The Avalon Front is a diminutive basement bar with seating for just over 100. Upon first entrance, there is nary a stage, nor intricate lighting system, nor midriff-baring bartender to be seen. You’ve got a few booths, a few tables, and a good selection of the United Kingdom’s favourite malt beverages. Once you’ve crossed to the back of the bar, it is much the same, aside from the sudden appearance of black leather couches and a fairly decent pool table [which, I might add, was much better lit than were the bands]. A nice little joint, emphasis on the “little” – I still can’t believe that they managed to fit a five-piece band into the place. One way or another, they did, and tiny space and poor acoustics be damned, the show went on.
Gentleman Reg, the Toronto-based quasi-albino singer/songwriter, opened for The Organ, and his set was the Alec Guinness of genuine class. Alright, maybe that descriptor is taking it a bit far, especially considering the fact that he was not dressed in his notorious military regalia [a look reserved for only the most special of occasions, perhaps]. Nonetheless, his soft-spoken song stylings did much to set the tone of the evening, as any good opener should, and a confidently delicate tone it was. Reggie’s full effect was a bit Nick Drake-esque, no doubt an influence, and when his half-hour upon the stage was all played out, he’d cast the better portion of the room under his pigmentless spell.
Ten minutes later, The Organ’s organs were ready for action. As the decibels increased, the audience’s ears perked up to a 90o angle, and heightened anticipation met some wind resistance as it fell back to sea level at 9.8 m/s2.
Make no mistake: The Organ’s 40-minute set was true to the album, chord for discord, and it gave the audience a perfect example of what could be gained by shelling out fifteen for their CD. But when Katie Sketch, lead vocals, rolled out her crowd-wooing stage persona – which involved rocking back on forth on her heels while clutching onto a Budweiser like Linus’s blanket - it quickly became obvious that The Organ might be hitting a few sour notes.
Somehow, even with mop-top Shelby Stocks’ incessant smirking behind the drum kit, the show came off a bit lacklustre. With only ten songs on the market, all of which can be found on 2004’s Grab that Gun, the ladies may not have had the chance to shock the socks off of anyone, but they might’ve carried those songs off with a bit more flair.
If your sound is melancholy, well bully for you, but can we at least get a passionate melancholy? At a tiny venue like the Avalon, it’s a downright obligation for any band to rock the roof right off of the place. Sadly, The Organ left the crowd somewhat high and dry in that respect.
On a purely technical basis, the show went well, but the execution smacked of missed opportunity. Had The Organ traded the ennui for a bit more enthusiasm, they might have had a stand-out show. It could have been grand. It could have been glorious. It could have been the Despair Heard ‘Round the World. Instead, it was very much your run of the mill start-up-band performance, as given by your run of the mill, Smiths-loving start-up, unversed in the ways of the Jedi Samurai seasoned headliner.
Available merchandise included not-altogether-hideous t-shirts, stickers, and most recent CDs for both artists.
