Woodhands

"I Can’t See Straight”

BY Cam LindsayPublished Mar 22, 2007

This Vancouver-cum-Montreal-cum Toronto band blew the roof off the local Tiger Bar basement lounge last month, with a sexed-up electro romp that at times felt like they were gonna have the crowd sweaty and naked by the end of the set. Apparently, they did even more damage opening for the Zoobombs during Canadian Music Week. Equal parts Revenge of the Nerds (they definitely took notes from the Tri-Lam’s Devo-obsessed "battle of the bands” performance), Schneider TM and even a little bit of Prince, Woodhands are the quintessential live electro rock two-piece largely thanks to Dan Werb’s stirring presence (though drummer Paul Banwatt’s convulsive beats should not be ignored). With a guise that can only be summed up as Zach Braff’s Scrubs character J.D. portraying a library’s card catalogue manager in a daydream, Werb may not look the part of a rock’n’roll sex god, but if you squint and/or cross your eyes, his confidence on stage makes him into Jim Morrison stroking a weighty keytar. Yes, he even plays a keytar. Taken from Ecologies,"I Can’t See Straight” is their obvious standout with its beseeching call-out and slinky grooves demonstrating their music really is fashioned for "emo sorority robot girls of the future.”

Woodhands "I Can’t See Straight"

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