Thursday, April 16, 2015

Their other band

It's been a few months since I headed over to Pressed to see a show (the last time was to catch Pharmakon), but last Saturday's show with I Smell Blood, Whoop-Szo, Darlene Shrugg and Blue Angel was not to be missed. Darlene Shrugg in particular have been roiling the waters in Toronto for a little while now (at least a half-dozen people I know wrote or said "I saw them open for Do Make Say Think and they blew me away," or something like it after the show announcement), and I was mightily intrigued by the talk around Whoop-Szo.

Whoop-Szo played first. The group is centred around Kristin Palm (who was up north for the show) and Adam Sturgeon, who is Ojibwe. They have a tangled folk-metal sound that I can imagine appealing to a wide range of open-minded folks - fans of Carlangas and Wayne Omaha would dig their sounds, I suspect. Here's Adam (at right), with drummer Eric (also of I Smell Blood) and bassist Joe (also of London's Wild Domestics).

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Keyboard action with Andrew (also of Wild Domestics)!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Joe sings!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Adam bends!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Hair-shaking action!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

More guitar!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Eric hits!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Singalong action!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

More keyboard!

Whoop-Szo at Pressed

Adam recommended everyone grab some earplus before I Smell Blood's set, and with good reason, as Zach and Eric really bring the pummel to their bass-and-drums setup.

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Eric hits!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Shaggy action!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Zach is under there somewhere.

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Hair-shaking action!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

More Eric!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

The whole lot!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

And so on!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Feedback action!

I Smell Blood at Pressed

Darlene Shrugg have already got the blogs in a tizzy over their glammed out sound. They have a strong roster of museums, including Slim Twig and his former Tropics-mate Simone, the various members of Ice Cream and U.S. Girls' Meg Remy. Here's Slim, Amanda Jane Crist and Carlyn Bezic!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

A.J. sings, Simone hits!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Meg works the crowd.

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Slim sings!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Singalong action!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Extra Simone!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Carlyn frets!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Meg adjusts that dial.

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Extra Carlyn and Simone!

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Amanda Jane wins for best pants.

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

There was also a fine cover of Some Weird Sin.

Darlene Shrugg at Pressed

Blue Angel wrapped things up with a short, punchy set - then they headed over to Mugshots to DJ. Here's some masked action with Caylie!

Blue Angel at Pressed

Sam sings!

Blue Angel at Pressed

Guitar action with Lidija!

Blue Angel at Pressed

Caylie sings!

Blue Angel at Pressed

The whole lot!

Blue Angel at Pressed

Extra Lidija!

Blue Angel at Pressed

More Sam!

Blue Angel at Pressed

And so on!

Blue Angel at Pressed

An excellent evening.

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