Triumph at Sneaky Dee’s, with Arietta, This Town Needs Guns, and Native
Check out more photos in the Photo Set section.
June 1, 2010 – A hot, sticky day came to close at Sneaky Dee’s, inside which the night continued, just as hot and sticky. But at least the entertainment was good. Toronto’s Arietta and Oxford, U.K.’s This Town Needs Guns each riled up the crowd before Indiana’s Native blew them away.
Arietta took the stage just after 9:30pm (they were the second band to do so; the Love and Terror Cult were first, but I missed their set) to a steadily increasing audience. People were still filing in, but as Arietta plunged into their first song, “Home Friday Midnight,” they proceeded to cram into the already jammed area by the stage.
The band has a really loyal following in Toronto, and it showed. Whether audience members were friends or fans, or both, many were singing along and strumming the air in imitation of Sean Ramesbottom and Brian Craig’s outstanding guitar riffs. The slower and slightly dulcet “Northearned” was their second song (you can see the recently completed video for this song on Arietta’s Myspace page), after which the energy was amped up by a solid delivery of “Into the Deep,” and during which the guitarists’ skills were on full display once more.
“Into the Deep” was a definite favorite that night. Even though it was only midway through the set, a few people eagerly pushed their way to the front to sing along and dance enthusiastically. The band’s enthusiasm, however, continued throughout the next couple of songs, and all the way through the last song, “Old Habits Die Young.” Bassist Kyle Smith was grooving all over the stage, and drummer Shehzaad Jiwani was intermittently pursing his lips in concentration while pounding away at his kit. Meanwhile, lead singer Tyler Johnston was definitely a crowd-pleaser; in addition to his vehement vocals, he would motion for the audience to clap along occasionally.
Arietta’s set consisted of a total 6 songs, and flew by far too quickly. They’re playing several more shows this summer, including the upcoming S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival on June 27, so make sure to check that out!
Following Arietta was This Town Needs Guns, a band I hadn’t heard of until a few days before the show, but which apparently has quite a following in Toronto. There seemed to be even more people filling up the floor, if possible (and if you’ve been to Sneaky Dee’s for a show, you know exactly how limited the floor space upstairs is).
I’ll be honest; I didn’t really have any idea what to expect from them so to say that they exceeded my expectations is pretty frivolous. But they did; as in now, I would call myself a fan. The ever-dependable Wikipedia classifies them as a math rock band, and I can understand why. They were refreshingly experimental, with fluttering guitar riffs and scattered drum rolls.
They began with the melodious “Chinchilla,” followed by the just as melodious but slightly more emotional “Baboon.” Lead singer Stuart Smith was dancing while singing with his eyes screwed in fervor, while jiggling the tambourine at appropriate song interims. It was also drummer Chris Collis’ birthday, and a cake was brought onstage in the middle of the set. But the band quickly returned to performing and by the fifth song, “Gibbon,” (they must really love animals) people were well absorbing the rhythm, and grooving along almost subconsciously.
This Town Needs Guns ended with “26 is Dancier than 4,” which when announced was received with loud cheers. It was the fastest song out the six they played that night, and seemingly the best known. Thus, ending their set on a high note, the boys starting dissembling their gear and Native began setting up.
Like I said, Native pretty much blew the crowd away. They had brought their own lights, which lit up the stage violently during choruses or particularly heavy moments during each song.
There was moshing, of course (none during Arietta or This Town Needs Guns though) but Native is the type of band people mosh to, I guess. Boys who had been at Sneaky Dee’s for hours finally jumped excitedly to the front, getting as close to the stage as they could. As lead singer Bobby Markos raw vocals exploded from the microphone, the crowd screamed along as loudly as they could. And there’s not really too much else I can say; the rest of the night is a discordant blur.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAKINA SHAKIL