Tracy Jones
A sardine packed Painted Lady was the backdrop to Tracy Jones and his purpose for playing this night. The first thing I was surprised was the fact that this was on a long weekend when people are staying with family or leaving town. This night the people that stayed, came out to listen to a new song.
The band started off the evening with a soft acoustic song and slowly worked their way into pop frenzy. They continued that climb with a CBC song about a train ride called “Whisper”. This was a very catchy song.
This band, whether they are slipping in a cover song or doing an original, the style felt like it was coming from the early eighties. They did let us in on a secret about being on stage at the Painted Lady. The spotlight is very bright in their eyes that they could only see a silhouette at best. In fact, to coordinate time changes in the song Tracy stood in front of the spotlight so the drummer in the back could see the cues. How professional is that! I bet you never thought about that way of working before.
The band continued with another song called, “Satellite”. This one was a bit spacey but not too far out. It was as if you micro dosed before you came in and these songs just elevated your mood. It was like riding on a pillowed cloud as your peered around the sky looking at life from a new perspective. This song has some great little hooks built right in.
Tracy seems to be an artist that really wants to convey his words to his audience rather than scream them directly in your face. When his band would add in those extra little sounds, it just added that extra flair. These songs became characters and the songs were much more colourful. There was nothing fishy going on here.
The highlight came when Tracy told everyone the story about how he had to get permission from the last living member of the Hilarious House of Frightenstein, to use some of their footage for their new video single, Front Page Detectives. That man was not only the producer but played one of the characters in the show. It is Mitch Markovitz who played Super Hippie on the show. The big reveal was that Mitch was in the audience and got a huge round of applause.
If you want to check out a show with all the catchiness and hooks that don’t come off smelly, Tracy Jones may be your new band!
Here is a link to his brand-new single with our favourite show growing up- Front Page Detectives – Tracy Jones
Tracy Jones live:
Wytchfae
Not only was I happy to see Tracy Jones, but I began hearing about this band Wytchfae recently and was lucky to see them open the show.
This band is also known for solid singer/songwriter capabilities. When I walked in, I was hearing a gospel like tune that got me reeled in right away. It had something to do with love on the brain, and it opened up my mind. They changed energy and did something witchy. Well, I hope so that sound is in their name.
This new line up only played a couple of shows so far, but how would I know that. This line up was producing some very fine arrangement that strayed away from the norm, but not too much. Some of the sounds had a ritualistic vibe that suggested that you stay open to the power of surrender. A song like 10:15 on a Friday has a sweet and spookiness to it that you may want to hear on repeat for a while.
The highlight was when the band slipped in two Jefferson Airplane songs. This really woke up the crowd and got them leaning in for more.
The last song before an encore, “wycth” is rare for an opening act was a Hole cover. They really did leave the audience wanting more. I guess they were trying to leave a hole in our hearts. So, if you missed this cool indie band, you could catch them again. They will be at the Bovine Sex Club on May 16th. Go check them out, they are worth it.
Wytchfae live:
Here are their Instagram accounts so you can follow them.
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