Why Library Voices are louder in the valley...

 I’m sure we’ve all got albums that we always listen to in our car, or maybe only on the back deck, every day on the walk home, or when we’re stuck on the bus… Some albums just sound better in certain situations, just as some bands just put on a better show in particular cities. Usually there are places that just fit with certain groups (Cuff the Duke at Maverick’s in Ottawa, or Elliott Brood at La Sala Rosa in Montreal…) but there are a few magical venues where everyone puts on their best shows- where the crowds are consistently supportive, the mix is clear, and the beer is just the right price. It’s why bands are always better at hillside, always better at the Kee to Bala, and most of all, always better at the Black Sheep.

Now back in high school I often went to see the same band several days in a row, sometimes even several cities in a row. Now I’m not talking like Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, here- I refuse to get on a plane to achieve this goal- but Toronto, Barrie, Bala is totally do-able, and Ottawa, Montreal is downright simple. I’ve recently revived this tradition going to both the Ottawa and Montreal legs of the last Elliot Brood tour, and most recently Library Voices, back to back- Tuesday at Casa in Montreal, and Wednesday at the Black Sheep in Wakefield Quebec.

The Montreal show was… interesting. Casa is the first place I ever saw Library Voices (my sister’s favourite band), a show that has become one of my all time top five concerts, but this time it was almost a completely different beast. Of course it looked the same and the pints of cider were still $4.00, but the crowd was quiet and standoffish (since when should there be a four foot buffer between the closest person and the stage?) and the band was- allright I’m just gonna say it- they were a little off. Over the course of their set I’m pretty sure every instrument on stage broke at least once, the songs didn’t seem to want to come out quite right, and Mike actually tipped over his stand sending various pedals and dials flying across the stage. When Carl said “So this is our last song” and someone in the audience said “nahhhhhhh” he replied, quite solemnly: “Yes. Yes it is.” It was just... odd.

Talking to the band the next night they described it variously as “Awful.”  “Just completely off.”  and “The worst show of this tour- by far.”  Everyone had a different suggestion as to why, but Carl’s was especially pragmatic: “sometimes you just have a crappy night, but I mean that’s how you know when its good, how would you ever know that you’d had a good night when you don’t have crappy ones to compare it to?”

I took it all in stride- after all I was seeing them again the next night- no big deal if the Montreal show was a bust- but my sister wasn’t so lucky. She’s moving overseas at the end of the summer and, as she put it after the show “that might have been the last time I see Library Voices in a very long time…!” she was a little broken up about it, and I don’t blame her… If I wasn’t seeing Elliott Brood for three years and their last show was the one at Maverick’s a few months back, I think I might have cried.

Needless to say the Wakefeild show was about a million times better (and no, that’s not hyperbole. It was actually, literally, a million times better). I took along two friends who had never seen Library Voices before (and in fact had not really even heard of them) and no one was to be disappointed! Like my first time seeing them, my friend Madelaine leaned over part way through the second song to say “I love them!” just as I had done.

They were On Fire. Opting for two sets of eight songs (perhaps because they had no openers? Their reasoning being “Because, I mean, why not? We’ve never done this before, lets see how it goes!”) they steamrollered through the first group, playing a mix of new material and old favourites. After the third song Mike had mentioned how much respect they always had for the audiences at the black sheep, and Carl had pointed out that, even all seated, we were a pretty excellent audience (allusions to the previous night’s crowd perhaps…?)  At ‘intermission’ I ended up standing at the merch booth right beside Carl and couldn’t help mentioning that they seemed a lot happier tonight. “I was at the Montreal show yesterday…” I volunteered “Oh.” Carl replied, making a face like he'd smelled something awful "oh…..” We talked a bit about how much more fun they were having at the Black Sheep, and how some days are just off days, and I mentioned that the night before had been my sister’s last show before she moves to Holland. “Oh no!” he exclaimed (no seriously, he actually exclaimed!) “Alright, we’re gonna do something for her after the show, come find me after the show!” And it was time for the second set…

Again mixing old favourites in with new stuff, they continued to bring down the house, getting everyone up and bopping after only a few songs, and reviving the Carl’s-ridiculous-dancing and drums-in-the-audience that had been sorely lacking from the previous night’s performance. Kundera, Genration Handclap, my personal favourite Step off the Map and Float, and their ever-excellent cover of the Misfits “Where Eagles Dare.” Carl dedicated Neil Young’s “Unknown Ledgend” to my sister ("a very special fan who is unfortunately not here tonight”) and they closed out the set to deafening applause. The usual “But guys, that’s all the songs we have….!” Didn’t work on the exuberant crowd, so Amanda Belted out a flawless rendition of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long," followed by Geroge Harrison’s “Got my Mind Set on You” and, when we still wouldn’t let them off the hook, the best version of “Jump Around” I have ever heard/seen/jumped to. By then they actually had exhausted all of the songs they knew, and we enthusiastically clapped, cheered, hooted and hollered in honour of an astounding performance.

After the show I found Carl (”I’m just gonna change out of this sweaty sweaty shirt…”) and spend a while talking with my friends about how much they’d enjoyed the show. He came back freshly changed, got me to re-tell the story of my-sister-and-the-Montreal-last-show to Mike the drummer and the bassist Eoin, while he collected the rest of the band outside… then got me to tell it to them as well.  They make a sign that read “We promise to come visit you in the Netherlands!” and all took photos with it. 

"We all look like zombies!"

Of course band-love is about the music. For me its even more about the live performance, the enthusiasm and the love of what they’re doing, but its times like these that make it really hard to ignore the role played by such outright friendliness, generosity and excitement. Sure I already loved Library Voices, but taking the time to make my sister just a little bit less sad about how much she’ll miss them? Takes ‘em from Good Band, to Good Band and Good People. Gotta love Canadian indie music…

Dear Library Voices... OR An Excersise in Sweatiness, Part Deux

I'll just start by saying this:

I have only seen Library Voices perform twice. The first time made it into not only my top five concerts of the year, but my top five of all time. The second time (this time)... well, let's just say the title of this post doesn't even mention the headlining band...

 

Its happened to me a few times before, but when the headliners are the ever-impeccable Yukon Blonde, its really saying something to be more excited about the openers... but what can I say? LV are just that good!

 

The show kicked off with Great Bloomers. Hailing from Toronto, Great Bloomers are a straight up rock act who really seem to have their shit together despite looking so young. Their sound was solid, their performance energetic and infectious. They had Stage Presence, that's for sure. From the mop-top lead singer, to the dashing guitarist and keyboard player, Mr Luxurious Hair (I promised my friend Heather I would call him that), not to mention the impeccable bassist and drummer, these gents know how to put on a show. On some songs they reminded me of Harlan Pepper- young looking but old-sounding in the best possible way, on others they were reminiscent of early Rolling Stones...

Great Bloomers

I was especially impressed by their performance as a complete picture- their songs were catchy and appropriately rock-oriented, their enthusiasm and dedication to the performance was clearly evident, and they sounded great. Plus they were entertaining. Perhaps most impressively in my books they managed to distract me from my looking-forward-to-LV-ness on several occasions! A great opening act I look forward to seeing again in the future.

Mr Luxurious Hair himself

Then.
Library Voices.

I'm not sure I can properly express my super excitedness as they set up their gear (gotta love when bands don't have roadies) though I'll make an attempt. Like when you're at the top of a roller coaster, about to go over the first crest. You're looking forward to it, but you're also strangely nervous, like maybe it won't be as fun as you remember or maybe something will go wrong and everyone will die... except more like maybe a crappy sound mix or something will make it suck. Either way, a mix of excitement and nervousness that was shortly rewarded with yet another excellent performance.

