HILOTRONS Make Bid For Best Band In Ottawa

A HILOTRONS concert is pretty much a quintessential Ottawa event — for the Ottawa that lies beneath the bureaucratic capital exterior, that is. As at all their shows, representatives from the entire music community and a few hundred fans showed up ready for a slightly-off-kilter dance party at Barrymore's Music Hall on Saturday, which was delivered with prompt efficiency. As for why the rest of the country hasn't quite caught on to the odd charms of HILOTRONS' songs, that remains a mystery.

HILOTRONS launched into several songs from their new Happymatic CD, after a spirited opening set of pumped-up pop from Spiral Beach. Although it took a handful of songs before the crowd really erupted at the singalong "Look, Wow" from their previous record, the new tunes blended well with the rest of their material, keeping the band's signature syncopated, new-new-wave melodies, while adding a little bit of breathing space.

And it only took one song for any newcomers to realize just how much frontman Mike Dubue is the HILOTRONS' music. That's not to discount the virtues of guitarist Paul Hogan, keyboards/synth man Mike Schultz, bassist Damian Sawka and drummer Phil Shaw Bova — all of them are fine musicians whose impeccable playing of the Hilos' quick-change melodic twists bring the music alive and make it look dead easy. But while the rest of the band stood nearly still for the set, contrasting with the fidgety songs, Dubue embodied the music.

Left leg stomping independently from his body, head jerking forward in bird-like fashion, face contorting to deliver the staccato vocals — Dubue acted out the songs, especially the vowel-heavy "Samurai Robot," where each syllable became its own percussive vocal tic. The HILOTRONS' melodies are undeniably infectious, but Dubue imbues them with a strangeness that keeps the immediate comparisons at bay. No wave, new wave, synth and post-pop are all influences. But ricocheting off the high ceilings of Barrymore's, it all somehow came out like a foreign but welcoming sound.

None of this mattered much to the Ottawans who just came to jump around jerkily, and there was plenty of that. Ninety minutes later, though, when the band had finally slowed down with a lovely version of "Oh My" (featuring guest vocals from Sarah Hallman), the change of pace was welcome. Some of the little flourishes and emphases from Happymatic were lost in the live performance. And for all the tightness of the band dynamic, it was nice to see Hogan bust out a guitar solo halfway through the set, just to inject a little looseness into the show.

These are minor quibbles. HILOTRONS remain the best live act in Ottawa, and perhaps beyond. If only other parts of Canada would wake up to the jittery pop gems, too.