Rah Rah, Library Voices, Bel Riose & Bash Brothers
The Railway Club
Wednesday, February 18 2009

I’m glad I took the night off work this last Wednesday for a little Bel Riose eardrum shakeup at the Railway. In the process I discovered a couple of new favorite bands in the form of the opening acts, Rah Rah and Library Voices, both from Regina. The room was packed and both openers seemed to have a pretty sizable following, which was encouraging.
Rah Rah were a bunch of fun, likable folk that had the crowd in a tizzy with their wide open cow-pop party music that brought a lot ecstatic grins to a lot of faces, including the band who seemed to really be enjoying themselves up there and by the end of their set I was sold. A little bit Canadiana, a little bit Weakerthans a little bit Arcade Fire and a lot of awesome, equals a brand new CD purchase for me!
Next up was Library Voices, and what a bunch of troopers they were, having learned the night before that some asshole broke into their trailer and made off with about $10,000 worth of equipment including a sax, a brand new guitar, bass cabs and a whack of other stuff. Now, this might cause some bands to cancel a few shows and go home, but not these fresh-faced younglings! With borrowed gear and unflappable optimism they still took the stage and played a great set of punchy pop tunes complete with horns and keys and infectious sing-along songs. They were like the vegetarian version of Rah Rah if I had to draw comparisons and they put on a hell of a show. But I would be lying if I said that I was there for Regina’s finest - no sir, my focus was on Bel Riose, but I know that I’ve heaped a ton of praise on this local two-piece powerhouse over the last year, so I’ll keep it brief. There was lots of sing-screaming, there was sweat, there was a brief guest vocalist who held his own. There were a couple of super-heavy new songs mixed in with the best tracks off of ‘Moving Targets’ and ‘Demonstration’ and without a doubt there were happy eardrums everywhere. I said it once and I’ll say it again, Bel Riose fucking RULES!
For the most part Bash Brothers set was lost on me due to the call of next day work duties but what I did see was shit-tight and reminded me of a girl version of Bel Riose, but I was music-sated, the night was old and I had to make for bed. So I took leave with ringing ears and happy thoughts in my head.

~Nathan Pike Posted: Mar 5, 2009