Hercules & Love Affair at Wrongbar

It might as well have been the Saturday Night Fever exhibit at Nuit Blanche when Andy Butler brought his Hercules and Love Affair to Wrongbar on Saturday night.  Lots of sweaty, happy faces in fine threads shook it like their lives depended on it for the late night disco-house tunes.

Touring behind their excellent third album The Feast of the Broken Heart, Butler and his crew of three took to the stage 40 minutes after set time.

The 12:40 start-time probably contributed to a thinning out of what was a packed and overheated Wrongbar.  The plus side to this exodus was it made room for some real dancing, something proven necessary right from the start with “Hercules Theme 2014”, the opening track off the new album.

Computerized graphics were the perfect accompaniment to their crisp sound with massive bass that never overwhelmed.  Vocals at times were too low in the mix and most of the banter between the stage and crowd I couldn’t decipher, although I believe we were thanked for our patience at one point, so the late start might have been out of the band’s control.

The greatest challenge for Hercules & Love Affair is how vocals are handled.  While special guests, notably Antony Hegarty and John Grant, lend their vocals to the band’s debut and most recent albums respectively, the two vocalists on the tour were more than capable of the task of hand, especially filling in for Grant on “I Try To Talk To You”.

While the set list was heavy with new tracks, this wasn’t a bad thing as the disco-fied album is filled with irresistible dance floor killers.  They did manage to throw out a couple of tracks from each of their previous two albums, notable highlights including “Blind” and “My House”.

While the crowd was an enthusiastic and sweaty bunch and the band ensured the dance party thumped and bumped as it should, it would have been interesting to see if an earlier start would have made for a completely different experience.

Thanks to Live Nation Ontario for media access.