Sound checks always seem to take forever, especially so when you've gotta leave. This was the case but finally Hey Ocean! were ready. All eyes fall to the lead singer (and lead, well only, clarinet) but the five other band members deserve recognition for crafting the upbeat, indie pop for her to lay her impressive vocals over. This was exhibited right off the top with A Song About California and carried through the handful of tracks I was able to stick around for. I Am A Heart was one highlight of these. A revealing intro to Change set us up for the whistle/synths, claps and exquisite vocals. I didn't get a chance to Make a New Dance Up but was pleased to have caught what I did while supporting Skate4Cancer in the process.
By Divine Right is the name of the band retained by the lead singer and guitarist. After all he told a story of playing their second anniversary at Clinton's in1992, at which point his female bassist chimed in that she was 5 at the time and the equally young-looking drummer was definitely still a minor. There was a little variation, a couple acoustic guitar tracks to close and a few catchy riffs would pop up, but for the most part it was a couple chords strummed repeatedly. Sure this works in punk bands and apparently it worked for a Toronto indie band in the 90s too, but here it seemed to fall flat. The room was packed, sold out actually, with what one had to assume were eager Hey Ocean fans as the chatter raised whenever you could be heard over the sound system. I definitely know the band's name however all night I couldn't place a single song.
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