The Pretty Faces / Born To Busk / Maned Young Lions @ Rancho Relaxo

Without even hearing a note, I think I may have been subconsciously predisposed to liking a band with a name like The Pretty Faces. One of my favourite albums of all time is S.F. Sorrow, which is by a 60's garage band called The Pretty Things, and one of my favourite songs of that same decade was a tune called Itchycoo Park by a mod band called The Small Faces. So a band that manages to smoosh those two names together is bound to trigger something in my brain, which will eventually make its way to my heart, provided the band has a sound that is somewhere within the same ballpark. Thankfully The Pretty Faces played a show that was just that, as they traveled all the way from the sunny warmth of Florida to our depressingly northern climate to play Rancho Relaxo in front of a significant group of appreciative fans.

Opening the evening was Maned Young Lions from Orangeville. Playing a real live gig is sort of a new experience for the band, with their Rancho appearance being only their second show ever. The members of the band however, have been playing together for years, and it was clear that they were no amateurs as they played a set that was surprisingly tight and professional sounding. The venue was packed, which is unusual to see for the opening act, but it was obvious that the band brought every person they've ever met in their life along with them to the show, and the audience's enthusiasm no doubt contributed to their spirited performance. Although I wasn't super familiar with their music, I had hosted a show at the Free Times Cafe a couple of years ago that featured lead vocalist Rayelle Stainton, and so I was more than aware of her talents. When I sampled the band's music on myspace, I thought that they had some definite potential although they were clearly still in that amateur stage of the game. Their live performance suggested otherwise, and amateurs these artists are not. Their music was solid pop rock fare, with a touch of 80's keyboard action thrown into the mix, and there were even moments where I could swear that I heard a slight homage to some of the cheesy hair bands of that decade, although it was presented entirely tongue in cheek. The banter, mostly provided by keyboardist Trevor Morrison, was entertaining, and the band appeared to be having a great time up there. The instrumental numbers seemed to showcase a little more oomph than the rest of their set, and a cover of the theme song to the American version of The Office was a fun touch, culminating in Trevor commenting that he wishes that he wrote that song. Good times.

Photos: My pics of Maned Young Lions are on flickr
Myspace: Maned Young Lions

Next up was Born To Busk who really had their work cut out for them since both the opening band and the closing band shared the same field of friends and fans, meaning that BtB was going to have to settle for being the sore thumb of the evening. They seemed readily up to the challenge though, and they also get full marks for opting to keep their set brief so as not to oversell to the crowd. By and large, I think that this tactic worked since, although many stayed behind at the bar, the ones who did pay attention to their set were suitably impressed. There were a couple of things that I noticed that really did it for me. First of all, their first two songs were clearly influenced by bands like Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh and Nada Surf. Those of course, are all good bands to be compared to, and the band pulled off that late 80's college vibe with flying colours. On top of that, their musicianship was also very tight, particularly the works of the drummer, who was outstanding. While most of the performance settled nicely in the mid level rock area, with a couple of heavier numbers also thrown in, it was their last song that really emphasized just how much talent they had. The tune was called Modern Ballad and the title says it all. What made it 'modern' was the fact that its 'I love you why don't you love me' sentiments, common to the ballads of yore, was presented in a more straightforward manner, with the recurring line 'I don't believe in love, don't ask me to hold on' and a flurry of lyrics that address what is apparently a more truthful view of just what love is, at least in the eyes of its performers. It was a really catchy song with some excellent harmonies. On that night they were giving away their CD's for free, and I'm looking forward to hearing how their sound tranlates to record.

Photos: My shots of Born To Busk are on flickr
Myspace: Born To Busk

Nothing could have really prepared me for what The Pretty Faces hurled off of that stage on Friday night. I sampled their music and those pure pop sounds of Elvis Costello and the like seemed instantly obvious to me, which meant that there was no way that I wasn't going to enjoy the show. But seeing as the band members were friends of mine (OK, more like, friends of friends of mine), I was presented with the challenge of making sure that I listened objectively, not allowing any predisposed feelings about how nice they are warp my judgement. But seriously, when you're punched in the face with a wave of hyper kinetic polished 60's garage rock awesomeness, the fact that we have friends in common becomes irrelevant. This band is simply amazing, and I don't think it's possible to avoid their charms, whether you know them personally or not. They were definitely going for a specific style, as they were all decked out in a black and white ensemble, with matching pink ties giving them a bit of a Hives meets Knack appearance. But their music was definitely rooted more in the first and second waves of garage punk-pop, as opposed to the latest blast that emerged at the turn of the century. Jeff Thorslund's slightly nasal vocals changed intermittently between the aforementioned Costello sound to a grittier Iggy Pop circa '69 vibe, (in sound, DEFINITELY NOT in style), while their sound was equal parts Nuggets-era classic garage and late 70's Squeeze inspired pure pop. Hannah Thorslund (Jeff's wife) was an impressive guitarist, cranking out some substantial riffs and even taking over lead vocals for a song. And Jeff's brother Thomas Thorslund pounded on the skins with reckless abandon, even conceding to the audience's rabid encouragement by delivering a brief but impressive drum solo towards the end of their set. Although most of the set was focused on material from their newest album, entitled Another Sound, the evening's highlight for me was the blistering performance of I Got Your Name from their 2006 lo-fi release Lipstick Kiss. Combining that raw sound with a more polished sheen is not an easy task, but The Pretty Faces made it seem as if it was, and hopefully that band will be making their way up north again sometime soon.

Photos: My shots of The Pretty Faces are on flickr
Myspace: The Pretty Faces