Let’s get one thing straight: The Joy Formidable are not cutesy. Yes, lead-singer/guitarist Ritzy Bryan and bassist Rhydian Dafydd are dating and Ritzy resembles something of a manic pixie dream girl (and her name is Ritzy, for God’s sake) but unlike other attached boy-girl acts (looking at you, Mates Of State and Matt & Kim), The Joy Formidable prioritize their music over their relationship, which is exactly the way it should be.
As the band took the stage in a shroud of darkness, a nearby audience member yelled out “have my children” before the lights went up and the Welsh group erupted with “The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie.” It was a bit of a shock to the system that Ritzy is of such a diminutive stature as she possesses a commanding stage presence and a monumental voice that definitely enforces why they titled their just-released debut LP The Big Roar.
Though it’s difficult to pry your line of vision away from Bryan when she’s standing there, an unblinking, wide-eyed angel , the fiery intensity of the band’s performance skills would not be complete without the other two members of this trifecta of rock awesomeness.
The Joy Formidable employ a somewhat unorthodox stage set-up, with drummer Matt Thomas’ kit positioned stage left instead of behind the frontrunners. This linear arrangement makes it a whole lot more convenient for the band to interact with each other as well as allow the audience to get a closer look at Thomas pummeling his drums to a bloody pulp.
When Rhydian ripped into the punchy opening bass line of “Austere,” a portion of the crowd attempted to half-heartedly clap along with it until Ritzy exclaimed “come on, you can fucking do better than that!” Toronto accepted the challenge and that’s when things really got cooking as the band totally got off on the crowd’s amped up feedback and pushed themselves even harder.
After whipping through a succession of staples from the A Balloon Called Moaning days (“The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade,” “Cradle”), the trio launched into what was probably the highlight of the set, the shoegaze-meets-grunge number “Buoy.” By the time the breakdown rolled around, Dafydd was found at the back of the stage, punching a lone bass drum with his fists in time to the beat with such force that he knocked it clear off its stand.
The set capped off with “Whirring,” an epic, almost eight-minute long jam that the band delivered with a vigour that hasn’t been seen this side of the ’90s. The song curtailed with Ritzy down on her knees, playing with the smorgasbord of foot pedals at her disposal before chucking her guitar on the ground, blowing the audience a kiss and strutting off stage in true rock star fashion.
Minutes later, they were summoned back for a fury of an encore of “Greyhounds In The Slips” and “A Heavy Abacus.” As they left the stage after conquering the room for a second time, the distinctive voice of Paul “Bear” Vasquez, the man responsible for the “Double Rainbow” viral video filled the Horseshoe, dubbed overtop of a twinkling melody reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, leaving some audience members confused and hoping for a double encore.
The Joy Formidable played:
“The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie”
“The Magnifying Glass”
“Austere”
“The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade”
“Cradle”
“Buoy”
“I Don’t Want To See You Like This”
“Whirring”
Encore:
“Greyhounds In The Slips”
“A Heavy Abacus”
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