Advertisement

Concert reviews Music

Thrilling ride

The Midways with the Bicycles and the Blue Demons at the Rivoli, March 27. Attendance: 200. Tickets: 6. Rating: NNNN

Rating: NNNNN


i’m not a difficult woman to please. The Midways pretty much had me from the moment I arrived at the Rivoli Saturday night and was handed a free bag of extra-salty popcorn. I wolfed down the first bag while watching the Blue Demons kick up groovy surf rock instrumentals.

Clad in wrestling masks, the three- piece delivered a high-energy set that was all just a tad too much of the same thing and got kind of tired pretty quickly, a bit like the surf revival back in the 90s. There just wasn’t enough there to it to keep it alive. Still, good stage presence and sense of humour.

My personal favourite tune was Nice Tits.

I munched on my second bag of popcorn during the Bicycles ‘ set of Brit-era 60s jangle pop with shiny happy harmonies, keyboards, trumpet, charming percussion and smiley faces. Matt Beckett and Drew Smith delivered surprisingly light, girly-sounding vocals, a duty they shared with drummer Dana Snell .

Catchy stuff and thoroughly entertaining. I’ve seen these guys before but don’t recall being quite so impressed. Either I wasn’t paying enough attention or they’ve improved dramatically.

The Midways, whom I’d never seen before, have come a long way in recent months. They’re solid now with their too-cool-for-school attitude and a nice dose of goofiness.

They delivered straight-up garage rock ‘n’ roll with roots firmly planted in the 60s, organ-driven and super-slick.

Like a true addict, I’d plowed through two full bags of popcorn by the time the Midways took the stage, and since no one showed any sign of handing me another, I grabbed a half-eaten one off another table.

Gross, I know, but what’s the worst that could happen?

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted