PLUTO and LUU BREEZE at Sneaky Dees, Friday, January 2. Rating: NNN
Anticipation was high at a positively jam-packed Sneaky Dees for emerging R&B singer Plutos first Toronto headlining show with a full band, and a delayed start caused by technical difficulties so much feedback kept tension higher.
The young Scarborough musician appeared, smiling, to huge applause, but the sound issues continued to interfere. His full band was, indeed, full: so loud that the singers voice had trouble rising above the trumpets, bass, synth, drums and guitar (which took an over-the-top solo in the first song).
On record, Plutos sound is minimal and sensitive enough to evoke Rhye (with a more youthful and swaggier aesthetic), but he went into full-blast mode live and the higher register of his voice didnt hold up. Despite the pitchiness of his falsetto, he went for it every time with admirable tenacity.
This is my last song, he said, of swoon-worthy single Breathe, to give you guys room to breathe, and me too. These songs are not fucking easy to sing.
Execution finally matched ambition in his encore cover of Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, where a more straightforward vocal delivery and hugely funky big-band sound meshed powerfully, sending everybody home smiling.
Earlier, Scarborough rapper Luu Breeze delivered a terrifically energetic but far-too-short set of confident, trippy, singalong hip-hop that had the crowd doing just that. Peace To The Gods, from his recently released Goodbye Farewell Remember EP, was a standout. And it was his birthday, so we also sang Happy Birthday to him, as G Milla handed him a cake.
carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis
