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Concert reviews Music

Shows that rocked Toronto last week

ROBYN at Sound Academy, Wednesday, January 26. Rating: NNNN

Robyn has become a left-field idol with an obsessive cult following of young women and gays. Those fans jammed into Sound Academy to witness the Swedish performer’s second Toronto love-in in under a year. A thundering rendition of the Max Martin-produced Time Machine set the tone for what was to come: an hour-plus workout for both star and audience.

The set list rarely strayed from the dance floor, featured all but two tracks from Body Talk and was bookended by another Max Martin number: an a cappella singalong of her 90s hit Show Me Love. Robyn’s stage presence combines the swagger of a hip-hop star and the earnestness of a pop singer. She’s cocky, direct and unafraid to act ridiculous – as when she pretended to make out with herself during Dancing On My Own.

The minimal stage design (her logo and two giant glowing pinwheels) kept the focus squarely on the music, performed by two keyboard players and a drummer – with generous vocal support from the audience. “We don’t have our second drummer,” she said. “But we have you.”

KEVIN RITCHIE

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DAS RACIST at Wrongbar, Friday, January 28. Rating: NN

Das Racist’s irreverent deconstructionist take on hip-hop has inspired a cottage industry of online music criticism, but what makes for interesting blog fodder evidently does not make for a good concert. Given their ironic mugging and bizarre drugged-out demeanour, the temptation is to put quotation marks around the set. But even if it was all intended as anti-rap performance art, it still wasn’t worth the cost of admission.

When a group’s appeal is their lyrics, it’s nice to be able to hear them. The MCs were noticeably annoyed by sound problems, but that hardly excuses their half-slurred, half-shouted delivery. They seemed more interested in between-song banter, stopping tracks midway through to cram in more sarcastic zingers. Rather than finishing with the ubiquitous Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell, they ended by smugly vamping over Tina Turner’s Simply The Best.

After such a shambolic set, the question isn’t whether Das Racist are joking but whether they’re laughing with us or at us.

RICHARD TRAPUNSKI

BESNARD LAKES at Lee’s Palace, Saturday, January 29. Rating: NNNN

Judging by the strong turnout at Lee’s Palace, Montreal space-rockers Besnard Lakes are finally reaping the rewards of all the hard work they’ve put in over the past eight years. With their custom light show and casually confident stage presence, they appear ready to be rock stars.

Of course, none of that would matter if they didn’t sound great, which they did, easily pulling off walls of guitar noise and delicate spot-on harmonies. Lead vocalist Jace Lasek’s day job running a recording studio obviously gives them a sonic edge.

Curiously, about an hour into their marathon set, a division between diehard fans and curiosity-seekers emerged. Elbow room opened up in the previously packed club, suggesting that Besnard’s tripped-out drone sections had tested the patience of some. As great as their tones and textures are, occasionally the songs take a back seat. Still, those of us with longer attention spans were loving every minute.

BENJAMIN BOLES

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