RUBY COAST at the Drake Hotel (1150 Queen West, 416-531-5042), Friday (June 13), 9 pm. $5, free with NXNE wristband (see page 62). Rating: NNNNN
Most of them just barely out of high school, with a drummer who still has finals before he can graduate, Aurora indie-?pop darlings Ruby Coast could be a guidance counsellor’s worst nightmare. For now, all they really want to do is play in a band.
So far the plan appears to be working. Armed with a just-?released EP, the quintet mixes sweet, easygoing melodies with boisterous, enthusiastic choruses that bring to mind contemporaries like Vampire Weekend and Tokyo Police Club, with whom the band recently toured.
But don’t go thinking these kids are straight-?up copycats their songs are surprisingly well put together and mature considering their ages, and their live delivery doesn’t skimp on youthful energy. They’re looking at a summer of touring around Ontario and Quebec, and if the love they’ve already gotten from Halifax’s Pop Explosion, Pop Montreal and 102.1 the Edge is any indication, you shouldn’t expect them to start 9-?to-?5-ing it any time soon.