They opened up with two numbers off of their latest album (Summer of Lust) and plowed through four or five numbers without saying so much as a word beyond "We're Library Voices!" --The lack of early-set banter was strangely a bit of a relief, as I was hoping they would cram in as many songs as possible into their non-headlining set. And cram 'em in they did. From Generation Hand Clap to Kundera on the Dance Floor, they played virtually non-stop for forty-five too-short minutes.

One of the (many) things I love about Library Voices is the enthusiasm they bring to the stage. Forget that they're fitting seven people into the same space most bands stuff only three or four, they would easily fill a concert-hall with their unerring energy. Their lyrics (though more impressively riddled with literary references, metaphor, and beauty than most novels) don't always paint the most cheerful of pictures, but you would never guess it from the looks of sheer joy on their faces as they perform. And that's not all. When lyricist Mike steps to the front of the stage to tell us about being embarrassed by his first Billy Joel album and how Kundera on the Dance Floor is their peanut butter sandwich, you can hear his love for the songs in every breath, every syllable. Each performance is like one long love-letter to music. And its infectious.

So. Into. It.

Watching a mic-less drummer or a bassist sing along at the top of their lungs never fails to make me smile. And dancing around until their shirts are soaked through? Come on! I realize I may be in the minority here, but I think sweatiness is a vital part of any successful live performance, and no one can sweat it up like Carl from Library Voices (well, no one but my friend Josh, but that's a whole 'nother story...).

Sweatiness is a measure of how into it they are, how invested, how much they are way more interested in having fun and making amazing music than playing it cool (all the things that make a great band a great LIVE band).  (I feel a 'sweatiness' post coming on... so I guess you can look forward to that...!) But regardless of whether you think its hot or gross, Carl's sweatiness is an outward expression of the extent of his energetic and enthusiastic singing. Which is a lot. A lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of sweat.

This is how/why is gets so sweaty...  The price of Awesome

There are a few bands (three to be precise) who I would gladly see live every single night of my life and Library Voices are one of them. Once might have been a fluke- twice is all the proof I need. I could go on and on about every one of my favourite moments, but instead I'll just leave you with the photographic evidence of two of them, and move on from there:

The part when Carl stood on the front bit & danced like a school boy

and

The obligatory jump-on-kick-drum finale

So after Library Voices we decided to move back a bit... y'know to not necessarily be two feet from the stage, and it was clearly evident that we were not alone. Like at the summer festivals of my youth, you could literally watch the change-over from LV to YB fans, with a steady stream of t-shirts moving back, and a steady stream of plaid moving forward. Its always struck me as odd when two bands touring together have such distinct fan bases, despite not actually belonging to different genres. Sure Library Voices is indie and Yukon Blonde is seventies rock, but I enjoy both bands as do many of my friends... the thing is, though, that everyone there, while clearly enjoying both bands, also clearly enjoyed one much more than the other.

Though it sounds disparaging, I would argue that it isn't--> I would also focus on the first part of that statement- "Everyone there clearly enjoyed both bands' (though I should really say all three bands, as Great Bloomers, in addition to being fantastic, also got a rousing round of applause at the close of their set...) Yukon Blonde is an incredibly solid live band. They capture the crowd. They inspire excessive amounts of man-love. They rock hard, and they sound clean (even at Mavericks, notorious for bad mixes).

They. Are. Smooth.

Its actually quite difficult to give a more accurate review than that! Seriously I just re wrote that paragraph like seven times and nothing suited as well as the above. So, strangely, I think I'll leave it there: Smooth, Rockin', Solid. Also Man-love. Good.

So great Bloomers were a great new discovery, Yukon Blonde put on a great show as always and, Library Voices has officially made it into my top three of Bands I Love Seeing Live... all in all quite a satisfactory evening!

The great concert conundrum of March 30, 2012...

I know, I know, it is super lame of me to get all in a kerfuffle about a problem so small as having to choose between two concerts on at the same time, but when those two concerts arre Library Voices (at Casa Del Popolo no less!) and Northcote (at Raw Sugar and on their last tour for a while...) its a dilemma for the ages- or at least one to make me have a major John-Green-style hands-in-hair-frustration session...

To be fair, I AM seeing Library Voices in two weeks when they come through town with Yukon Blonde, but I was really looking  forward to seeing them twice in a month (yes, they are THAT GOOD live), but when I heard Northcote was going to be playing the same night, I knew the choice I had to make... and it was definitely the right one.

The show was a part of the Junofest weekend here in Ottawa, and the first two performers were local fellas of the guy-with-guitar persuasion. The first performer (The Coastline aka the drummer from Sparrows) is just barely seventeen and a clear fan of Dashboard Confessional. That's not really a good or a bad thing, but its an inescapable comparison that just has to be made. In fact when a friend of mine asked him after the show "Hey did anyone ever tell you you sound just like Dashboard?" his face lit up and he gleefully responded "Really? They're like my favourite band! Thanks!"

Sometimes you get the odd experience of seeing someone in the midst of their creative development- that was exactly what it was like watching The Coastline perform. What do I mean by that? His songs are well written but all super short. His lyrics are perfectly 'that age' (When a friend becomes too cool to be friends with you anymore, when that girl moves away, when you're trying to decide what to do with your life...). And while his banter started off promisingly, it was clear he is used to being behind the drum kit, and not the main focus. Though embarrassing earnest, it was also increasingly entertaining- case in point: "So I asked her out, y'know just for coffee or whatever, but she didn't respond to my facebook message... oh man I am such a seventeen year old!" Definitely one of those acts I'd be really interested in seeing again in three or four years and remembering when I saw him play 'back in the day'

Next up was Cory Leveque, a bit older than seventeen, but also from Ottawa. Besides the excessive swearing (not offensive, just at odds with the rest of the evening- "Sorry 'bout all the swearing guys- I'm a construction worker, I can't help it!" he quipped) it felt like sitting around in someone's living room listening to the friend of a friend strummin' on his guitar and singin' about gals he'd lost and stuff he had to get off his chest. I'm sure this was helped along by our comfortable seats on the ancient corner-couch (Raw Sugar offers nothing if not eclectic and conformable seating!) but it was a nice relaxing sort of set, a good middle-of-the show, and chance to lean back and drink a pint before the always-energetic Northcote.

There was some discussion about whether we would maintain our comfy-couch seats for the entire evening, but all that went out the window when Matt, JJ and John took the stage. Yeah, we pretty much leapt over the table to stand in front with the rest of the small but very excited crowd.

Actually this one is from last time Northcote was in town (by blurasis)

Seeing Northcote perform live is an incomparable experience. The energy, the pervasive happiness, the raspy voice, enthusiastic drumming, and entertaining bass playing (I beat my previous record at Raw Sugar, this time getting hit with the bass guitar a total of three times) are tough to top.  The last time I saw Northcote perform, I had never heard of them, didn't know any of the songs, and still had an amazing time (one of my top five concerts of the year). We sat right up front. I got to play the tambourine. We bought both cds because we couldn't decide on one... This time was just as enjoyable, only we looked forward to it for weeks, we already knew all the lyrics, and we chatted with Matt afterward about bands from Regina, life in Victoria and Library Voices playing in Montreal. I love Elliott Brood live, I really do. They're my favourite band, they're incredibly talented, and they are some of the nicest guys I've ever met, but I'm not sure that any performer can ever remotely hope to compare to the combination of talent and friendliness that is Matt Goud.

Overall the show was fine, but Northcote's performance alone was well worth the admission price. the only bad part was that they were only able to play for an hour. I look forward to their next tour, whenever that may be, and if you happen to be lucky enough to catch them at one of their next stops or live in Victoria, you should definitely check them out. Definitely.

