Rating: NNNNN
Reno right for Fukhouse
Arriving Saturday night at System Soundbar for the Fukhouse party, we were immediately struck by how much the recent renovations have improved the club. It feels like a new venue, complete with a new side room where the coat check used to be and a completely reworked main room.
The sound is much better than it was, and it’s still being fine tuned. The layout is much more dance-friendly, and the glassed-in DJ booth is a nice touch for the trainspotters.
Adam Marshall was wrapping up a live laptop set of minimal thumpy techno, which warmed up the crowd nicely for headliner Matthew Dear .
Dear has been getting a lot of props lately, not only from the techno and house massive but also from music nerds in general, for his glitchy but funky and melodic beats. He was also performing live, but took a more extroverted approach, singing along with samples of himself, pumping his fist in the air and dancing around like a lunatic.
Considering that his music is often placed in the “intelligent techno” category, he still managed to rock the dance floor as hard as anyone, turning in one of the best live laptop performances of the year.
Kudos to System Soundbar for taking its renovations seriously. Who knows? This may signal a second wind for the five-year-old after-hours club.
First Ladeez
Got to the first Hey Ladeez party at Stones Place Friday night in time to find a packed club of indie kids getting down to Hannah Sung ‘s mix of trashy and fun R&B and hiphop. Apparently, there was a celebrity kissing booth somewhere, but I couldn’t find it. Left just before Kerry Potts took over the sound system, during a break for a raffle that no one seemed that interested in.
Good debut. Looking forward to the next instalment.
FFamily value
Stopped by the FFamily party at the back room of the Gladstone Friday. Musically, it’s bouncy indie pop, without any of the irony and guilty pop pleasures that are dominating the other indie-disco nights around town. The room is a little big for the crowd, but that means there’s lots of space to dance.
They played some cute videos of people dancing around the DJ set-up, and the energy was happy and fun.
Escoffery brings Sunshine
Therapy threw a Free Tibet fundraiser at 99 Sudbury Friday night, featuring UK deep house vocalist Shaun Escoffery singing with the King Sunshine band. There was a decent-sized crowd out and a great performance by King Sunshine, who are getting tighter and tighter as they mature.
Escoffery had a lot of stage presence and charisma, but vocally didn’t really live up to the expectations set by his recorded work. Good reaction for the hit, Days Like This, but the crowd started clearing out shortly after he finished.
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com
