SHEEPDOGS RETURN TO TORONTO
With the Gardiner Expressway closed, traffic leading to Echo Beach on September 15th was hectic, to say the least. With barely seconds left to spare, I parked and made it to the venue gates just in time to hear Zeus take the stage. I’d heard a lot about Zeus of late, because of their close ties to Broken Social Scene, but I had no idea what to expect from them live. ? The Toronto based band knows how to recruit fans. With what little was left of the day’s light (and heat), Zeus started the show off right. Playing songs off of their recently released album Busting Visiosn, (namely A Strong Mind, Anything You Want Dear, and Are You Gonna Waste My Time) they made me forget about the encroaching cold.
Up next was another Toronto based band, but I hadn’t heard of them, ever. Apparently though, The Sadies have been around for a very long time, and boy did it show. They were by far the tightest band performing that night. Their folk-country-style was just fun to listen to, although not really my cup of tea, and I couldn’t help but to move my hips. Near the end of their performance Travis and Dallas Good played the chords on each other’s guitars (it was mind-blowingly awesome) while they strummed their own guitars. It’s kind of hard to explain, so you’d best get to one of their shows and see it for yourself.
Yukon Blonde is a band I’d already seen on two other occasions. As usual, the Vancouver based band put on a great show, playing songs from both their self-titled album, and their latest album Tiger Talk, to great effect. The crowd seemed to love every second of it, and in my opinion, they were the head-liner of the evening. Also, as if they knew I was in attendance, they made sure to play a crowd (and personal) favourite, Wind Blows. Allow me to say again that Yukon Blonde is not the wind, and if you haven’t already, check them out before their ticket prices start increasing.
Finally, it was time for the main event, I could tell by how drunk the crowd was getting. The Sheepdogs 70′s inspired rock sound seems to have faded, with the release of their latest (and self-titled) album. Their latest album was partly produced by The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, which explains why it felt like I was at a The Black Keys concert. Not much else exciting happened, except for Travis Good returning to the stage to help out with a song. Oh and a fight broke out beside me. I can’t help but wonder if they were fighting over whether or not The Sheepdogs sounded too much like The Black Keys.
PHOTOS: Christina Stanoulis
WORDS: Foad Hassan Poor
Category: Photo Updates, Reviews