Top Five Performances of 2011 (#1)

Top five concerts of 2011- the wrap up!

Coming up with the top five concerts wasn't that difficult (though I could have very easily made a top eight...) but it was pretty difficult trying to rank them! there have been so many great shows this year, and I have only been to handful of those put on, and only ones in Ottawa, Guelph and Montreal! It makes me happy to think of all the other amazing shows other people got to go see (even the ones I missed out on because I found out about them too late- like Northcote and Library Voices back in April- man that concert would have been awesome!). If you didn't get out to many live shows, consider making it one of your resolutions for 2012, or even better, one of the resolutions you actually keep!

Twenty twelve is looking good so far as I've already got a good ten or eleven shows to look forward to in the next few months. I've also recently become a contributor to Canadian Indie Music website Grayowl Point so you can catch my Ottawa-Montreal area concert reviews there starting mid-January.

But for now...

1

Library Voices - Summer of Lust - Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, October 26, 2011

So my sister Krista will be absolutely thrilled to see these guys topping my list (her favourite band to the moon and back...) but beyond being introduced to them through her, their subsequent place in my heart was fully earned by their well-read lyrics, piano/drum led melodies and energetic live performance. Library Voices are one of those bands you see live and think to yourself "How are they not super famous!?!"

Hailing from Regina, Saskatchewan, this seven piece multi- keyboard, multi-guitar, multi-awesome outfit is virtually unstoppable on-stage. If you've ever heard the expression "they left it all out on the stage" this is who it was invented to describe. I have been to a lot of concerts in my time, but it only took me about ten seconds into my first Library Voices show to realise it would be one of my top five concerts of all time.

The venue (Casa Del Popolo) is a small bar tucked secretly behind a restaurant, and its difficult to not feel like you're involved in some kind of back-door dealings as you snake through the tables and through a back door. The cider was cheap and tasty and the crowd was enthusiastic, if somewhat small, but you never would have known it once LV took to the stage. The next night I would go to my first stadium concert in years and be impressed with how Mumford and Sons made a huge crowd seem like an intimate gathering- but Library Voices did the exact opposite, making the small crowd feel like a packed house. And an amazing one at that. The sweat was flying, the band members teetering on the edge of the stage and often venturing out into the crowd.  Seriously, but seriously, you could not have felt more a part of things if you were up on the stage.

Fantastic show. Really really. And not that it bears much weight on their music, but this band is also incapable of taking an un-awesome photograph. Whether its a picture of the band, or one taken by them, every image is beautifully framed, coloured, composed and anything else you can think of.

So check them out at libraryvoices.ca and tell all your friends. The best band you've never heard of. For Serious Yo.

Top Five Performances of 2011 (#5)

So I already know that as you're reading that title you're thinking "Top five? Shouldn't that be top ten?" Unless of course you know me personally in which case you're likely thinking "Oh gawd, not another top five list..." you're welcome dear readers for not regularly inflicting these on you... Either way, I am a fan of the top five list over the top ten because I find it more challenging. And more reflective of actual 'best of's. And just better. So yeah.

I should perhaps start off by mentioning that this is not the top five CANADIAN bands of 2011, even though it pretty much looks that way... What can I say, I love Canadian music! Can I help it if we have awesome bands up here? No. No I cannot help that. I can, however, revel in the fact and enjoy every minute of music listening joy. Also I am not a "Top Five Albums" kind of gal- sure all of these bands released albums in 2011, and sure I absolutely love all of them (and may or may not have done several weeks of chain-listening), but it is too difficult for me to separate a band's on-album work from their live performances. Plus live performances are just awesome. Seriously. So without further ado:

5

Said the Whale - New Brighton - The Live Lounge, Ottawa, ON, September 14, 2011 

One of the many bands my sister introduced be to this year who I have since fallen totally in love with- their combination of clever-lyric riddled short songs, cheery attitudes, and wonderful music/voices make listening to their music on headphones or in the car a joy and even better in person. The venue (the live lounge in Ottawa's Bytown Market) made it even better, with some of the best pre-show music I have heard in a long time (perhaps ever actually! Ele will back me up on that) the perfect size (big enough but not too big) a great crowd (enthusiastic, but devoted enough to manage complete silence during the beautifully performed Curse of the Currents), good sound and even a free cd at the door!

