
All I have to say is that the show totally exceeded my expectations.
I was expecting, oh, maybe 4 songs from each band. However, I got a fantabulous Tuesday night show. Did I mention it was free? Did I mention it was at the Mod Club, which is pretty small, and wasn't even very packed?
I brought my friend Jane (also a teacher) with me, and we had fun laughing about being tired tomorrow at work, but we didn't really care. We rocked out. I also ran into a blog buddy at the show, which was very cool! I can't wait to see his pictures of the show!
Hey Rosetta! played first, and they played a good 6 songs or so, including one that I didn't recognize, which I suspect may be new, and it was oh so great. I've only seen Hey Rosetta! really once before, when they opened for Hawksley. This was a short set, but an excellent one, and I'm hoping they'll be in Toronto soon, so I can see a proper full Hey Rosetta! show.
Up next were my beloved Weakerthans, who, as anyone who has ever read this blog will know, are my very favourite band on earth. They played a great show as always, and it was a long set. It almost felt like a full Weakerthans show. Win!
I've seen the Weakerthans countless times and in so many different circumstances. I first saw them at a skeezy metal club on Queen St. Becca T and I once almost froze to death on the streets of Hamilton to see them. And of course, I flew to Texas to see them play at SXSW. (Well, I went for the whole SXSW experience, but the dream was to see them there. And I did.) I've seen the Weakerthans with so many of my favourite people in the world, that whenever I see them, I end up thinking about all of my good times that revolved around their shows, my friends, and how I've really grown in the past 8 years that I've been a Weakerthans fan.
Now, if the Weakerthans are my old buddies, Metric was the new friend that totally won me over. I've always liked Metric, and their last album really impressed me. However, I've never seen them before. I think it's because they play a lot at festivals, and I prefer small shows.
As soon as Emily came on stage and broke into "Twilight Galaxy" I thought "why have I not seen this band before?" Then she started head-banging over her keyboard while the background lights were flashing. She is mesmerizing to watch. I had so much fun dancing and pumping my fists along with their songs. Metric is such a great live band. And, I was so fortunate to see them in such a small place. However, they totally put on a stadium-caliber show despite the small venue.
I should now go crawl into bed so I have some sort of energy to work tomorrow. However, I'll probably be able to survive on post-concert adrenaline.
6 comments:
From a strictly audio perspective, the Mod Club is probably Toronto's finest small concert venue. I have never heard a cleaner sound from a venue of that nature. I saw Porcupine Tree there and was just blown away at the sound quality in that place. I later saw Tortoise there. I had previously seen Tortoise at Lee's Palace. The difference in sound quality was gaping. I don't know why it took so long for somebody to build a concert venue that actually sounds good.
Massey Hall was designed for sound, but it wasn't designed for rock and roll. Right now, Massey Hall needs an overhaul.
The Kool Haus (or whatever it's called this week) should be burnt to the ground and rebuilt to properly stage concerts. It's a warehouse with a stage, not a concert hall. (Hence one of it's previous names: The Warehouse.)
The Music Hall rattles too much when the performers use a lotta bass.
The Horseshoe's not bad.
Anywhere else in town, it's been too long for me to remember any detail other than "too much feedback."
That. Sounds. Awesome.
Cxx
Sounds like you had an amazing time!! I'm digging Metric at the moment as well and I've also enjoyed a show or two at the Mod Club. I like that it's tiny.
Miss Ash
I can't seem to log on ugh!
I hear you on not loving festivals - sounds like this show was a total score!! Hooray! I would like to see Metric too, I've been listening to them forever and have also never seen them live.
I'm still not sure about the weakerthans. Even if they are from Winnipeg!
That was indeed a terrific night full of win. All 3 bands were great - Weakerthans played my fave tunes, and Metric was electric. Great to bump into you at last!
Thanks for the article.Sounds like you had an amazing time!! I'm digging Metric at the moment as well.
Thanks,
Portable Storage,
www.moveablecubicle.com
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