Tineh does the Horseshoe

Tinehlog: February 13, 2009, The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto

Most people know the Von Bondies for one of two reasons. One, their breakout album Pawn Shoppe Heart and its radio-friendly hit single “C’mon, C’mon,” released in 2004. A quick glance at Wikipedia tells me it reached #25 on the Billboard charts which is not bad for an indie rock band. Two, their lead singer once worked together with Jack White before Jack slugged him one at a Detroit nightclub (both Jack and the Von Bondies are from Detroit). It has been chilly ever since. And while Jack, via The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, has gone from strength to strength, Pawn Shoppe Heart was the Von Bondies’ last album till this year’s Love, Hate, and Then There’s You. If it’s any consolation, and I seriously doubt it, Jack was done for aggravated assault and had to take anger management classes.

I had heard of the Von Bondies for the second reason, though I must say that it was a subconscious knowledge. I knew I knew them but I wasn’t sure why. I also should have known them for C’mon, C’mon but somehow had forgotten who had song the sung, or sung the song even. So apparently they were playing at the Horseshoe Tavern on February 13th. Micro Mini Marcos insisted that the Horseshoe was an excellent venue for musics. I don’t really need much convincing to go see live music so I jotted it in to the diary. Exciting as it would be my first Toronto concert (I refuse to use the word ‘gig’ because it’s daft) after a couple of false starts, namely Broken Social Scene and Okkervil River. Happily, this would also be the first day of a week long hiatus from university as it was reading week. There was, however, one mild problem, though I did not know it was a problem till I arrived at the bus station and was informed by Miss Marcos that tickets were sold out but there should be some available at the gate. Gah. This despite the ‘oh, there’ll be plenty of tickets’ line of the previous few days. Filth.

The Horseshoe is pretty much a regular bar (image from wikipedia) but it does have a sizeable section for live music.

Anywho, on arrival, we were informed that tickets would be sold at the door starting from 8pm. Oh good. We strategized to return for 7.30 to both find a table in the bar area and also be well positioned for the door. This was, alas, to no real avail, as the time for opening kept getting pushed back until by 9, I was so beguiled by my couple of pints of Amsterdam that I ended up having to queue. Nonetheless, entry was gotten. Most importantly, a table was procured in the concert area and I got my paws on moar beer. The opening act was pretty mediocre. They had a good name though – Tropical Pets (they need to get in the real world – they don’t even have their own myspace). The second act was a band called Nico Vega, who are American as well. The lead singer actually had a good voice when she decided to sing but the band was far too shrieky for my liking. Sin.

The Von Bondies eventually came on just past midnight and were pretty much done fifty minutes later. This was Disappointing. A very short set. The lead singer claimed he had been ‘doing interviews all day’ which I seriously doubt. The crowd was also a little tame and despite the fact the Horseshoe makes for a great venue, I suppose big city peeps will be cuppers like that. The girls on the table adjoining us looked rather bored. Frankly, they weren’t all that bad. I had done my homework and had listened quite a bit to the new album and had come to like three or four songs particularly, 21st Birthday, Chancer, Accidents Will Happen and Earthquake. Chancer is actually very evocative of Pulp in parts, mainly in the chorus – ‘you look so cool, you look so alive, so aliveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’. Very Jarvis Cocker for me. In the end, they played Chancer and Accidents Will Happen, both of which were pretty bouncy. I like them when they seem to play around a little bit. They also did not play much off Pawn Shoppe Heart for some reason until they signed off, at least pre-encore, with C’mon C’mon:

That’s all I can seem to find of the Toronto concert (from here). It ended on a high with a cupper leaping on the stage and trying to steal a scarf that had been lain over the microphone awaiting the band’s return. He then leapt off the stage… but no one caught him. Sin. Anywho, here is Chancer at a subsequent concert in Montreal (I would attempt to watch this in high quality if I were thou, from here):

Ultimately, I enjoyed the Horseshoe and was totally up for returning to see Blitzen Trapper on the 21st but sadly, that show was truly sold out. The Von Bondies themselves were a little disappointing despite being a very good live act. What to do.