Mounties

Canadian indie rock supergroup Mounties kept things fun and perky during their afternoon appearance at Rifflandia, their first-ever show. Featuring Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat) on keyboards and vocals, Hawksley Workman on drums and vocals, and Ryan Dahle (Limblifter) on guitar and vocals (with live bass help from Bay's cohort Parker Bossley, and some extra percussion and guitar guests), Mounties' set was a bundle of boundless energy from a bunch of guys who are clearly in it for the fun. Their '80s-laced pop numbers sent the sizable afternoon crowd into fits, with one fan in particular kind of losing her mind up front in the midst of some of Canada's most talented and earnest musicians. Bays looked tickled to be back onstage and in front of his Victoria home crowd, with Workman and Dahle flanking him on either side. Meanwhile, Workman was a drum monster, bringing one song which, aptly, repeated the words "Hall and Oates" to a frenzied climax while Bays danced like a twisted marionette with his keyboard. Workman was such a drum beast that Black Sabbath could have looked to Canada when choosing Bill Ward's replacement, although the guys in Mounties seem like a lot more fun to hang out with than Tony and Geezer. Songs like "If This Dance Catches On" and "Headphones" went off amazingly live, the combination of all of Mounties members' high-pitched voices ringing through the air like a choir of really hardcore '80s music fans. And we thought Duran Duran had charisma!