The Monarch Tavern is a great host to the underground talent that is emerging in our city. They provide the right sized space to hold new bands that are getting ready to be the next big thing. This is a great launching pad for the young bands to play in and get a roomful of excited guests. This place is busy inside and out, looking for the next big band. This evening, they held 3 female fronted bands that added an aura of delightful new sounds.
Nix Correa
To start the evening off right, a strange young man in a fur coat walks onto the stage and spouts poetic verbs to stop and gain the attention of a roomful of music lovers. His name is Branko, and he is a perfect person to fill the room with enough love and energy. He is the man who heralds in bands that we need to pay attention to.
First up we have Nix Correa. She started the evening with a curve ball. She opened with Radiohead’s song, “Creep”. Well, isn’t that special. Well indeed it was because her version was softer, but her vocals were worth noting. You can see a snippet of this song at- https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNdNBVtO4So/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
As she was beginning to get deeper into the set, I felt as if I was watching and Indie Torch singer. It was dark, and contained just the right amount of misery and her vocals held you captive.
The band is young and still in a highly creative mode, because Nix had to kick her band off stage. Why, because her new song was so new, that she had the music on her phone that she plugged in. The band has never played this song before, but I guess they will start practicing, because it was another good song in their set.
I loved their play on words. They played a song Bring Paul Down, which is an acronym for BPD, (Borderline Personality Disorder). It was a desperate song that had a clock ticking down and the vibe was one who is slowly giving up on a difficult problem. If you know anyone with BPD, you will understand this struggle.
This is Nix Correa:
Birds eat my Body
Let’s just say this was their 2nd show ever and it didn’t show. Since I sometimes bring my partner Butter along to a few of these shows, she was so excited by this band. You can see her reaction on our Instagram page- https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNax2Aqt-Al/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
This band comes on Rough and ready and raw! They are anticipating their future and are looking for new and cool sounds for us to feed on.
They sit somewhere between solid Rock and a Punk attitude. I know they have plenty to explore and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
The standout person in the group is the guitar player. This guy puts in 110% when he gets to do a guitar solo. I believe he has been playing for about 20 years and his dedication to his craft really shows up live,
Overall, give this band a chance to develop their cohesiveness and soon you will find they will be reaching for a sonic dynasty of their own.
Birds ate my Body:
Neon Bloom
The room is full, and the band comes on and turns the room into a dance club with their modern bounce that rocks our world. Neon Bloom has two distinct sides to their music that I noticed this evening. They can turn a room into a rock and pop dance party and then switch it over to a more modern take of the 80’s post punk scene. We are talking about band like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Missing Persons.
Jen Simpson can be breathy and also can squeal her way through their original material. After all this is the new release of their brand-new record, Begin Here.
It is a blend of garage rock and pop synth-wave sounds that captures personal journeys of upheaval and resilience driven by a strong sense of anxiety. This seems to be the standard issued feeling of our younger generation today.
Don’t despair, Neon Bloom is a high energy band focused on reviving our uneasiness in the world and to release new endorphins into our stream of consciousness.
That became very apparent when you watch the Keyboardist Fred Yurichuk. His kangaroo caliber of playing will have you bouncing all the way through the set of music. As he got sweatier, the more cat calls came from the audience for him to take of his shirt. Fred does not disappoint. He can add that element of hard-working Rock and the Chippendales together. His stage name should be Tigger!
The crowd reacted well, when they finally played, “Take”, which is their brand new single.
The real fun happened when Jen finally got to take something off her bucket list. She asked the audience to be strong, as she crawled onto the waiting hands of everybody and began bodysurfing across the room until she almost bashed her head in with the big disco ball in the middle of the room. (Check out my photos).
The rhythm of the set was perfect. They started off as a dance band and then rocked our faces off, only to return to the fun dance band again at the end of the evening. Neon Bloom is one of Toronto’s fantastic bands that you should look into. Try starting with listening to their new release at- Begin Here | Neon Bloom
This is Neon Bloom Live!:
If you want to check out these bands and what is happening at the Monarch Tavern, follow these links.
www.instagram.com/itsnixcorrea/
www.instagram.com/birds_eat_my_body/
www.instagram.com/neonbloommusic/
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