As I mentioned yesterday, Sunset Rubdown is the new band of Spencer Krug, who we all know from Montreal's Wolf Parade. Spencer Krug shares lead vocals with Dan Boeckner in Wolf Parade, however this year both guys have branched off and done their own thing with their own bands. Boeckner's band is called Handsome Furs in case you want to check them out.
I don't know about you guys, but I never really liked the two lead singer concept of Wolf Parade. I always preferred the songs that Boeckner wrote and discarded the Krug tracks. At one point I burned a CD of Apologies to the Queen Mary with all the Krug tracks deleted and renamed the seven song album Apologies to Spencer Krug. I really wasn't a fan of the guys extravagant vocals and elaborate keyboard parts.
But last night changed all that.
Krug, now with own band Sunset Rubdown, showcased his musical stylings amazingly and made me realize that I never gave him a chance when he was with Wolf Parade. With only four people in the band (no bass player?) Sunset Rubdown filled up the club with a wall a sound, which was complemented by Krug's distinctive wail. Despite the urgent and clamouring nature of the music, the band was incredibly tight. At one point, Krug, the guitarist, and the second keyboardist were doing a three part harmonized solo that looked as impressive as it sounded. I knew the show was a success when I inadvertantly started fist-pumping to the ever-infectious beat. That's always the way you can tell you're seeing a good show.
As well as enjoying a great set, I also learned about some cool new indie trends that the members of the bands nicely showcased.
1. Slipons - Now I know slip-ons have sort of been considered cool for a while, but I was finally convinced last night. Chuck taylor's are one thing, but slip-ons exude an air of 'casualness' that is hard to duplicate. The last time I had a pair of slip-ons was grade 1, I think the time has come to get a new pair.
2. Vibrators as musical instruments - For the last song of the set, the female keyboardist took out a vibrator and began playing her xylophone with it. If that's not indie, I don't know what the hell is.
3. Starter brand shoes - Remember Starter hats back in Grade 4? Well, apparently they made shoes as well, and the lead guitarist for Sunset Rubdown had a pair. The question is, do you think he bought them on Ebay, or were they his older brother's and he found them in a box in his parents basement?. . . I wonder. . .
4. Not doing encores - Now in this case, Sunset Rubdown didn't do an encore because of time-constraints, but I feel sometimes not doing encores is almost cooler than doing them. It would have been even cooler if the show was cheaper that $20 too, but I guess that's asking too much.
And that's the review. Good times had by all. Indie week in the Capital continues tonight with The Walkmen at the Bronson Centre. The Walkmen are one of my favourite bands and I'm quite pumped to finally see them live. Seeing as the show is in Ottawa, I have no doubt in my mind that I will be able to get myself a front row spot with no trouble at all.
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