There’s something about indie folk rock that reminds me of road trippin’ through mid South Western America during my youth. Long roads leading to warm places with people wearing friendly faces. For Cuff the Duke and Hooded Fang the long road was slightly more literal as they made the last stretch of the Western Canadian part of their tour.
Hooded Fang gathered a timid crowd with their playful, bass-driven indie rock. Their bleary eyed singer wore a relaxing smile and threw his arm around the audience, reminding me a little of “that weird drunk guy who really wanted to be our friend at the bar last night but was pretty nice, I guess”. The group sports a name hoodwinked straight out of Canadian author Mordecai Richler’s tales of a twice spoken hero – A transparent indication of the bands heritage and general age that was all too apparent if you were also, oh, say – around 28 years old and raised in Canada.
“We’re from Toronto, Canada!” – We were reminded twice, though not consecutively, or I would have been mildly amused at the breadth of Hooded Fang’s Jacob Two-Two influence. This was, perhaps, a clearer indication of the bands tour-frazzled and intoxicated mindset and I’m sure we all knew which country Toronto was in by the end of the night.
Poking fun aside, these guys played an extremely short set. It’s pretty rare I actually have to turn to the person next to me and ask if “That’s it?”. Maybe I was really enjoying the tunes, but I wanted more.
Despite a 30 minute set, I enjoyed Hooded Fang. There were times where I found myself helplessly rocking out to their driving bass and drum which was a pretty good indication of the bands playful and catchy nature. The singer sang to us in high pitched, beggar-rock styled vocals – a style that always feels dangerously familiar, but one that I can never nail down. Whether a current vocal fad, or just a comfortably familiar style, it worked pretty well for the Toronto based (that’s in Canada, remember) 5 piece and they did a pretty good job of warming us up for the following feature presentation.
Cuff the Duke. Man! These guys were awesome. It was my first time seeing them live and, in contrast to Hooded Fang, they had this whole ‘gigging’ thing nailed down. They were so comfortable on stage that everyone in the Electric Owl instantly transformed into “that drunk guy that really wants to be your friend”, inching in as close to the group as possible. What proceeded was one of the coziest shows I’ve seen in a long time.
Their tunes ranged from purist folk to a slightly more edgy rock that would occasionally take them to a place that strayed close to a desert noir motif that reminded me fondly of Calexico. They kept a surprisingly varied audience jumping and jiving in all the right places – Tangling young lovers in moments of appropriate slow-dancing – and I even saw someone throw up a lighter once. From moments of lullaby, they plunged with both feet into punchy power chords, keeping us awake and on our toes.
This was my first time at the Electric Owl, and it was a nice little venue. Though it lacks a real “back stage”, which I’ll admit makes it reallyawkward when a band needs somewhere to hide before they come back for an encore. Cuff the Duke complained of fans at their show in Victoria the night before who felt ripped off by a short set, so they wanted to prove their love for us by playing an extra long encore – something everyone at the show appreciated. They closed the night out with an acoustic song, unmiked, having the entire band and venue sing along. It was definitely a unique experience that could only happen in a small place like the Electric Owl.
While the East is notorious for their freezing winters, they sure know how to keep things warm with their music and anyone who dropped into the Electric Owl on Wednesday, November 2nd, certainly appreciated the musical hearth stoked by Hooded Fang and Cuff the Duke, rescuing us from our increasingly chilly autumn with what I’d chalk up as another pretty darn good time.
Review by: Greg Hennessey / Cuff The Duke photos by: Max Hirtz / Hooded Fang photos by: Christine Redmond
