Attack In Black @ Horseshoe Tavern
May 12th, 2009
By Liem Vu
So while last Saturday saw Rihanna officially become the latest inductee into The Hall of (Nudie) Fame, a different kind of non-nekkid buzz was building at the Horseshoe Tavern as music connoisseurs gathered for a flannel-filled evening of musky, folk-rock tunes and classic rock guitar riffs courtesy of Attack in Black.
Perhaps as poetic as their lyrical ambiguity (see: Young Leaves), their gig at the Horseshoe was the most recent of many at the aging but well-loved venue ever since their CD release party for their debut full-length, Marriage, 2 years ago.
Back then, I got the opportunity to interview lead singer Dan Romano and guitarist Spencer Burton after their first appearance on MOD at the Horseshoe where they dished out the kind of sly sound bites that journalists salivate over. “It was good,” said Romano coyly, responding to my question about his experience appearing and performing on national television. Clearly holding onto their small-town humility, Burton interjected with a sardonic sass that, unlike another Spencer in the Hollywood Hills, was charming and charismatic. “We’re the best band, we’re the most humble and if you go to my house all I have are three copies of our album,” explained Burton after I listed their achievements which, at that time, included a 2007 Casby Award for Favourite New Artist and a set of customized tighty whities from Leah Miller.
Two years later, Attack in Black has released a new album, Years (By One Thousand Fingertips), as well as co-founded You’ve Changed Records with Shotgun Jimmie’s Jim Kilpatrick and Baby Eagle’s Steve Lambke. While you would think such accomplishments would garner the kind of bombastic pretention that has made Kanye (and his auto-tune) infamous, their organic and basic approach to rock seemed unhampered as they meekly went on stage (on time) for their set last Saturday.
Performing a wide variety of songs from their three albums, the band busted out favourites like “Hunger for the Young” and “You’re Such an Only Child” and soon-to-be favourites, “Come What May” and “I’m A Rock.”
In an “Aww Shucks” moment, Burton stepped up to the mic and performed an ode to his mom in honour of Mother’s Day.
While bassist Ian Kehoe also stepped up to the mic for lead vocals, it was Dan romano’s murky melodies that truly stood out and cemented his status as the lead singer of the band. My only gripe would be the lack of audience interaction on the part of the band as they entered a musical bubble. But then again, you can’t blame these lads for keepin’ it realz and focusing on the music.
In the words uttered by MuchMusic’s very own human serviette, “keep on rockin’ in the free world.”
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Tags: concert reviews
Posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 4:09 pm by Liem Vu and is filed under Concerts.
