A great candidate for best show of the year that nobody saw came courtesy of the Matinee and the Fast Romantics, who rocked an intimate audience, Tuesday, April 25 at the Slice.
A handful of folks were blown away by fantastic vocal harmonies and a whole lot of fun.
I arrived in the middle of the Matinee
’s set. The Vancouver based indie rock/ folk/pop band were in a rootsy mood, putting a country twist on songs from their more pop oriented new album “Dancing On Your Grave.”
I didn’t get to hear the catchy title track, but caught a lot of the great tunes from the album and some older numbers.
The band, frontman Matt Layzell, guitarist/banjo player/ mandolinist Matt Rose, drummer Pete Lemon and guitarist Geoff percussionist Geoff Petrie as a well as an organist
sang upbeat melodies .
Layzell’s voice made me think of Elliott Brood mixed with Tom Cochrane.
They switched to acoustic instruments as Matt Rose switched to banjo for the last few songs of their set.
They wound down their set by countrifying Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”
Staying in that vein, the Fast Romantics played a very much upbeat and enjoyable ’80s pop inspired set.
Frontman Matthew Angus was charismatic, strumming guitar then exchanging it for a microphone which he crooned into while wandering into the nearly empty room and climbing onto the pool table. The band was backed by a massive ’60s sounding drum beat.
Kirty stood at front of the stage, added keyboards, extra guitar and percussion as well as supplying sweet vocal harmonies. She made “Radio Waves” sing.
Lisa Lorenz, hidden at the back of the stage added more keyboard and another layer of beautiful vocal harmonies as did bassist Jeffrey Lewis and Kevin Black and Nick McKinlay.
The band‘s sound was reminiscent of ’80s pop bands like Roxy Music, Depeche Mode and Rick Astley with a touch of 50s and 60s doo wop and just a smattering of Elvis Costello.
The singles “Julia” and “Why We Fight” were definitely highlights of the set which showcased those vocal harmonies as was the new single “Alberta”. I particularly enjoyed an older song “Young & Lazy.”
