We went to see Trust, known to some people as Robert Alfons, on his tour-ending date in Toronto on Friday night. Here's what we saw.
1. Votive, who might be Toronto’s newest band
Votive didn’t have a Facebook page until two days before the show, the same day they released their debut EP. We'd never heard of them until they played Pop Montreal a few weeks ago, and apparently they only played their first gig this summer. They are really, really new. If their early set on Friday is anything to go by, they also have a bright future. Their slinky, slightly ominous, dark synth-pop production comes courtesy of Cam Findlay, best known for his work in Toronto synth scene favourites Kontravoid and Parallels. Add that to singer Kat Duma’s cold, slightly detached moan and you have a combination that should be a big hit among fans of the dark-yet-danceable.
2. The rampant joy of Crater
Seattle’s Crater are another fairly young band, and while they may play heavy, darkwave-influenced synth-pop, boy do they ever have fun doing it. They thrash around with infectious joy while simultaneously producing a great, crashing wall of sound.
3. The DJ playing Crystal Waters’ '100% Pure Love' between bands
We weren’t expecting that. It caught us off guard.
4. Giant, plastic light-up stalagmites
Trust’s person-sized plastic stalagmites jutting up from the stage look strange while sitting inert behind the opening bands, but when they started flashing dozens of colours, often on an otherwise black stage, during Trust, they were the perfect accompaniment to the high-energy sounds.
5. Trust’s Robert Alfons jumping around in a floor-length dress
Look, there’s nothing shocking about a man wearing a dress in 2014. We’ve reached an age where anyone should be able to wear anything they want. What did shock us, though, was Robert Alfons’s ability to not only dance, but jump across the stage, in a floor-length dress. We are not talking little bunny hops, either. He was getting some pretty serious air. We would have been on the floor inside of a minute.
6. The full spectrum of Trust
Live, you really get to see how diverse an act Trust is. While they’ve always moved between heavier, more industrial sounds, and lighter, poppier fare, both of those extremes get turned up live. Bleaker songs like “Shoom” get downright ominous, while more uptempo songs like “Sulk” and “Joyland” become full-on party anthems.
by Chris Dart via Electronic RSS
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