Great, great show at Lee’s last night–one of the best I’ve seen all year. People were packing into the place right from the get-go, and all the bands delivered–especially the headliners, who seemingly sold a shit-ton of merch. But really, all three bands were great, and while not sounding exactly the same, they complimented each other nicely. I am definitely gonna look for that Electric Citizen record when it drops, but let’s start things at the beginning…
I can’t remember how many times I’ve seen Electric Magma in a room where there weren’t enough people to get a game of pickup hockey going. But while most opening bands at Lee’s take the stage to an empty floor, there were already plenty of people positioned for Fu Manchu…and maybe a little Magma, too, despite it being Game 7 of the Kings and Ducks series. Hey, ya only get to see these guys every six months or so–if that–but this gig was good enough to tide me over for some time.
Twas my first exposure to Cincy’s Electric Citizen, who’ve previously played with the likes of Kadavar, Dead Meadow and The Sword…albeit not in Toronto. The female-fronted retro-rock outfit comes off as sort of a cross between Blood Ceremony and Castle, although their frontwoman is unencumbered by an instrument, which allows her to really give’r on stage.
Lookout… It’s the ghost of Bobby Liebling!
Although Scott Hill was sporting the exact same t-shirt as the last time they played Toronto, I’d hafta say they put on an even more enjoyable set than last year’s. After dusting off a classic album in its entirety on each of their last two appearances (In Search Of… and The Action is Go, respectively), they opted for a greatest hits set this time, albeit with a handful of new tracks that held up quite well amongst the classics. And hey, they pretty much played everything I wanted to hear: “Boogie Van,” “Hell on Wheels,” “Mongoose,” “Evil Eye,” “California Crossing,” “The Falcon Has Landed” and obligatory set-closer “King of the Road,” to name but a few.
I was also overjoyed when, after three years of yelling out “Weeeeeird…Beeeeeard!” they actually launched into a super-trippy version of it, right then and there. Frankly, I think they were a little sick of the guy who kept yelling for “Redline”–hardly a stand-out track IMO–and were all too happy to play something else for someone. :)
(This is probably my favourite pic of the night.)
