Noah Kochanowicz

I went to see Franc Moody at the Danforth Music Hall on Tuesday. I bought the tickets only knowing one song:

But I thought it was such a bop and I don't mind going to shows knowing little or nothing. 

The show was good, not great, the first half I was pretty surprised by how low energy it was for an electronic heavy band. It really picked up in the second half and drove it home at the end with a keytar and cowbell coming out. The band chemistry picked up at the point, with everyone starting to interact with each other. For most of the show it seemed like everyone was enjoying what they were doing on stage, but separately.

Two big shoutouts, the drummer raided a thrift shop in Toronto and managed to find an old and pretty sick Labbat's/Bluejays collab shirt. The bassist/synth absolutely carried the team though. You can find she's pretty consistent with this in videos of other shows bouncing around the stage.

Two things really hurt this show.

The venue choice was not it. The Danforth is hands-down the best venue in the city. But I don't think it's the best setup for electronic acts, especially if your set is kind of bland. History or Rebel would have been better choices. 

Second, the flow of music was not great. There was a lot of dead air between songs and the audience interaction was pretty meh. I don't need musicians to be excellent story tellers or comedians, but you can fill that air with music that flows from song to song or interesting interludes. Those interludes are great moments for the band to interact with each other or the audience.

On a personal note, I had some reflection on how I refer to the different ratings categories while at this show. "Spectacle" and "Stage Presence" are the two most important categories (to me) for what makes a concert a concert. But the naming is off. What I really want to convey is "What makes this concert worth seeing over staying at home and listening to the CD" and "Does this show feel like something bespoke that is unique to just this tour and/or just this performance", respectively.

So "Spectacle" is becoming "In person only factor", "Stage Presence" is becoming "One night only factor". I'll probably change it a dozen times before I find the best way to word those.

https://nowuh.com/concert-ratings

Overall: 2.35/5