Top Live # 9 – Think About Life, The Acorn, Plants and Animals, The Russian Futurists – Lee’s Palace – March 12

The thing with Canadian Music Week is that it can often come off as one long New Years Eve debacle. You go with the best of intentions to get as much out of it as possible, only to end up with your hopes shattered at the end of it. Well this show was my kiss at midnight.

Instead of going the CMW wristband route, I opted to go out in one blaze of glory. A gamble, but it had been half a year since I last danced the night away with Think About Life. That combined with consistently missing The Acorn and Plants and Animals made this an ideal gig. It was actually so jam packed that I’m actually surprised that my head didn’t explode during it.

There were a couple of other bands on the bill as well, but the fact that I forget who they even were says it all about them. I only remember the Russian Futurists because I thought their lead singer looked like Philip Seymour-Hoffman. Needless to say, I still don’t get them. Who knows, maybe they’ll grow on me…

The Acorn were a killer band to see live. Two drum kits going at the same time always makes me happy. Plus the guitars were TIGHT. I really can’t ask for more in a set. If you want to see a lot of gimmicky stuff on stage, go see Still Life Still. If not, see the Acorn. Singer Rolf Klausener also announced that night that guitarist Howie Tsui would be leaving to pursue a career in art. So it looks like I caught them just in time.

Then came Montreal’s Plants and Animals who turned it up a notch. If you have the yearning to see a great rock and roll act, check them out. They’re loud, they have skills, and they bring a lot of energy to the stage. Just how much? Well let’s just say Nicolas Basque was wearing white jeans and was dancing across the stage with his guitar. You couldn’t help but smile while you watched. I was sitting next to Leif Vollebeck and you could clearly see the enjoyment on his face. 

By the time Think About Life took the stage, you could see that the night had taken its toll on the audience. I would like to think that it was an exhaustive lineup that saw the crowd thin out. It’s far more likely however that many audience members just didn’t know who TAL were. The lucky ones that stuck around – and there were a lot – are now fans for life. The amount of energy that they bring with them is phenomenal. Playing songs like Johanna and Sweet Sixteen brought out the showman in Martin Cesar. All the while quiet genius Graham Van Pelt corralled the efforts around the stage. My only complaint is that they got screwed out of their set time. I think they were only given about five or six songs which is a travesty if you’ve been waiting patiently all night to hear a band!

It was worth the late night that saw me sleeping on a couch at work while waiting for my morning shift to start. Epic concerts such as this one really make that kind of headache worthwhile.