As with all good concerts, it has to be at least partially described by saying (cheesy at it always sounds) the vibe was great- everyone was excited to be there, especially the band. Impromptu sing-alongs, acoustic jamming, and cheerful banter abounded. They played all their hits (not difficult for a band with only two full length albums and only maybe three songs clocking in at over two minutes, but still appreciated!) and a slew of new ones which were well received, albeit skeptically at first.

Its always nice to be at a show where you really get the feeling that no one in the room would wish to be anywhere else. This was that show. Excellent.

The Best Drum Kit in All The Land

So a few weeks ago I kinda really ripped into the band One Hundred Dollars for being one of the most ineffective opening acts I had ever seen (aka super creepy, played for too long, would have been better on CD, etc...). To be honest (and I'm not sure if i said this at the time) but it kind of ruined the rest of the show for me. Alright, not strictly speaking, as it is practically impossible for anything to ruin Elliott Brood, but it was definitely the least fun I had ever had at an EB show... Now normally that would mean I would really try to never see said offending band again, but 'twas not to be so. Elliott Brood played in Montreal last night, and I could not resist, despite the opening act.

I was tempted to skip them (the opener, not the whole show) but I had hyped their creepyness so much to my sister and her friend that it would have just been mean to deprive them of their own experience... Then I realised that it was actually a win win situation- if they were horrible again I was not only prepared, but would enjoy seeing everyone else's reaction, and if they were great (or even just good!) I would be pleasantly surprised. The only way they could possibly disappoint me would be by being slightly better than barely passable. So I guess technically more of a win-win-lose situation (66/33 odds are better than 50/50...) So we went for the whole show. Good decision.


One Hundred Dollars
To be fair, it would have been pretty difficult for them to get much worse, but One Hundred Dollars' performance was vastly superior to the last time I saw them. There were no scary eyes and pointing,  no glares full of loathing, no horrible tension and sense of impending doom... I mean don't get me wrong, the lead singer still had her super creepy moments, but they were few and far between, and actually seemed to fit with the songs (as opposed to overshadow them like the darkness of everlasting night...). It felt like classic country instead of the jumble of conflicting and depressing visuals (and soundicals) of their previous performance. The lyrics fit nicely with the flowing and surprisingly upbeat music, the crowd sang along with most of the songs (we even seemed to learn a lot of new ones by then end) and everyone benefited from the general sense of camaraderie resulting from this being the last date they would play with Elliott Brood. It didn't completely wipe their last performance from my mind, but it was a good set and it created a mood the way an opening act should do. Should I ever happen upon them at a festival or as an opening act, I look forward to having my first impression of them more fully expunged.



Elliott Brood
Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about!!! With the much much MUCH improved opening performance the crowd was in just the right kind of mood for the Brood boys. Enthusiastically joking, jumping and juggling (ok there wasn't any juggling- I just couldn't think of another 'j' word...) they blazed through  one of the best sets I've ever seen them play. With songs I havn't seen in years (President 35 was faaaaantastic), classy duds, and the best drum kit this side of anywhere (ok I might be a little biased, but c'mon, a birch bark and tree-cross-section kit? so appropriate...) they had the audience belting it out and dancing along with every song.  Danielle even mentioned that this was practically the most enthusiastic she had ever seen a Montreal crowd (an impressive compliment, as many Montreal concert-goers will know).

Elliot Brood's strikingly appropriate and amazing drum kit

Nobutseriously I am completely in love with their choice of visuals...

