When I arrived at Horseshoe Tavern at 9:30 PM, I expected the venue to be packed to the rafters since the show was more than sold out to the point where instead of two media passes we were only able to get one. I managed to walk right to the front of the stage. Sure the seated area was mostly full, but the main floor had less than 20 people standing around. Only 15 minutes later when it was apparent that the opening act Hearing Things was about to hit the stage I turned around to look at my surroundings and it was noticeably much more crowded. The Shoe is the type of venue where if you are at the very front it is hard to tell once the place gets packed, I could only go off of the palpable excitement in the air as Arcade Fire’s own Will Butler was about to play his first solo Toronto show.
Hearing Things was certainly an interesting opening act, a band that either resonated or alienated the crowd depending on who decided to shout out things next. This three-piece band fronted by Matt Bauder played African inspired 50’s big band jazz. If you have listened to Omar Souleyman and crossed him with Benny Goodman you might get some of his influences. For the most part of the show his music was very upbeat and danceable, although at times the beats were too fast and complicated to dance to, but still a marvel to watch. Bauder even got the crowd to clap in polyrhythmic time as he split us up in half, unfortunately since the venue is so small it was hard to not hear the other beat and so easy to get disoriented even if it was a simple ¼ clap. His drummer was most fascinating to watch and at one point played an almost straight up Moby Dick style drum solo, which is still crazy to see talented drummers with their speed and precisian while still having it all make sense.
New Wave as a name gets a bad rap. It’s hard to separate the original style with what it eventually became while at its most popular peak. Early on as British music moved away from blues based rock to punk based it was still very primitive and dance-y. It wasn’t as much of the anger protest version we know today. Then some punk acts starting using synths and keyboards to make the music perfect for clubs all while keeping its aggressiveness. Eventually after MTV started it became way too popular and morphed into bad 80’s synth pop mostly made in the States, by this time as always the British had moved onto something else. Still acts like Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie and even The Clash had left a mark that clearly inspired much of Will Butler’s first album Policy.
It is certainly odd knowing that Arcade Fire, one of the biggest bands in the world, when together playing sold out stadiums and headlining festivals can have a member who sets up his own equipment instead of having roadies do it. While a band using roadies doesn’t make me think less of them, seeing Butler set up all the keyboards for his backing band and doing all the mic checks does make me think more of him. When the band came out on stage the four-piece set all wore matching black pullover sweaters with big white letters stating their names. There was Miles (Arntzen) on the drums, Sara (Dobbs) on keys and Julie (Shore) on synths while Will of course played guitar and keyboard. I’m not sure if it is a tactic to ensure journalists like myself correctly spell and name the backing band (I myself have been victim to Wikipedia incorrectly listing band members and having super fans call me out on it, I’m still sorry Tegan and Sara fans!) or just a fun way to connect the crowd to the band on stage. Right from the get-go Butler was all in for the show. Playing Cold a song that doesn’t appear on his album, Butler was so intensely playing his acoustic guitar he broke the second string a feat considering it is one of the thickest ones. He powered through the song with 5 strings left and left the stage to give it to a member of his crew to restring while the show continued. Butler with a large stage presence loomed over the crowd as he yelled and yelped into his microphone. Miles who played the drums standing up, because drum stools are for suckers, somehow managed to out enthusiasm the front man. Miles danced and thrashed around while banging the drums so hard I was sure he was going to break all the drum skins.
The crowd was ready to be taken on the ride as right away people were banging their heads and jumping up and down to the poppy punk melodies. By the time Sun Comes Up started it was well past a good time and verging on full frontal party assault. The infectious drumming made it impossible for even the most cynical of people not to dance to. The song had a real Talking Heads-like beat and metaphor infused lyrics that made David Byrne so famous. Miles managed to half rip off his sweater while he was playing and not break time while he was at it. His giant heart shaped necklace seemed to keep hitting him in his face but he didn’t even notice or mind.
Butler’s main band Arcade Fire was often accused of not being fun until their last album Reflektor came out and you have to wonder if Will was an influence on them letting loose or them letting loose helping influence his solo work. Either way since he has so much experience headlining to tens of thousands of people scaling down to a few hundred was peanuts for him. His deep booming voice cut through the punk chords and explosive drumming and the crowd was putty in his hands. When they played Anna, Butler didn’t play guitar but instead danced around flamboyantly doing a boogie and sounding like a demonic lounge singer hissing the words out. Tim Curry could easily have played a filmed version of the performance during his Rocky Horror era. Even Sara couldn’t help banging her head and doing a little swivel dance in between bars.
Sara and Julie’s harmonizing added a great full sound on tracks like Why Don’t You Leave. During the band intros Butler made us cheer for Miles three times. The band seemed to be having even more fun than the crowd was, acknowledging when a member would play an impressive solo or dancing around when they didn’t have a part to play all while smiling joyously. Butler’s stage banter was minimal but made it count when he spoke to us “I have a message from Montreal. The message is, where the fuck is spring? PS We’re better.” Some members of the crowd who take the Toronto-Montreal rivalry seriously booed a bit leaving Will to semi-sarcastically respond “JK, Toronto and Montreal are the exact same!”
Near the end of the show, opener Matt Bauder came back out to play a sax solo to the exponentially more hyped up crowd meaning he got a much louder cheer after he played his part. The set ended with furious take on the album standout and opening track, Take My Side causing the crowd to clap along to the beat and have one final chance to dance their hearts out. The set may have seemed short but at 15 songs, including the encore it may have only appeared to go by so quickly because of how enjoyable it all was. Butler needs to be added to festivals, as his performance would fit in perfectly as an early day sunny set at WayHome or Osheaga. It wasn’t Arcade Fire, but for $16 and going to an intimate venue it was the best thing you could have asked for in a night out.
