PS I Love You |
So last night PS I Love You played at Maverick's alongside Try Harder & Army Girls. The night started out a little rough as my friend/photographer lost his wallet (still yet to be found), thus causing us to miss Try Harder. I saw Ming of the Photogmusic blog between sets and he said it was great, so it's too bad we missed them but sometimes these things are out of your control.
Army Girls |
Check out a great Blog T.O. interview with Army Girls here.
When it was time for PS I Love You to take the stage, Maverick's had filled out a bit more. After a 10-minute wait for a piece of equipment, the band cranked the volume and began to play what would turn out to be a powerful set through and through. What originally attracted me to PS I Love You was some similarities with the band Fucked Up with respect to the style and composition of their music. There is an unmistakable punk aspect at the core of both of these bands, but each has transformed their music into something more. The lead guitar punches out arpeggios and riffs that mesh so well with the rhythm and drums, not to mention the vocals that are anything but ordinary. What I also found funny is last summer I could not stop listening to David Comes To Life by Fucked Up, and songs like Queen of Hearts. Fast forward to this summer and I can't stop listening to Death Dreams, particularly the songs Princess Towers, Don't Go and First Contact. There are so many good reasons why Fucked Up won the Polaris Prize in 2009, I see no reason why PS I Love You wouldn't be a contender this year.
Seeing Paul Saulnier showcase his guitar talents on stage live was a treat. No wonder he was voted #99 in SPIN Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. His style is really unique, making it look easy to do tricks on the upper frets and sing at the same time. His work with the double-necked guitar is masterful. The duo is now a trio, as they added instrumentalist and van-driver extraordinaire Tim Bruton. It seems as though their relentless touring schedule over the past couple years is paying off, as each song was played with perfection and its own complexity. Drummer Benjamin Nelson was in a percussive trance state throughout the show and carried Paul's melodies to the audience all night long. They ended the set with First Contact, which is probably my favourite off the new album. The show was, as expected, amazing. One of the only downfalls was that my friends and I probably have permanent hearing damage. I suppose I can forgive them for this, and maybe I'll be smart enough to buy $1 earplugs at the door next time.
Check out this performance of 'Don't Go' at Studio 211 Session for CBC Radio 2's Drive:
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