AUGUSTINES AT THE GARRISON – MARCH 11, 2014

When they talk about defining moments in a band’s career it can be in reference to a number of events. It can be as small as hearing your song on the radio for the first time. Bigger and less likely than that: having a single or a video explode across the Internet, your face suddenly viral, omnipresent, and very much annoying. But perhaps the most important sort of moment, and one that varies drastically in scope and scale, is realizing that people might actually give a damn about what you do.

For New York’s Augustines, you have to believe their Tuesday night show at Toronto’s The Garrison was one of those sought after “give a damn” moments; the light bulb that turns on when you realize your life – a life spent making music – has a purpose.

Right, so that’s a pretty sappy way to start a review of a concert, but in this case it seems warranted – the band themselves partaking in/apologizing for the gushy, cheesy “we’re so happy to be here with you” banter.

It was believably banter, too. It didn’t just sound like what gets programmed in and spewed out for every city along the tour. The packed venue didn’t seem to mind the choice of chatter, nor were there any qualms about Augustines’ brand of triumphant rock – sounding kind of like what I’d imagine would happen if Young The Giant ate Mumford & Sons and then got punched in the throat.

While it may have been Augustines night, also worth mentioning is Seattle’s My Goodness who opened the show in their first visit to Toronto. The alt-rock trio would appeal to fans of the driving kind of rock n’ roll that catapulted bands such as Soundgarden and – as much as I loathe to make the comparison – Nickelback to success and stadiums. Thankfully unlike the latter counterpart, My Goodness deliver it all with a bit more of a White Stripes, garage rock coolness. The three-piece delivered a blistering set with a well-polished, in-your-face, warp-speed wallop. If you can book headlining tours on the strength of a single opening set, then My Goodness have a pretty fruitful career ahead of them.

But back to the main attraction, and who the Toronto crowd was there to see. Starting the night with “Headlong Into The Abyss,” it took only half a song for Augustines guitarist Billy McCarthy to sink to his knees – at that point already dripping with sweat as he belted out the lyrics. As a frontman, McCarthy is a bit old time-y in his appearance and demeanour, straddling some kind of strange line between Elvis and George Clooney in O Brother Where Art Thou? He was also clearly enjoying himself, taking gulps straight from a bottle of Jameson throughout the set and, at one point, sharing it with a couple of guys in the front row.

Multi-instrumentalist Eric Sanderson kept busy on stage in a different way, fighting through an apparent sickness and frequently switching between instruments. Sanderson and drummer Rob Allen shone on the band’s third song, “Cruel City,” off of their recently released, self-titled second record. It was a number delivered with such a universal sort of approachability that made it easy to get into, whether familiar with Augustines’ music or not. A chorus of “woahs” had the crowd singing along. “Augustine,” off of the band’s 2011 Rise Ye Sunken Ships debut, was a bit more of a struggle vocally, but did well instrumentally.

“F*cking Canada, f*ck. We love you guys. Very inspiring place,” said McCarthy before introducing “Juarez,” a song about Mexico that would fit pretty well in a Canadian beer commercial. In fact, most of Augustines’ music would be well suited for a Molson Canadian advertisement.

McCarthy later followed up on his admiration of Canada, telling the crowd: “So that’s what happens. It gets really cold and you get more attractive and have attractive babies and kick our ass at hockey?”

Obvious but welcome pandering aside, McCarthy is enigmatic, though his vocals aren’t perfect. On the slowed “Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love)” – another from the band’s debut – they switched up the set with a ballad, McCarthy’s voice trying to find a comfortable spot between gruff and sweet. The end result was more of a quiver – but when you deliver a song with that much emotion it’s easy to forgive some of the dropped notes.

The last song of the main portion of their set, “Nothing to Lose But Your Head,” kicked off with plenty of feedback. They ended on an energetic note, their hour-long performance finishing with a drop of the microphone and McCarthy perched on top of an amp, smiling out at the crowd. If you chose to leave at this point, however, you missed out on a marathon of an encore with the band returning for another hour’s worth of music.

McCarthy returned for a solo song, stealing back his set list from some excited girls in the front row and performing “Now You Are Free,” which again showed off more of his wavering falsetto. He also got some help from the crowd on the number, something you could tell he was enjoying, telling the crowd: “It took a long time to get to that point right there… It’s a f*cking honour to be here you guys. Where the f*ck did this come from?” He followed this by explaining that now, in their thirties, they seem to be finding their own audience.

“I don’t mean to get too gooey on you guys, but this is f*cking crazy,” McCarthy went on. “We’ve been singing the same songs for a long time. I don’t know why this is happening now, but it’s happening.”

Sanderson rejoined McCarthy on stage, both going unplugged and competing over the noise of the ceiling fan for “East Los Angeles.” By this point in the night, the whiskey was definitely taking its toll on McCarthy as he followed up the song by giving a brief stab at Snow’s “Informer.” Their four-song encore concluded with “Book of James,” the audience again joining in on the sing along.

With the first encore over and done with, people started to head to the exit but the band had more in them, returning again – McCarthy with his shirt on inside out – and hopping into the audience for more. It was a sign of good camaraderie and a lot of crowd love, the band finally ending a near two-hour set with “New Drink for the Old Drunk.”

Even if you aren’t a fan of Augustines’ from-the-gut rock (a category I’d include myself in,) it was undeniably an impressive show from a band who seems ready for the spotlight. You don’t need to like their music to appreciate what they do – which is a pretty good spot to occupy.

There’s an audience for Augustines, no doubt, and they know how to make it a memorable night. In fact (and in spite of a Jameson hangover) – this night in particular is one that will probably stay with them for a while.