Tom Fun Orchestra w/ The Coast @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Wow. My concert reviews are now reaching a point where I should probably start referring to them as my 'classic concert reviews', since the time lapse between seeing a show and blogging about a show has got to be dipping close to the 'does anybody still care' level. I swear I haven't forgotten about those loyal readers who still hinge on my every word, but I assure you that my tardiness is not due to my being a lazy man. However, instead of wasting any more time with repetitive excuses and my own delusions of grandeur, let's just get into some more rock talk, shall we?

The last time that the Tom Fun Orchestra were in town, they played an electrifying show that was exactly the type of celebration you would expect from a Nova Scotian nine piece with the word 'fun' in their moniker. I'll have to admit, that the memory of that amazing show was etched so spectacularly in my mind that a part of me was almost reluctant to see them again so soon, since I didn't want anything to tarnish what was easily one of the best shows of the year. Thankfully this show did not even come close to sullying that memory, even if it did lack the same magical feel.

Admittedly, this performance did have a few more things going against it. First of all, if memory serves, the January show was on a Saturday night, whereas this one was on the darkest of all concert going nights: a Thursday. Every band knows, that it's harder to get a crowd excited on a Thursday night. Secondly, not only is it difficult to get a crowd excited on a Thursday night; it's also difficult just to get a crowd at all on a Thursday night. Not only was there a smaller crowd this time around, there was a SIGNIFICANTLY smaller crowd this time around. The third obstacle of the evening was more of a personal nature. Whereas the last time I went into the show with no expectations, this time around I went in with MASSIVE expectations. So, needless to say, although this was still an awesome show, it certainly wasn't the spectacle that I witnessed the first time around. As can be seen by my three reasons though, this was hardly the band's fault.

The band still displayed the same time of insane energy that their East Coast Maritime rock lends itself to, and they seemed quite content with the fact that their onstage party may have been just as much for their own enjoyment as it was for all of ours. I noticed that a few members of the ensemble were different from the last show, but the key players were still the same. Lead vocalist Ian MacDougall was as witty and bizarre as ever, while Carmen Townsend displayed an intensity that I would love to be able to incorporate in my own life from time to time. What also makes this band stand out from other 'collectives' out there, is the fact that each member has a specific role to fill, whether it be banjo, accordian, fiddle or trumpet. The only shared role seemed to be that of playing really hard and shouting really loud when the song calls for it. What was really cool was that, even though the tendency to not want to embarrass yourself would understandably be heightened within a smaller crowd, this didn't stop certain pockets of people from showing their appreciation by dancing up a storm anyways. Although, it's a shame that many in the city obviously missed out, the small crowd that was in attendance certainly witnessed something special and this show was another wild party indeed, albeit a subdued one. (A subdued wild party? Does that even make sense? OK, let's say that they were wild and I was subdued. Better?)

Photos: Tom Fun Orchestra @ Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Tom Fun Orchestra
Video: Throw Me To The Rats on youtube
Download: Watchmaker mp3

Opening up for the Tom Funners was local band The Coast; a band that I had seen a few years ago but honestly remembered very little about. I've definitely been hearing their name mentioned around town though, with 2008's Expatriate receiving it's fair share of good reviews, and the local (mainly female) support for the band was substantially represented that night. There's no doubt that as musicians, they have become very proficient at honing a stadium worthy sound complete with the type of ringing guitars and atmospheric keys that simply beg to be heard at a larger venue. As performers however, they seemed to me to be a little bit too subdued for their larger than life sound. I found it hard to remain attentive for their entire set and there were moments where the band actually looked bored, which is never a good way to win over a Thursday night audience. Luckily, for them, their friends and supporters were all there to pick up the slack and what they lacked in performance, they made up for in relatively strong material.

Photos: The Coast @ Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Coast