The Ghost of Modern Girls

An anthemic opening number started the night off properly as The Ghost is Dancing crammed all six members into the front nook of the Jimmy Jazz. With a couple guitars, a couple sets of keys, bass, drums and seldom-used trombone they built soaring, layered pop songs into rocking crescendos for nearly every tune. Most of these songs were from their upcoming release - apparently choosing to work on the new stuff and skip the old faves. It didn't matter though as they packed the energy, and the "stage" - evidenced by the lead singer's failed leap from it. The coupling of the rubber-booted (then stocking-footed) lead female with the velcro-shoed (yeah! crossed straps!) lead singer went over well, especially when she pushed her voice to cut through the roar of the band. Taking advantage of the intimate venue the band included very friendly banter and this was reciprocated with love and applause from the crowd. Despite not playing my favourite, the The Darkest Spark's title track, I still thoroughly enjoyed the set, and am looking forward to the new record and seeing the band upon their mid-summer return to Guelph.

Speaking of sparks, the next act were nearly as electrifying as the mic that repeatedly shocked the singer throughout the Modernboys/Moderngirls set. (Admittedly that was a stretch of a segue; gimme a break!) Normally a four- or five-piece, last night they cranked up the volume with simply a guitar and a drumset that they dragged down onto the floor, presumably to get closer to us and increase the volume that much more. It was a pretty decent rock'n'roll set that would have been cool to have seen flushed out by bringing more modern boys and some modern girls. For their minor hit, My Baby Says Boy, they moved in the opposite direction in fact, by removing the drummer and playing a stripped-down version that wasn't half bad. Overall the hard-hitting drummer, and big-buckle-cowboy-booted singer definitely entertained.