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Don Caballero
Aug 26, 2008
@ Lee's Palace
Toronto, ON
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Not to knock on modern music, but a lot of it could use some serious
balls. Sometimes it takes a band that's been around for 17 years to
show the rest of us how it's done. And sure, Don Cab's only got
one member left from their heydays, but that one member happens to be
Damon Che, more or less indie rock's best drummer ever.
The Don Caballero experience is an interesting one, to say the
least. Bounded on both sides by guitarist Gene Doyle and
bassist Jason Jouver, Che comes across as a bratty child being
babysat - his baffling outbursts precede each song, met by barely
tolerant glances from his bandmates, who remain almost entirely silent
throughout. As the set wears on, Damon becomes incrementally drunker,
spinning off nonsensical rants about Mel Gibson, toothpaste, and so
on. An exceptionally jubilant fan supplies some back-and-forth banter,
and at one point Che points to him and looks to the audience, spinning
his finger around his ear as a mime for "cuckoo!" The rest of the
crowd is left pondering which one is the saner.
But despite the virtuoso's non-sequiturs and excessive
intoxication, Don Cab's music rips some serious ass. Che's drumming is
obviously the main spectacle here, and he and his over-the-top drumset
(five cymbals, count ‘em!) provides a sonic onslaught that's equal
parts technical miracle and pulverizing onslaught. And that isn't to
discredit the other musicians, both of whom play their part
terrifically - Doyle is a formidable (if quieter) partner to Che,
belting complex melodies in time with the percussive mayhem, whilst
Jouver's stirring bass provides a kick you don't hear too often in
today's timid scene. These three have made Don Cab into quite the
metal band, but the indie rock influence is still half the bulk of it
- if other math-rock bands could make music this enthralling, there'd
probably be a whole lot less bitching about the genre. Even the more
straightforward rock moments of this show - including a song for which
Doyle and Che trade instruments (!) - turn out solid, in an unusual
(for Don Cab) melodic way.
From the opening minutes, where Che quickly asserted his intentions
by calling everyone who once liked Don Cab but has since turned on
them "fecking nitwits," it felt as if this was a band eager to prove
itself. And that these three did, because this show was seriously
impressive - the type of performance that, unlike a lot of music that
claims the same, really needs to be witnessed live. By the time
midnight rolled in, an explosive encore made something adamantly
clear: Don Caballero has balls, and six of
‘em.
Matt Shimmer |
