I really wanted to dig these guys. They're a bunch of kids from Shitsville, Alberta who were found on a low-budget reality show. Kids with big dreams and they're lives ahead of them. But I'm not feeling it.
Last night they did a gig at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto and they stank. Not because of how they played, but because of the way they didn't. While I'm sure there are some talented guys in the band, this show was far from live. The singer was so voiced-over and autotuned that it didn't sound real. And there is one thing about rock. It just seems more authentic than a lot of other genres.
I get that these guys have to be fluff to sell records in Canada. The truly edgy acts to come out of this country don't often sell as well here. A Canuck indie group usually has to produce some utter garbage to get the funds to start making records for the rest of the world. It's no longer the era of The Guess Who and Joni Mitchell. So I understand releasing records that are synthetic, but what I don't understand is the live show.
It was lousy. It didn't feel like a group of 5 working-class kids. Maybe the 13 year old kids who buy their records didn't mind all the weirdness, but I did. Maybe I'm old and don't get why a musician has "BABY LOVE" inked across his knuckles and why the voices no longer sound human and the guitars don't sound like guitars. Maybe I'm old, but maybe entertain for yourself the possibility that I'm right. That people deserve a good product and a good live show. Some of the rock today may just stink, and it's a shame that people feel they have to produce it to get ahead.
Maybe I'm old, but maybe Stereos release 3 records and retire to become teachers. The drummer might make it big in another band or become a session musician. Next.....
I blame Toronto. They sounded like Robots. Toronto likes Robots - it's where human creativity goes to die.
ReplyDelete