The (International) Noise Conspiracy / The Fever / The Brat Attack

With his frequent jumping and hyperactive moves, Dennis Lyxzén of the (International) Noise Conspiracy has refined his front-man shtick to become the David Lee Roth of pinko rock. Prior to Noise Conspiracy hitting the stage, locals the Brat Attack stared down numerous obstacles, including the absence of their vocalist and an extremely early set time, and offered an energetic show with musicians running around the stage playing solid punk rock. New York City’s the Fever followed, sounding at times like Tom Waits singing overtop of old school Nintendo game music. Ultimately, the group seemed more perplexing than entertaining. Hitting the stage before the sun went down, Noise Conspiracy followed and gave a wired show. The group’s first visit to Winnipeg leaned heavily on songs from its major label release, Armed Love, with the band offering only a handful of nods to its back catalogue. A few songs into the set, the group tore into a fierce version of "Up for Sale,” which saw most of its musicians soaked in sweat from bouncing around the stage. Lyxzén was consistently the centre of the band’s live show, hopping around, climbing on speaker cabinets and spinning his microphone. While the unflagging energy was commendable, at times it seemed too self-conscious, suggesting Lyxzén spends much of his time practicing in front of a mirror at home, singing into a hair brush. Fortunately, a few cracks showed in his polished stage moves, with the vocalist tossing and dropping his microphone almost as many times as he caught it. Despite the occasional fumbles, Noise Conspiracy garnered a warm response. With Lyxzén standing on a table in the middle of the crowd, the charged encore of "Capitalism Stole My Virginity” drew the loudest applause as the group wrapped up its socialist party sounds.