By Peter Quincy Ng
Photo: Peter Quincy Ng
Amid of all the festivities that flood Toronto during Pride Week, there was little doubt that this Camera Obscura show was going to sell out. If that wasn’t enough proof a scalper was clearly grasping stack of tickets that was clearly an inch thick aggressively targeting curious onlookers. As the crowd gradually increased in size, at 9PM the doors opened to a rather mixed demographic: a marriage of fans young and new, much like nostalgic flavor of Camera Obscura itself.
After one hour with no band in sight and the tiny Lee’s Palace beginning to swelter with people, the ferociously warm Toronto heat and stuffy atmosphere began to wear down fans as they grew restless. At 10:30PM, however the rather anxious and somewhat exasperated crowd cheered as soloist Anni Rossi walked onto stage with her violin. The chatter of uninterested fans grew loudly as Anni Rossi delightfully plucked away at her violin playing roughly five songs or so before quickly rushing off stage as fans heckled her to hurry up.
As delightful Camera Obscura’s 4AD labelmate Anni Rossi’s light violin hooks may be this seemed to be one tough crowd, and the chatter of the crowd really disrupted her performance something that I actually was looking forward to.
After a short half-hour set, it would be another half-hour before Camera Obscura would take to the stage. Finally at 11:30PM, the band opened with “My Maudlin’ Career” off their newest album release of the same name. Although impressed with Tracyanne Campbell’s impressive voice, the poor mixing allowed her voice to be smothered by the guitars and supposedly light keyboard twinkles completely drowning out the vocals.
Nevertheless, despite the poor mixing, we were all excited they finally took to the stage and the band then followed by the clang of keyboardist Carey Lander on the xylophone opening to “Swans.” After scaling down from the rather upbeat “My Maudlin Career” and “Swans”, the mixing drastically improved. “Tears for Affairs” even had a wonderful brass addition to the song and Camera Obscura continued solidly with “Teenager” with opening surf-rock guitar riffs and light cymbal touches.
Noticing the discontent of the audience, lead vocalist Tracyanne stopped the sound. Upset at the poorly suited venue, she complained of being “stuck to the floor” because of the heat and voiced her disgust at scalpers who had been fleecing fans for tickets (something that I discussed with Tracyanne before the show when asked if I was able to get a ticket).
Following her brief little fit, “James” was ushered in with gentle flowing keyboard arrangements and fans cheered as Tracyanne sang “But if the blood pumping through my veins could freeze like a river in Toronto” in “Forests and Sands”. After a slew of their signature slow rather melancholic songs, Camera Obscura burst back onto the stage with the delightful trumpets of “Honey in the Sun” and the nostalgic Spektor-pop “Let’s Get Out of This Country”.
Reverting from jolly to glum again, Tracyanne dimmed Lee’s Palace’s blinding spotlight and played the tranquil and lesser known track “Books for Written for Girls” from their earlier album “Underachievers Please Try Harder”.
Like a building crescendo, the audience rose to its feet with the next song “French Navy” their first single from their latest release. Tracyanne sang along with fans as she rattled her avocado shaped maraca and got fans clapping along signature song “Come Back Margaret” from their album “Let’s Get Out of This Country”. Closing with another hit from their previous album “If Looks Could Kill” closed the concert with fans begging for an encore. Tracyanne came back with only Kenny McKeeve on the electric guitar and sang intimately to “Other Towns and Cities” which seemed to fade as the night began to close. Suddenly with Carey Lander back on the keys, the church organ sound instantly brought the crowd to their knees as they cheered and sang along to the chorus of “Hey Lloyd I’m Ready to be Heartbroken”.
As all things eventually come to an end “Razzle Dazzle Rose”. With the crescendos and decrescendos of fading trumpets, embellishing cymbals and Cary playing furious on the keys, the song brought a fitting end to a long yet well worth the wait set. Riddled with onstage troubles, poor scheduling and an overly crowded club this was a show that I was almost certainly going to write off as disappointing. Yet despite the poor planning on both Camera Obscura and Lee’s Palace, you have got to admit if you were there that these indie-pop veterans still know how to play a great set no matter the circumstances.
SETLIST:
My Maudlin Career
Swans
Tears for Affairs
Teenager
Sweetest Thing (Written on the setlist wasn’t played)/ You Told a Lie
80’s Fan
James
Forests and Sands
Honey in the Sun
Let’s Get out of this Country
Books for Girls
French Navy
Margaret
If Looks Could Kill
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Encore
Other Towns and Cities
Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken
Razzle Dazzle Rose