After having walked what felt like the length of Toronto proper – twice – it was good to see Gary from These Electric Lives at the Dakota Tavern. He greeted us with a welcome beer following our travels of the city across and back. We found our way to the Dakota following the Warpaint show at the Horseshoe after already having walked back and forth between the two venues for our Young Empires chat.
Not to drive the point too far home, but to surmise our travels:
- Upon arrival we walked a good deal to get our passes from our hotel to another before making the lengthy trek to our Warpaint interview at the Horseshoe
- Following that experience we walked to the Dakota before backtracking a bit to hit the bar at which we met Young Empires upon their suggestion, having initially walked past the location
- Following this second interview we cabbed it back to the Warpaint show at the Horseshoe due to our aching feet and annoyance level
- Subsequent to what was one of my favorite sets of the entire festival, we decided to make the trek on foot once again back to the Dakota possessing some time to kill
- This wasn’t so bad until realizing we had ultimately walked several blocks past the street we should have turned down to make it to the Dakota
-Our jaunt from this point was rather lengthy in both reality and lengthier in perception, so that beer upon arrival at the Dakota was quite welcome.
Either way you slice it, there was a whole bunch of walking going on with inadequate footwear.
After Young Empires’ set, we grabbed another beer while gearing up for Japandroids. To my mind it seemed a good idea that as the lesser Japandroids fan between myself and Andy, I should be the one to give them their proper due in a recap since I could do it without incessant fawning and/or adulation. We had been planning on seeing Japandroids for another show later in the week, but we jumped all over the special guest show they were secretly playing. This information was made privy to us by the members of Young Empires in our lengthy chat earlier that evening.
As to be expected, Japandroids are quite the intense duo in their live setting. Sonically you know what you are getting if you’ve ever listened to the band, because performed live the band’s songs sound just as they do when recorded in the studio; distorted, loud, carefree, and full of palpable energy. The most memorable track of the set for me constitutes the easiest-to-recognize Japandroids song – though perhaps not favorite – in my experience, Post-Nothing’s opener “The Boys Are Back In Town.” I don’t know the band’s catalogue well enough to give the set list, but that great familiarity of the band’s work wasn’t needed for my enjoyment speaks to either my inebriation level or the quality of the band’s play. And I’ll just say that Gary was the most drunk, unlike at our birthday show when it was me, so my enjoyment was more due to the latter.
Japandroids – The Boys Are Leaving Town (mp3) from Post-Nothing
P.S. As an addendum to Andy stating I retracted my “inside Hollywood” comment regarding Warpaint: I felt pretty terrible for having written it as the band members explicitly stated completely antagonistic remarks to what I had written about in what can only be considered careless haste. My apologies and retraction are the best I can do to erase those comments from memory.
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