Review-Sister Suvi, Telefauna, The Luyas, Shapes and Sizes at Sala Rossa

by Tessa Smith

January in most Canadian cities is known for its high percentage of depressed persons. It’s generally the time when artists hole up and record albums or book art openings in warmer climes or schedule more shifts at their dayjobs or take interest in HBO dramas.

In January, it takes a lot to get the average person out from under the covers. Montreal show promoters, Blue Skies Turn Black, took advantage of the corresponding availability of local venues to pull together an all-star pay-what-you-can bill with four great local bands, Sister Suvi, Telefauna, The Luyas, and Shapes and Sizes.

On Thursday January 17th, I gave in to the incentive, rubbed the sleep out of my hibernating eyes, pulled my socks out of the oven, and trekked down to Sala Rossa to take part in the musical ritual of warmmaking.

Photos by Marilis Cardinal.

Erm. We missed Sister Suvi play first. Sorry!

Each member of Telefauna has had multiple projects on his or her plate recently, so it’s not surprising that weren’t as together-sounding as they can be. They’ve got obsessive and loyal fans who were grateful to hear Adam Waito (keys, lead vocals) belt, “Gimme all of your love or none of your love, don’t give me some of your love!” and Tyler Rauman (beats) milk the melodica opening to “Turbulence”. It was also Katherine Peacock’s birthday, hence the metal boat/clock sculpture on her keyboard and the lit birthday cake. All in all, Telefauna seemed pleased to be playing again, and moving the crowd as per usual.

The Luyas sounded great, as they have each time I’ve seen them. This three-piece works together to create beautiful and eery rock songs that are as forceful on their recordings as when seen live. In the spirit of the show, the band offered their new CD, Faker Death, at pay-what-you-can, with guitarist, Jessie Stein, mentioning “it costs $2 to manufacture, so…”. You can also pick up or order a copy of the album here or digitally download it at Zunior.

Lastly, Shapes and Sizes. I never tire of seeing these guys play. They’ve got a great live energy that I think comes from having toured and played many a show, as well as having great live energy individually. At this show, they were definitely leaning more toward their deconstructive tendancies than usual. The hooks were still there, but in pleasingly surprising forms.

For more on each band: