Sean Nicholas Savage

Edmonton’s underground can be hard to pick up on. The nature of such a subculture is that few know about it, but just because something is esoteric, that doesn’t necessarily make it worth checking out. Mark Hayes’s revitalization of the upstairs Likwid Lounge part of New City Suburbs has been fairly successful in not just showcasing interesting local acts but also in appealing to a dire need for a low-cost local venue in the current flux left by the nearby flood-damaged Hydeaway.

On December 29, there was a notable bill of indie recognizables hammering away on the tiny stage.
Opening with the smart pop-punk of the Wicked Awesomes and the raw, minimalist modern take on C86 by
the Bummers, the show culminated in a couple of telling one-man shows. Both Montréal by way of Edmonton, Sean Savage and Matt Perri presented two sides of a coin in their own direct styles.

Matt Perri has clearly immersed himself in the Montréal sound, but with his own personality intact. While I was most impressed by his watery take on Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Dreams,” he has his own heat: “My
New House” is on the same block as Wolf Parade, but it brings different meat to the barbeque with a strong,
hooky guitar line and a fluttering vocal that sticks in your mind instantly.

The kids reacted to Sean Savage in an appropriately veracious manner. They climbed onto the stage to clap
along to his earnest, simple campfire pop twee, perhaps because it spoke directly to them (“You won‘t leave
me, I know / I love you too much“). I can’t remember the last time I saw crowd surfing during a one-man
acoustic guitar performance, but it was noteworthy because it didn’t seem remotely out of place. There’s an intensity to his performance that goes far beyond the music, drawing strength from his gaze and his
seemingly disoriented response to praise.

Even though the show already impressed me, the expatriates weren’t really done with me yet. The
aforementioned Savage has another MTL band called Silly Kissers, produced by up-and-comers Ted
Stafford and David Carriere. It’s an ‘80s pop pastiche of love songs, jokey in the hands of others, but worth serious consideration from this bunch. The knockout punch is a solo vocal from Jane Penny called “You
Don’t Love Me” that enters near Tiffany levels of ‘80s schmaltz, but in an endearingly unintentional way.
“You call me ugly, you don‘t want me at all” is the call, and how could you not fall in love with such an
earnest, open analysis of a relationship?

The slowed-down break near the end, where Penny exclaims “Am I making it up?” in plain speak, is a thrilling, fun moment, something I haven’t experienced from the younger sector of locals in a while. So what does it take? Should we force our hot young bands to do French immersion for the summer or what? Everything considered, it was a night where I felt optimistic about the new generation of Canadian music, no matter what (or where) inspired the ideas. V - VUE Weekley