Magic Christian At The Horseshoe

A Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and former members of two respected but under-appreciated bands played Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern on Monday night, and barely 100 people showed up.

That's a shame, because Magic Christian put on a hell of a show. The group's name might not sound familiar, but those in attendance (including members of Blue Rodeo, The Leather Uppers and The B-Girls, journalists and other veteran rock aficionados) were well aware of who'd be appearing on stage and braved the continued cold snap to check them out.

Magic Christian was formed earlier this decade by guitarist/songwriter Cyril Jordan, who built a devoted cult following through 15 albums with The Flamin' Groovies, and a fellow San Franciscan, singer Paul Kopf. Their original rhythm section was composed of Tubes drummer Prairie Prince and Chocolate Watch Band bassist Alec Palao.

Scheduling conflicts forced those two to leave after recording the group's 2005 self-titled debut, but they were replaced in the summer of 2007 by Blondie drummer Clem Burke and former Plimsouls guitarist Eddie Munoz, who took over on bass.

It therefore wouldn't be wrong to call Magic Christian a supergroup. And can anyone tell me the last time a member of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (Burke) performed at the 'Shoe?

The audience was expecting the power pop, quasi-psychedelia and garage rock sounds the assembled musicians built their reputations on, and they weren't disappointed. Magic Christian opened with the single "Turn Up The Heat," and they did just that through their 40-minute set and two classic encore numbers.

Sixty-year-old Jordan hasn't lost his way on the fretboard of his clear plexiglass guitar, even if he was described by my friend Cam Carpenter as looking like "one of the hockey goon Hanson brothers dressed as Joey Ramone."

Burke can still keep a big beat (despite his slightly bigger girth), Munoz was solid, and Knopf was an energetic frontman who danced around and augmented his occasionally Mick Jagger-like vocals with maracas, tambourine and harmonica.

The set was heavy on numbers from the group's not-yet-released Evolver, the highlight of which was "Tomorrow Never Comes," and a few people purchased advance promo copies of the album at the merch table after the show.

Excellent covers of The Beatles' "Any Time At All" and the set-closing "Anyway You Want It" by The Dave Clark Five were sheer delights and set the stage for the two killer encores.

The title track of The Flamin' Groovies' 1971 album, the Hamilton punk band-inspiring "Teenage Head," was full of the raunchy lust that has made it a garage rock standard.

The group briefly left the stage before returning to play the night's final cut, another Flamin' Groovies album and song that inspired a Seattle group to take the name: "Shake Some Action." It had the crowd joyously singing along to the chorus and yelling for more when it was over, but it wasn't to be.

Magic Christian end their four-date Canadian tour at Hamilton's Club Absinthe tonight (Tuesday) before heading south for seven northeastern U.S. shows starting at the Bug Jar in Rochester, N.Y. on Wednesday.

If you can't see Magic Christian, at least check out their MySpace page and have a listen. While you should already be familiar with Blondie (and shame on you if you're not), your next lesson is to go back and discover The Flamin' Groovies and The Plimsouls. If you're an avid student of classic pop and rock but aren't familiar with them, you'll want to thank me later.

You can see my photos of Monday night's show here.