(Its not every day you get to love a band for their music and their artwork!)

I wouldn't have admitted it before, but I was really disappointed in the last show and pretty sad to have to have that as my most recent memory of them for even a few weeks. Happily this fantastic concert has all but erased the un-fantasticness of the former one. Next up? At the Black Sheep Tavern in January... Four times in seven months? Not bad.

Oh right, one last thing; my sister finally got the opportunity to massively make fun of me for my Mark Sasso love when he walked in front of us and I turned all red. Really really red. Yes they could tell even in the dark, that's how bad it was. Damn band loves... Now I just have to figure out a way to get back at her by making her be suddenly face to face with Library Voices...!

Library Voices in Montreal OR Why Enthusiasm Matters

So my sister has been spending the past six months working on a devious plan to get me to like all of her favourite bands... I should say that this is a) not that devious (basically it consists of making me mixed cds for the car...) and b) not that difficult a task, since we pretty much like the same kind of music to begin with, just different individual bands. Nonetheless it has been a rather successful undertaking, reaching its zenith during the Library Voices show in Montreal this past Wednesday.

Library Voices are my sister's favourite band. Now I know that you think you know what I mean when I say "Favourite Band" but I am rather pretty friggin certain that you are underestimating that statement. Lets put it this way: during a hypothetical conversation about the implausible situation of waking up one day to find all of your musical tastes had been reversed, she suddenly became wide eyed and said (in a barely audible whisper) "But... but... not liking Library Voices would make my heart hurt...!" and then proceeded to tear up. Honest to god actual shiny eyes. Oh little sister, in all my years of encouraging your music love I have never been so proud... ;o)

At any rate, this was by far the band she was most excited for me to see live and most hoping I would enjoy. So we went. Its kind of a lot of pressure- Just before the first song my sister turned to me and says " I am SOOOO excited you're going to see them!!!" (Pressure?!? yes.) I have to say I like their cds a lot, but they aren't my absolute favourite, the venue was pretty small (all parties admitting it was because they never fill the bigger ones), and the opener was good but a little snippy. In other words it was an alright set up, but my expectations were on the low side.

They needn't have been.

Even if I was expecting Elvis or Springsteen, Foggerty or Freddy Mercury, I would not have been disappointed. By the second song I understood her trauma at the thought of not liking them. By the third song I was belting out the words to songs I didn't even know I knew. And by song four I was already sure this was making it into my all-time-top-five-concerts. No joke.

My requirements for concert awesomeness?
1) Enthusiasm (the band looks like they want to be there)? Check.
2) Good sound (loud but not so loud it makes your ears bleed, thumping but clean)? Check.
3) Dancing (cuz they/we can't help it)? Check.
4) Sweat (them, me, everyone... if we 'aint all sweatin they 'aint doin' something right)? Check.
and above all else
5) Joy (they are just having so much fun that you can't help but be filled with glee)? Check.

And they were there in spades. All of 'em. Each and every member of the band spent the entire show looking like it was the only place on earth they ever wanted to be (from stepping foot one on stage to coming back out at the end to assure a super fan that they didn't play her favourite song- not because they didn't want to- but because they didn't have the right instruments there and were crap at playing it live). They made each of us in the small but enthusiastic audience feel like we were in on some sort of inside joke, like we were an integral part of their joy, like we were all in the same boat, and that it was the best boat anyone could ever be in. They rocked. They sweated. They danced and jumped and smiled their faces off. They were funny, they were energetic. They were awesome in the original sense of the word.

Sometimes a band is good. Sometimes they're good live and not on cd, or good on cd and not live- sometimes that evens out and makes them just ok. But sometimes, sometimes a band is so good live that it makes listening to them on record amazing. Library Voices is one of those bands. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, drop everything and do it. It may be in a small venue, there may only be twenty people there (how do more people not know about these guys!?!) but trust me, there is no way you will come away from it not having fallen in love.