Last week while most of Toronto’s night life was TIFFing it, avid music fans flocked to the packed Opera House to watch Brooklyn indie-electro darlings Dirty Projectors and Vermont thrash rockers Happy Birthday.
It wasn’t our first time taking in either band live; we had the pleasure of seeing Happy Birthday play in a tiny Brooklyn bar back in June where they blew us away with their energy and enthusiasm. This set lacked a bit in comparison as the lead guitarist had taken over vocals for the lead singer, who seemed to be a bit under the weather.
It’s been almost a year since we’ve seen Dirty Projectors open for TV On The Radio, so they were less than fresh in our minds when they took to the stage and blew us away yet again. The songs were crystal clear with cello, vocal harmonies, drums, bass, keys, and guitar, omnipresent in the two level venue (Opera House always has excellent sound). Powering through the songs with a little witty banter in between, it wasn’t till near the end of their set that the crowd really went wild, yes, wild, for “Stillness is the Move”. Everyone there clearly a fan of the ‘die hard’ persuasion.
If you ever get a chance to see these guys play live, you should jump on it. They’ll blow your socks off!
Check out the pictures from the show below.
