Dragonette @ Cabaret Du Mile End

Tucked into the south end of the Mile End, just above the mountain, lies a nice little venue called Cabaret du Mile End. This was my first time in this venue, which used to be the Kola Note, and before that, Club Soda, so the sound system and lighting were impeccable. I arrived at the show way too early, but the door was already teeming with Dragonette superfans, which tended to be the indie “interesting sweater” crowd with money burning holes in their pockets. They were definitely digging the pre-show Cake soundtrack provided by the sound man.

Unfortunately, the crowd was dead through the opener, Silly Kissers, from Montreal. This new wave electro-pop outfit is a mainstay in the indie scene. In fact, you can catch them again during the Pop Montreal/Arbutus Showcase at the Rialto on the 30th of September. Their repertoire ranged from synth-pop tunes which smacked of The Cure to incredibly poppy tracks reminiscent of none other than the main act, Dragonette. Their instrumentation included two synthesizers, an incredibly tight drummer, and a guitarist. Their lead singers, Jane Penny and Bob Lamont, traded off to highlight their quite different vocal stylings. There was much tapping of feet, but no one seemed to feel quite moved enough to get up and shake their booties.

Booty shaking ensued, however, when Dragonette, from Toronto, finally made it onto stage. Within seconds of Martina Sorbara saying “Why are you all sitting down?!”, the entire crowd was up on their feet. I have to admit this show was much too pop-centric for my jaded old ears, but the 20-somethings definitely dug it. A synth master was at left, with an impressive rack of four versatile keyboards. Lead singer Martina at center wowed the crowd with her ultra skinny physique yet super rad haircut, and the bassist and drummer gratefully followed their leads. I would suggest this group to anyone who wants a mindless pop tune to dance naked around their living room to. Dragonette is one of those groups that even shamelessly delves into country-like remixes of their own tunes, which is appropriate considering the vocals sounded to me like Shania Twain rediscovering a new genre. Look up their videos on Youtube if you don’t believe me.

In any case, Dragonette definitely makes a point of making people dance just for the hell of it, no brains needed. Sometimes that’s okay. They won’t be coming back this way for awhile, though, so if you need a fix, here you go.