White Rabbits + The Hoof & The Heel – Petit Campus – Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
I arrived at the venue with a period to spare in game seven of Canadiens/Capitals series. Every set of eyes was firmly fixated on the televisions scattered about the room, beer was flowing, security guards shrugged off their duties and anxiety was high. Upon the Canadiens’ victory, I felt utterly misanthropic that I couldn’t share in the excitement and revelry filling the room. However, for the next 2 hours hockey mania temporarily subsided, and I felt less of a lone hockey outsider thanks to the entertaining performances that followed.
I have to admit I was a little bummed to hear that Here We Go Magic would not be opening for White Rabbits on Wednesday. For the sake of Meet You At The Show readers, I tried to put any disappointment aside and be open to The Hoof & The Heel, first on the bill for the night. Montreal’s The Hoof & The Heel are one of those bands that have always been slightly off my Montreal music radar, whose name I have constantly heard yet failed to check out. Their charming set offered me a lesson that sometimes you should listen to your annoying friend; you know the one whom s/he thinks they know everything and anything about music. Yeah them, sometimes they are right. Reminding me of a fresher and a little more folky Shout Out Louds, The Hoof & The Heel offered a series of playful and jerky dance numbers and sugary ballads. Harris Shper’s acoustic guitar and distorted vocals were nicely complemented by adorable Christine Hale’s synth. At times the interplay between vocalists seemed slightly disjointed, and Hale’s harmonies got lost in the mix of things. Technicalities aside, the mini dance party breaking out on the dance floor during the extremely catchy “Fireworks” made it clear that The Hoof & The Heel might just be the perfect summer soundtrack.
When White Rabbits made it up onstage they meant business. With vocalist Stephen Patterson stationed front and center on the piano, band members milled about in the background. White Rabbits are one of those bands that play with a purpose, with every member’s beat perfectly balanced with the frenetic thrushes of their songs. It was fun watching the band symbiotically feed off each others’ energy, starting each song in their own little zones and then drawing closer and closer together until they were huddled together for the song’s climax. The heavy percussion of “Rudy Fails,” the winding and staccato rhythms of “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong,” and the howling vocals of “The Plot,” swiftly moved along. The jiving sextet then took a gothic turn with haunting “Right Where They Left You,” and sinister “Midnight and I.” Patterson’s growls, painful grimaces and even the way he thrashed and leaned into his piano reminded me of Britt Daniels, Spoon mastermind and producer of White Rabbits’ 2009 LP It’s Frightening. White Rabbits’ set flew by with the band keeping things always interesting, trading up instruments, frantically head nodding and hopping around onstage. During gritty crowd favorite “Percussion Gun,” the band played with such urgency, certitude and swagger, it was hard not to think, “they know how good they are.” Clearly others agree, for the small but eager audience bopped, hopped and stomped along to the drum heavy songs. Captured by the camaraderie and cool sophistication of White Rabbits, I briefly forgot my hockey unease, and got lost in White Rabbits’ fierce numbers. If only I had a cute indie band to follow me around for the next few weeks to drown out unnerving hockey honking and cheers… – Kelly O
White Rabbits
The Hoof & The Heel
Photography by Sandy Jolin
