Hey Rosetta! should be exhausted. The young Newfoundland band have been touring almost nonstop since releasing the critically acclaimed Into Your Lungs (and Around in Your Heart and on Through Your Blood), and after a brief stint in Europe, the group have returned to Canada for a mini East coast tour. Despite their rigorous schedule, however, nothing about the band's stellar show at Montreal's Cabaret Juste Pour Rire revealed any signs of fatigue.
Constant touring has honed Hey Rosetta!'s live sound, and the sizable group — a standard four-piece rock band, plus cello and violin — perform with surprising cohesion. String players Romesh Thavanathan and Erin Aurich add luscious accompaniment to the impeccably tight rhythm section, and lead guitarist Adam Hogan offers shockingly catchy riffs without overburdening the group's complex sound. But perhaps most noteworthy is front-man Tim Baker, whose charismatic croon and frenetic energy offers a magnetic spectacle reminiscent of Talking Heads-era David Byrne (minus the Big Suit, of course).
Material from Into Your Lungs was flawless and expected, but much of the group's set was devoted to songs from their excellent 2006 album, Plan Your Escape, as well as brand new songs that courageously offered a glimpse into the band's bright future. The audience was thrilled with everything the band threw at them, singing along to the sublime "We Made a Pact" and old favourite "Yes! Yes! Yes!" with equal gusto. The band's energy never waned, and the notes of first encore song "Red Heart" were played as vigorously as those of set opener "Another Pilot."
If this show is any indication, Hey Rosetta! will keep delighting audiences and critics well into 2010.
Constant touring has honed Hey Rosetta!'s live sound, and the sizable group — a standard four-piece rock band, plus cello and violin — perform with surprising cohesion. String players Romesh Thavanathan and Erin Aurich add luscious accompaniment to the impeccably tight rhythm section, and lead guitarist Adam Hogan offers shockingly catchy riffs without overburdening the group's complex sound. But perhaps most noteworthy is front-man Tim Baker, whose charismatic croon and frenetic energy offers a magnetic spectacle reminiscent of Talking Heads-era David Byrne (minus the Big Suit, of course).
Material from Into Your Lungs was flawless and expected, but much of the group's set was devoted to songs from their excellent 2006 album, Plan Your Escape, as well as brand new songs that courageously offered a glimpse into the band's bright future. The audience was thrilled with everything the band threw at them, singing along to the sublime "We Made a Pact" and old favourite "Yes! Yes! Yes!" with equal gusto. The band's energy never waned, and the notes of first encore song "Red Heart" were played as vigorously as those of set opener "Another Pilot."
If this show is any indication, Hey Rosetta! will keep delighting audiences and critics well into 2010.
