Wooden Hands and Foxy Jaws.

Coming up the stairs to the ebar I already liked what I was hearing. A five-piece I later found out was named "Fox Jaws" was playing some accessible guitar-indie with shared male/female vocals. They didn't totally blow anyone away but I am more than a little interested in checking them out again on June 5th when they return to Guelph. The song "Dance your face off" was a highlight but hardly accomplished its stated goal.
Next up "Beth in Battle Mode" (after a somewhat prolonged delay) played a keyboard-heavy mash that wasn't unappealing but sort of wore thin with the same call & response choruses song after song.
Finally (I say that cuz it was a later night than usual for a Thursday ebar gig) Woodhands took to the stage with the drummer (Paul) at his kit on one side of the wall of music-making materials, and the primary singer (Dan) on the other, ready to attack his sorted array of instruments. The word "frenetic" kept coming to mind while taking in this spectacle - mostly in the "frantic-energetic" sense. With only 2 members they filled the space pretty well (with much thanks to the looping pedals, and drum machines) and totally played off of each other in a very natural manner. Paul even laid down a couple rhymes for us, including what I believe they said was a Wu-tang verse, while the keytarist keyed us up to high energy. Much of the crowd was moving along to the jam session especially during closer (and personal fave) 'Dancer' that was "a long one" (as promised after they declared it was their last song to some vocal disappointment). This final hurrah swirled and soared and twisted all around until crashing to an extended (but enjoyable) close. Woodhands proved to be a band that lived up to their live billing and look to have a bright future ahead.