Stacey. Kirty. Maccie. Helena.
At first glance it sounds like some sort of Millenial show about teenage girls in California who go and solve mysterious crimes, but upon closer inspections, it’s actually the name of four up and coming musical acts.
They all gathered to play Friday night at the Silver Dollar as a part of Exclaim’s Class of 2017 showcase. The showcase was co-presented with the Canadian music blog Ride The Tempo. For me it was a continuation of a week where I saw bands I basically never heard about or heard of. A rare turn of events for this old soul. The crowd was a youthful one, it was good to be surrounded by youth, if only I could somehow absorb their energy and essence via osmosis or something.
First on the show was Helena Deland. Hailing from Montreal, Helena Deland has been slowly getting steam lately with all kinds of articles written about her from all those music sites that actually keep up to date with new music. A solid act working with only a guitar, Helena showed off her angelic voice and showered the decently sized crowd with a set of minimal but effective songs that evokes memories of some sort. Not sure what, but it was all pretty good.
The next act on the bill was Maccie, a two person act who brought the most energy of the night. The lead singer, whatever her name was (maybe it’s Maccie) was a fireball of energy, dancing it up and at one point, even doing a kip up much to the crowd’s delight. The music featured some strong 80’s era guitar ballad solos that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The third act was Kirty, who’s soft voice brought an easy listening almost summer vibe to the Silver Dollar. Some of the music bordered on country, some on folk but they all kind of worked together. Kirty also gets the points for most people on stage at once. I guess she is part of the Fast Romantics as well, but I think she should just stick to her solo stuff.
Last on the bill was Stacey. With the lights dimmed and featureing moody sounds, it was an interesting turn of mood going from the summery sounds of Kirty to the late night vibes of Stacey. Her cover of Build Me Up (Buttercup) at first had me feeling a bit cautious but the stripped down version had me won over by the time it hit the chorus. Maybe now I’ll associate it less with Something About Mary.
