Evelyn Room, Golden Hands..., Spiral Beach and High Dials @ The Horseshoe

It seems like NXNE 2008 had only just finished, and now here we are, preparing for 2009. To celebrate the opening of the '09 festival's submission period, The Horseshoe hosted a free showcase on Tuesday night featuring three of my favourite indie(ish) bands on the current music scene as well as another band that I wasn't really familiar with, but quite enjoyed anyways. Of course, this week has been another massive slab of busy-ness and Tuesday seems like such a loooong time ago, but we'll see what I can remember.

The one band that I didn't really know was The Evelyn Room. They were a somewhat mellower band that likes to combine elements of spacey pysch rock with a slight alt-country feel to create a sound that is similar to what Ryan Adams or Chris Isaac might sound like if they came out in the late sixties. Vocalist Brad Fillatre bellows quite the smokey croon that works well with the subdued shuffle of the drums and bass as well as the ringing echo of the guitars. The songs sounded smart and honest, while the instrumentation seemed very accomplished for such a relatively new band. Apparently their performance at this years NXNE earned them quite a bit of respect and recognition because there seemed to be an impressive number of people in attendance who were familiar with their songs.

Photos: The Evelyn Room @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Evelyn Room

Seeing The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band and the Spirits (whew!) live for a second time just solidified the fact that not only are they deserving to be listed among one of the Hottest Canadian Bands of the year, but Jamie Greer's high placing on my own list of the best rock stars in town is also completely justified. I've heard many reports of their show being the highlight at NXNE, and if Tuesday night was any indication, they don't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. There were only 5 people on that stage, but they displayed the intensity of 20, as they rocked through an entire set of classic rock arrogance that was as fun as it was exhausting. I picked up their latest CD Here at the show, and although I'll likely review it sometime in the near future, I feel that it perfectly captures the feel of their live show, which is easily one of the best in the city. The party however, had only just begun...

Photos: The Golden Hands Before God... @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Golden Hands Before God...

I've been itching to see Spiral Beach again since I caught their show at The Shoe earlier this year, at NXNE. Bassist Dorian Wolf was another one who made my list of the city's greatest rock stars, and again ... completely justified! I keep forgetting how young this band is, simply because their CD Ball is filled with so much maturity as far as musical comparisons go, that it's hard to believe that these guys are old enough to have heard the bands that are their obvious influences. That having been said, their youth is no doubt what enables them to put on what was easily the busiest party in town. The audience did not stop dancing for even a second, and I love that this band has the ability to leave you longing for their next show as soon as they finish. Although I probably lost about 10 pounds of sweat water from my body, I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Photos: Spiral Beach @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Spiral Beach
Video: Made Of Stone on youtube

Arguably the most accomplished band on the bill, Montreal's The High Dials had the challenge of hitting the stage on the heels of two of the hyper-est bands on the planet, and this was on a Tuesday night at midnight no less. Unfortunately, most of the crowd had dissipated by this time, but the ones that stuck around were still treated to a solid performance. I couldn't help but feel like we were all grown ups who had just sent their kids to their room to play while we stuck around to do grown up stuff. The contrast between their set and the Beach's set before was beyond obvious, but when it comes to which band is performing the stronger material, my money goes to The High Dials, bar none. They focused mainly on songs from their stellar new release Moon Country, and I thought Killer of Dragons in particular sounded very powerful on the live stage.

Photos: The High Dials @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The High Dials