Kids and Explosions

It was clear from the start of his set that Toronto's Kids and Explosions was just as uncomfortable with the Metro Theatre venue as all of us stuck in our seats were. Really, the spliced and diced mash-ups, as found on his amazing debut album Shit Computer, are suited for a nightclub, or at least somewhere with an actual dancefloor. Try as we might to dance near the front of the theatre stage, it wasn't happening, and not just because security asked us to sit back down. The sound was too quiet, the vibe too bummer and the energy levels much too low. Blaming the venue doesn't quite wash, though, because instead of ramping it up and turning a frown upside down, Kids kinda moped behind his makeshift DJ table and didn't bring the kind of unhinged madness he's capable of. A truncated version of "Swear Words," instead of reaching a cuss-filled fever pitch as on album, sort of fizzled itself out. As good as it was to hear Kids and Explosions live, his flat set was a disappointment. Lost potential all over the place.