John Vanderslice Is a Big Slice of Life in Toronto

Last night the San Francisco based indie pop source John Vanderslice rolled into Toronto and in particular the El Mocambo for a show that most won't forget. On his current tour of North America in promotion of his latest album "Pixel Revolt" we had last nights date circled for some time now. However what we were expecting to hear at the show was far from what was delivered. This of course was all to our surprise as we had the feeling that John was going to be a little softer and tamer then what was shown on stage. What actually transpired was a night full of head boppin' from tracks that were full of hard bass drums (Dave Douglas), guitar (J.V.), bass (David Broecker) and triptych keyboards (Ian Bjonstand), all of which produced for an amazing night from the guys up front. After a dedicating "My Old Flame" to a superfan in the crowd name Philip, John expresses to the faithful in attendance that he doesn't believe in encores. "we are just going to play everything" at which point fans started listing off songs they had not played that this point "yep, we will play that"... and they didn't disappoint. The song "Radiant" even gave David Broecker and Ian Bjonstand time to head out the back down for a quick smoke before returning to the stage for a crowd favourite "424". We might have been showing our age but we had no idea what a 424 was or stood for but John made everything make sense after the song. Apparently 424 is reference to a "Tascam 424 MKII Portastudio" and is a 4-track "Multitrack Master" cassette tape recorder. From the way things are going in John's life people email him on at least once a month asking about repair tips for the old equipment. John wants you all to please stop emailing him with this request... now back to the music. As the band was about to play the last song of the night "Angela" the guys expressed that the night isn't over after the set ends and would like to see everyone enjoy the hip-hop dance party afterwards. They even brought their own tones! Thanks to entire band, John Vanderslice, Dave Douglas, Ian Bjornstad, and David Broecker for an incredible set. We look forward to you next visit to Toronto. The set list for the evening: :: Underneath :: Cool Purple :: Up Above :: Fiji :: Plymouth :: Exodous :: Mansion :: Dream Alive :: They Won't :: White Plains :: Do You Remember :: From Out Here :: Amitriptyline :: Pale Horse :: My Old Flame :: Trance :: Radiant :: 424 :: Time Travel :: Angela MP3: John Vanderslice - "Trance Manual"