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NXNE The Soundtrack Of Our Lives @ Healey's, Toronto, June 7th 200


Jaimoe

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[blurb]Seemingly undeterred by a small crowd and the cavernous new Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse that swallowed-up decent opening indie acts Uncut and Beasts Of Eden, veteran Swedish retro-rockers The Soundtrack Of Our Lives uncorked the first of their three night NorthByNortheast stand Thursday in rocking fashion with an electrifying guitar-driven eighty minute set. Even if a part of me wished that the gig was at the more intimate abandoned Healey’s dive three blocks away on Bathurst Street, TSOOL filled the newer club’s empty nooks with anthemic rock & roll that delighted their two-hundred fans tightly ringing the front of the stage.[/blurb] TSOOL unabashedly wear their influences on their collective sleeves and they flaunted their psychedelic side with the night’s first two songs, the Sgt Pepper’s themed “The Flood†from their 2001 breakthrough album Behind The Music and a trippy cover of “Sick Of You†- though rotund singer and noted madman Ebbot Lundberg inwardly winked as he announced that The Stooges classic was “an originalâ€. Next up was an early highlight and fan favourite “Instant Repeater ‘99†from 1996’s Welcome To The Infant Freebase, which Ebbot called “a coverâ€. Yep, Ebbot's head was in outer-space throughout the evening, but his in-jokes, nonsensical ramblings and wild stage demeanor was pretty darn entertaining.

The dueling guitar attack of Mattias Bärjed and Ian Person was a force all night too, delivering some ripping leads wrapped around impossibly catchy BIG power-chords, especially on the Behind The Music Who/Stones hybrid “Infra Riot†and a terrifically reworked bass-driven “Big Timeâ€, the disappointing flop single from their excellent 2005 Origin, Vol. I disc. I’m convinced that their runaway Behind The Music hit “Sister Surround†is still the best pure rock & roll single to infiltrate the airwaves in decades and hearing it live further cements my belief. The catchy “Do-do do do do do†chorus, Who-like strums and a few well delivered Bärjed windmills from the Pete Townshend disciple had the crowd singing and dancing right into the encore. After a few moments, TSOOL returned to the stage and unleashed a fantastic “Stooged-up†cover of folk legend Nick Drake’s “Fly†followed by a rousing version of their monster guitar anthem “Mantra Sliderâ€. The Extended Revelation hymn “Jehovah Sunrise†soothed things down and ended the night the way it started.

TSOOL’s once fat North American audience has noticeably thinned in recent years due to their relative inactivity and the sad fact that Origin, Vol. I failed to deliver a hit as big as “Sister Surroundâ€. When they are firing on all cylinders and aren’t sloppy drunk, TSOOL put on one of the best rock concerts you’ll ever see. And the top form they showed on Thursday night along with the news that their anticipated second Origin volume will be released soon - one which Ebbot describes as their heaviest - the crowds will come back. The band is just too damn good for that to not to happen.

**** (out of 5)

by David "Jaimoe" Ball

Setlist:

The Flood

Sick Of You *

Instant Repeater 99

Keep The Line Movin

Independent Luxury

Broken Imagery

Infra Riot

Big Time

Pass Through Fear

Confrontation Camp

Sister Surround

Encore:

Fly **

Mantra Slider

Jehova Sunrise

* Stooges cover

** Nick Drake cover

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What about Cowboy/starhead having a 11 hour "nap" and missing the Silver Dollar show? At least they still play tonight.

I'm hoping that cover of Nick Drake's "Fly" finds it's way onto their new album. Their version would terrify Drake, which is a testament to how good it is.

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What about Cowboy/starhead having a 11 hour "nap" and missing the Silver Dollar show? At least they still play tonight.

last night (Saturday) at Healey's was absolutely phenomenal!

hands down the BEST TSOOL show I have seen

man that band rocks!

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Last Days of April played before TSOOL on Sat.

What a show...drove into town thinking that I'd have little chance of getting in, but what luck. Yet another reason I'm glad to live in Canada. Small scale sometimes, but what an intimate setting to see a band of this stature.

Here is a link to a gallery of images that I made of the concert. Hope it makes those who couldn't be there feel a little closer.

http://www.pbase.com/artifactsforlife/tsool

Pretty solid review to start this thread too!

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