LIVE: Saint Alvia Cartel And The Reason Host A Punky Dance Party
Friday February 08, 2008 @ 03:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Saint Alvia Cartel Photo by Jess Baumung

February 7, 2008
The Mod Club
Toronto, Ontario
By Stephanie Joudrey

There seemed to be a spring in the step of The Saint Alvia Cartel on this snowy Thursday night. It could have been because the band had been nominated for a Juno Award for their debut album, but regardless of the reason the band still proved to the Mod Club crowd that they were award-worthy.

It was a very early start to a show, with Little Millionaires hitting the stage well before 7 p.m. to a sparse crowd. It might have been their saving grace that the club wasn't packed because their performance left a lot to be desired. As a very new group they have some kinks to work out. Eliminating those awkward silences between songs and not mumbling into the mic would be a good start.

Hamilton's The Reason had the daunting task of getting the energy of the growing crowd back up, and rose to the challenge admirably. The infectious dancing and energy of frontman Adam White is pretty hard to deny. Even if you didn't want to be bobbing along, he asked for so many clap-alongs that he wore the crowd down and everyone joined in at some point. If that didn't melt resistance, White's new moustache gives Brandon Flowers' a serious run for the money. They played a large number of tracks off of their latest disc and threw in an retooled oldie, "Taurus." Since The Reason have left the screaming they were once known for behind, they jazzed up "Taurus" with a poppier sound. The single "We're So Beyond This" was taken extremely well by the crowd, and you almost didn't notice that Sara Quin was missing from the duet-turned-solo-take by White.

The Saint Alvia Cartel hit the stage to a pounding hip-hop intro. These guys may look the part of rough 'n' tumble punks, but once they started, the show was all about dancing along. Their goal was to lift you up, not mess you up, and so they did. With all six members taking on lead vocals at one point or another, they really offered up a diverse party. Each one has his own style and sense when in the spotlight. Greg Taylor's voice really stands out from the raspier vocals of the others, while Ben Rispin bounds around stage relentlessly. Every song flowed effortlessly into the next to create the perfect punk dance-athon.

Still, it wasn't all about the dance. The highlight of the night had to be when The Reason joined them mid-set for the only slow song, "Stones On The Road." With everyone singing and hugging and playing instruments, the emotion behind the song really shone. It would have been the perfect finale, save for Saint Alvia deciding to leave us on a high note with first single "Don't Wanna Wait Forever." They were off the stage before 10 p.m. without an encore, but proved that they deserved every ounce of recognition they've been getting.