Having recently perused Oneida's new album PreTeen Weaponry from a few weeks ago, my first chance to see them live came at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Ontario last Friday. With a packed house on the deck remaining after Tropics played their 8 o'clock set, Lullaby Arkestra followed.
Lullaby Arkestra
The last true rock show I attended was Tool last summer and I loved it even though I only knew more than a few of their songs. Lullaby Arkestra wasn't rock Friday night; it was hard punk with the zeal of the Kaiser Chiefs and the drive of grunge like Seaweed, but it reminded me of how everyone attentively watched Tool.
The most amazing aspect of the two-person performance was undoubtedly the fact that drummer Justin Small was the lead singer for half of the songs. That's not to say Katia Taylor didn't have her highlights. When Small took a much-needed rest towards the end of the set, Taylor completely strayed from the metal genre to an almost down-home country sans the twang.
Oneida
With a large crowd forming in anticipation of their show as well as the dance party to follow upstairs at Lee's Palace, Oneida eased into their set with a combination of down-tempo, yet hard hit drums along with rarely strummed electric ambient guitars. After about ten minutes, the same continued with the occassional synth mixed into the lull. It was at this point I got to recording, even though I am not sure what song was recorded and if it is a complete on.
The lull only lasted so long as Oneida flaired to life through the sudden swift play of their drummer, the flexibility of their keyboardist/guitarist and the jazzing up on the synthesizer. With these components the rest of the group could almost sit back and chime in. Despite their presence on stage, the bass and lead vocalist weren't part of the backbone of Oneida's style, which lent more to a computer-manufactured sound at points.
Overall, the show had its ups and downs. The MP3 below was the crowd favorite as it captured amazing energy by the keyboardist while getting the crowd jumping at the same time. Check out the stuff below and if you like it make sure to catch Oneida in your city.
MP3: Oneida - Up with the People
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