Santa Dog, The Coast & Reily Live @ Clinton's

The only show I caught at this year’s Canadian Music Week was Saturday night at Clinton’s on Bloor, where I was eagerly looking forward to seeing how Santa Dog’s retro brit-pop sound would translate to our Canadian bar patrons. They did not disappoint, although they definitely had their work cut out for them.

They were preceded by Ottawa’s Loudlove, who were your typical hard rockin’, funky bar band with a bit of ska thrown in for good measure. They were better than average, and they brought the house down (as bar bands generally do in bars.) However, the only logical follow up would have been a 70’s band like Foghat, not Santa Dog. But The Dog did not let that deter them from playing a stellar show. Lead singer Rowena Dugdale is just as charming as I expected she would be, and her overall enthusiasm for coming to icy cold Canada (although Saturday’s temperature wasn’t too bad), just added to her onstage fervor. It should also be noted that bassist Rob Ash has rock star swagger down to a science, and he also gave those who stuck around a good show! They played several songs from the “Belle de Jour” EP and also included several cuts from their upcoming full-length “Kittyhawk” which I’ve listened to and it’s fantastic (more on that in a later post.) It was also very nice to meet them and I was very glad to hear that the rest of their visit to Canada had been a rousing success.

Santa Dog on myspace.
View my pics of Santa Dog live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.

I was going to leave at that point but some friends showed up and we decided to stick around for the next two bands. Glad we did. I had wanted to see The Coast for some time now, and their live show was exactly what you would expect if you’re familiar with their music. They play full-out stadium rock, complete with ringing guitars and triumphant vocals. Their songs are encompassed in atmosphere, and although they sounded exceptional, I would love to hear them open for a bigger band at a larger venue. Still, their songs really translated well to the live stage and The Coast will no doubt continue to get bigger and better as they continue to hone a sound that is tailor made for fans of U2 or The Verve.

Listen to The Coast on myspace.
View my pics of The Coast live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.

The greatest surprise of the night was Brampton’s Reily. How have I not heard of them? If the expression “destined for greatness” were to apply to any indie band, Reily would be the one. They all look like they’re pretty young, but their sound boasts a real maturity, particularly in the harmonies, which are above and beyond anything I’ve heard in a while. Female vocalists Megan and Lisa have such intricate and unique voices that it’s really hard to give those who haven’t heard them a point of comparison. With the inclusion of Nick’s equally impressive vocals, I suppose I hear a bit of Stars, and then a touch of Arcade Fire in the instrumentation. The songs they have posted on myspace do not sound like the type of songs you would hear on a debut release. If they are this good already, it is mind boggling to think how good they will be as time goes on. I am eagerly looking forward to picking up their CD, and I guarantee I’ll be introducing them to more than a couple of my friends.

Reily are playing this Friday at Sneaky Dee's on College St. and Saturday at The Mod Club also on College St. I highly recommend checking out their show.

Listen to the music of Reily on myspace.
View my pics of Reily live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.