10.16.2009 Torngat / Role Mach
Torngat at the Toast Collective. So who is Torngat? Well you know that band the Arcade Fire? Well they used to have a french horn player (maybe just live or on record, whatever just not a main member). Well that horn player plays in Torngat. Both bands are from Montreal. Actually, that horn player also plays in a the other Arcade Fire associated band, Bell Orchestre. I double checked he's in those pictures I have from that Bell Orchestre show I went to in June.
The other question that remains is where is Toast Collective? It appears to be a fairly new diy venue near Fraser and Kingsway (across the street from Les Faux Bourgoeis). This is probably the second most diy venue that I've ever been to. The first one being someone's living room. In fact I'd say this larger than you average person's living room. If you can picture a typical boutique store, it'd be about the same size. I did a rough count, there was about 40 people there. I'd say at least a quarter were either in the opening band or friends of. If there were any more people in the room I'd say it could get uncomfortable real quick, especially with the lack of vents and the fact that the entrance pretty much was beside the makeshift stage. All things considered, I really like this venue, it's a very small, but it's a very cozy spot. That being said I'd probably hate it if it was packed.
The first band was local and started with an instrumental glockenspiel/xylophone piece, which roughly lasted 12 min. Apparently this incarnation of the band isn't what they normally do, as they were billed today as acoustic (which i guess they technically were). Oh btw, the back of the venue has a living room couch setup. As it was, they played on the floor with their friends on the couches, so it was just like playing to their friends in their living room. After the 12 min, the lead singer grabbed an acoustic guitar and they played some other songs I didn't know. I think one of the xylophone guys works at the Biltmore doing sound or something. The last song was sung in Cajun French.
Torngat hit the stage....well front right corner of the room shortly after. Torngat is actually just 3 guys with a whole slew of instruments and effects. I can't remember the last time I saw so much gear stuffed into one corner of the room. The majority of the set was culled from their newest album La Petite Nicole. The old school analog synths which the band uses really gave their music a haunting feel to it. Their music, stage setup and instrumentation really didn't look too out of place in the very indie DIY art space. I think they'd sound pretty wicked in an old church, not that they didn't sound good here. I actually thought the drums would drown everything out, but nope, you could hear everything ok. Their set was a little under an hour, no encore. Probably didn't need one, I think most people were just as happy hanging out with the band afterwards.
more photos from the promoter's website here.
$15/$10
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