Calm and smooth, indie and soulful: Twin Shadow and Jamie Lidell
each had something for everyone at Bimbo’s Friday night, despite a slow
trickle in audience attendance numbers. Brooklyn’s Twin Shadow, who had
the pleasure of opening, is a cute indie outfit in general, but sound
best when the percussion is heaviest so that one can strap on her
dancing shoes and rock out. The group did seem to gain more confidence
throughout the show, closing impressively with their single “Castles In The Snow.”
Singer George Lewis Jr. tried to get all music and merch fronts
covered during the show – even offering kisses instead of a free
download as a side perk to purchasing a T-shirt – but neither prospect
garnered the response that Lewis was gunning for. “Well, that didn’t
seem to work,” he said equal parts wistfully and playfully when the
response was nil. After asking the audience where the afterparty was, a
girl volunteered her apartment for a house party from the back of the
crowd, and Lewis beckoned her to the stage to jot down her address.
Impressed with your follow-through, man.
The same can’t be said for middle opening band Zeus. After over an hour of waiting for stage turnover to be complete for the Toronto guys,
the band ended up not playing at all and Lidell took the stage early. No
explanation given, the Brit headliner launched into his set flawlessly.
While the absence of Zeus was curious, Lidell ended up making it up to
those who stuck around. “Where’s my tambourine, man?” he snarled to a
band mate in a playful pirate accent towards the beginning, and the show was
destined for greatness after that. Lidell at the core is a pure
showsman: he tells stories, he dances, and he belts notes off the
charts with such bravado it’s hard not to watch him combine this triple
threat into something truly spectacular. The crowd was largely treated to samplings off Compass and Jim; “What Is It This Time?” addressing his trouble in love in his youth, and “Telephone” carrying an extra dose of electro funk, both songs standout examples of Lidell’s range.
One of the most admirable traits about Lidell’s live act is his
precision in nailing both his ballads and his upbeat tracks. Lounge
number “All I Wanna Do” carried all the traits of being sexy and longing
while also balancing being a tad puke-in-your-mouth kinda cute, which is signature Lidell. And songs like “Another Day,” which carry a bit of Sunday church gospel in their tempo (it’s the clapping), are also successful live as well. Though it’s
uncanny for this white boy with a beard and glasses to be belting out
such a soulful voice, Lidell has conquered the depths of his
vocal range.
