Lowest Of The Low w/Songs From A Room and My Shaky Jane @ The Horseshoe

Woah, what a week! I generally hate posting concert reviews three days after they happened but with work, life and other etcetera's this is the first moment I've had to scribble a few thoughts down. My memory ain't what it used to be but thankfully Tuesday night was an incredibly memorable show.

Lowest Of The Low were in many ways the soundtrack of my post high school years. Their 1991 album, brilliantly titled Shakespeare My Butt... is definitely one of the all-time great Canadian albums, and I feel that it deserved a much higher rating than 84 on the recent list of top 100 Canadian albums (although I suppose I should be happy that it placed at all. Hello Northern Pikes, hello Grapes of Wrath?) The fact is that the band came around at a time when 102.1 The Edge was still known as CFNY, and they used to promote the heck out of great alternative bands. Hard to believe these days. However, thanks to that station, LOTL had a huge following here in Southern Ontario and I was was one of their biggest fans. Sadly, at the risk of sounding contradictory, I never did get to see them live.

Well Tuesday night would be my last chance. The evening was one of celebration as The Legendary Horseshoe had reached 60 years of existence. They were also celebrating 14 years of Dave Bookman's free Nu Music Nite's at The Horseshoe, which had featured bands like Whiskytown, Arcade Fire and The Strokes, before they were big. But the biggest event of the evening was the fact that LOTL had decided to call it quits, and this would sorta, kinda be their last show. They actually have one more show tomorrow night in New York, but c'mon. For the people of their hometown, this was their last show. And they clearly decided to go off in style, putting on a great performance that was a good mix of the old and the new. They decided not to simply play the classics, but they featured a lot of songs from 2004's Sordid Fiction, as well as material from the current projects of Ron Hawkins and Stephen Stanley. The band sounded great, the quips and banter was funny and the evening remained upbeat. The encore ended with a truly triumphant version of "Eternal Fatalist" that had the audience dancing and rejoicing (as much as is possible for a generally reserved Toronto crowd.) The band took a final bow at the end of the night, and Ron Hawkins went about hugging anyone who was within hugging distance of the stage. The night was very surreal, and very enjoyable. They are an incredibly important band to me, and I was glad that I finally got the chance to see them, even if it meant that this would be the last time.

Photos: Lowest Of The Low @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Download: Eternal Fatalist mp3 / Bleed A Little While Tonight mp3
Myspace: Lowest Of The Low

I'll just make a few comments on the opening bands. First of all, we have Songs From A Room. I had gone to see them earlier this year and their brand of in your face post-rock sounded quite good on Tuesday night. I actually think that the band has gotten a little bit tighter than the last time that I saw them. They play a lot around the city and they're really worth checking out, if you get the chance.

Photos: Songs From A Room @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Songs From A Room

The second act was My Shaky Jane, who were formerly known as Oh! The Pretty Things. They played some very basic, run of the mill classic rock that may not be what I listen to these days, but in this setting and with this crowd, I thought it was great. The guitars were crunchy, the vocals were wailing, the drums were pounding, and this was, all in all, a great rock show. Their next performance is December 15th at The Rivoli.

Photos: My Shaky Jane @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Downloads: The Books That She Carries mp3 / Dark And Bright mp3
Myspace: My Shaky Jane