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| Allie Hughes & Band | Photograph By Brittknee Withikaye |
Not to name names (cough, sneeze, Opopo), but after our last BDM event at APKLive, we were feeling a little shakey.
***We had a good turn out, but the headliner was jockeying bandmates and forgot to tell the bar owner and us about a pre-tty major line-up change - enter a brand spanking NEW contract with bands.
However, the lead singer and guitarist (for that night) wasn't too bad except for his leeeeengthy pauses in between songs. Enough about the bridge you drank under after getting to London town, we have nearly a hundred of them and we need to dance or at least move away from the smoke machine. "Get that laser out of my eye" I heard someone scream on the way to the bathroom. I like lasers.
I'm bitter cause the after party got crashed by the same band who puked pretty close (okay, right on) where I mistakenly decided to lay my pillow the night before hosting the Jack Richardson Music Award's. ***
With Opopo in the rearview, we were now armed and prepared for a theatrical indie, pop experience like none other: Allie Hughes & her mysterious band.
The night started with a surprisingly up tempo set by Lonnie in the Garden. APK sound chief and mean musician Adam backed front gal Lynne on guitar adding colour here and there. Two female vocalists added some extra flavour on choruses and hooks. Big ups on the set and thank you for the ENCORE!
CHRW hostess with the mostess, Alana Gurr, held down the second spot with pure grace. Her guitarist and bassist gave the set some extra life and we got to hear some dirty banjo riffs. There's something really alluring, yet haunting about Alana's music - was anyone else reminded of Portishead during the bands performance? No! Well frig.
The last time I heard the song 'Toxic' (cover or not) at APK Live was never ago. These two ideas are, well competing thoughts: Indie bar -vs- Pop Princess who's life is one part miserable and two parts profitable for those "looking out" for the poor girl. One step forward, two steps back if you ask me. And that's the point, did you see how angst I got about Spears? She's a billion dollar industry and her demise is just as important as her resurrection.
The point is that Allie's final song 'Toxic' was a highlight to a very tight and well orchestrated set in an environment where Britney's version of that song would NOT fly on an iPod - not while I'm dee-jaying. What's an iPod?
If you've ever been to a Tool concert, then Allie turning her back to you at the start of the bands performance wasn't freakish one bit… but wait for it. Looking around, it was obvious that folks were interested in Allie from the start. And it wasn't cause some cool kid was bopp'in to her, it's because she's thought out. There's context to her performance and her vocal operatic prowess takes the theatre to new heights. Like above the rim in basketball. Go Heat!
Allie crushed tracks Not The Stars, Rolling Days, Headmaster, and Damaged Nail. As the set climaxed, Allie's character as a singer and performer gained momentum. Turning her back to the audience once more like an editor using a sheet of black to re-set a scene in a film. This time Allie returns with blood drips below both eyes. As the song reaches Timber Timbre like creepiness, this new vampire version of the opera-POP singer we'd come to know and appreciate was (fake) killing her bandmates one by one before treating us to an almost solo with a little help from an almost dead violin player. Amazing effects and pedal work with all the instrumentation. I have never heard this venue sound so full and rich.
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