HOMESHAKE with WARA FROM THE NBHD at the Horseshoe, Friday, July 27. Rating: NNNN
Homeshake is the ultimate Sunday night soundtrack, but, as we learned at the Horseshoe, the music works just as well on a Friday.
After selling out his first show, scheduled for this Sunday (July 29) at Lee’s Palace, Peter Sagar decided to bring his lo-fi synthy project to the Horseshoe for a bonus one two nights earlier. The two Toronto shows now sandwich the Montreal-based band’s one-day double-header in Detroit on Saturday, completing an unconventional four-show mini-tour.
“We actually practiced for this one,” Sagar said, giving off a glimpse of his laid-back demeanour which is strongly reflected in his music. After the show, the Edmonton native and former Mac DeMarco guitarist admitted he felt a bit rusty as he hasn’t been on a proper tour in a while, but the crowd would never have known from the smooth, seamless performance.
The show opened with a set from Atlanta rapper Wara from the NBHD, which didn’t quite match the vibe of the crowd. Attendees bopped their heads in an off-beat rhythm to the bass-heavy beats. Midway through, Wara paused for a rant about how Canadian border patrol almost didn’t let him into the country, musing if it’s about his tattoos or the colour of his skin and referencing his song Beige. “Is Canada this perfect country they tell me about?” he questioned the crowd, and nobody seemed to know how to respond.
Homeshake’s headlining set took a bit of a rocky start as a few bad cables resulted in some technical issues, but a couple of sound tech visits and one too many Canadian-style apologies later, Sagar smoothly dove right into the fitting Hello Welcome, the first song from Homeshake’s latest album, 2017’s Fresh Air.
The show wasn’t in support of any specific album, so the 15 songs came about half from Fresh Air and half from Homeshake’s earlier two albums, Midnight Snack and In the Shower. (He said afterward that he’s completed a new album that will be out early next year but is keeping all the songs “a big secret” for now.) The band weaved seamlessly through tracks like the groovy, danceable Every Single Thing, to the slow and sensual This Way.
Olivia Bednar
Sagar held down dreamy vocals while switching between guitar, funky pedal work and live synthetic sound mixing, leading the four-piece band. Sagar played with mic effects, adding an extra high-pitched twist on tracks like Faded and Khmlwugh and used a low-pitched effect for “thank you”s between songs, perhaps a nod to the deep-voiced narrator that makes appearances on Homeshake albums. Sagar kept his eyes closed during most of the songs, and also performed in sign language during a couple of songs.
The crowd perfectly matched the vibe of the music, mellow and dazed, for the most part, with the odd drunk guy dancing a little too hard. Give It To Me is a fan favourite, and Homeshake delivered it just over halfway through the set. Skipping the recognizable big bubbly introduction notes, they dove right into the vocals, catching everyone off guard. At this point, it seemed like Sagar was toying with us, holding a much too elongated pause in the middle of the chorus, forcing everyone wanting to sing along to hold their breath, trying not to sputter out the lyrics too early.
The last two songs, Wrapping Up, and Home At Last, felt like the perfect ending to the carefully curated set list – maybe the only show where saying that you might want to fall asleep wouldn’t be an insult. It should have foreshadowed their lack of an encore, yet the crowd was still left chanting “Homeshake” for a good few minutes until realizing they weren’t coming back out.
But they weren’t gone altogether Sagar could be found after the show at the merch table, wrapped up with his new fiancée, artist Salina Ladha (who does most of Homeshake’s album art).
Catch them on Sunday at Lee’s Palace for round two.
cultureintern@nowtoronto.com | @OliviaaBednar
