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The Subways
Mar 9, 2006
@ Sala Rossa
part of April 2006 update
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This British trio played on the OC but I still didn't expect their
show to be so well-attended by the teenage girl demographic. I figured
the relative obscurity and hipness of the Sala Rosa would probably
keep away the hording masses. Oh, so naive.
Don't get me wrong, this was no hormone holiday - there were plenty
of older types around, but the OC definitely left its mark. As for the
music, I came in familiar only with their biggest single, "Rock N Roll
Queen," but left feeling like I knew the whole repertoire. That was
partly because the songs sounded the same, but also because, from a
songwriting standpoint, this was damn catchy stuff. Lead male singer
Billy's nasal Anglophone wail worked perfectly, and the harmonies
provided by bassist/singer Charlotte added to the fun, though her mic
seemed to be a little low in the mix. My judgemental self tired of
some of the attempted rock cliches; Billy went for the wild frontman
routine, but often came off stiff - crowdsurfing for 2 seconds then
asking to be put back on the stage, climbing up on the speakers then
carefully climbing down (where's the leap of faith, man?). They threw
Montreal a few bones ("bonjour!" to introduce themselves, "merci!"
between songs) and heaped praise at the audience ("you are the reason
we do this!") but you got the feeling they wanted to be in a bigger
venue than they were. I was tickled by the presence of roadies, the
first time I saw a whole crew with designed t-shirts setting up at the
Sala, and shed a silent tear watching Code Pie (who I
regrettably missed) packing their gear into a car right next to The
Subways' ridiculous tour bus. But pretensions aside, this was at
heart a fun concert. The crowd, a little young, was ten times as
enthusiastic as the ones that inhabit the room on other nights. Saving
their big hit for the encore was a cute gesture, though I thought the
last song before it was probably their best (not to mention the
longest, peaking with a climatic finale that almost distracted me from
Billy's on-stage antics.) I probably wouldn't shell out my own cash to
see these guys, but I have no problem with them spearheading the
teenage rock revival scene. If this is what we're dealing with, the
current generation of adolescent girls is in good hands.
Matt Shimmer |
