Tokyo Police Club Bring The Elephant To Life

Critical mass, it would appear, has decided that Tokyo Police Club aren't Canada's next Arcade Fire (yet, anyway). One gets the feeling that hardly bothers them, though. If anything, TPC were just happy to finish their full-length debut, Elephant Shell, amidst the massive expectations placed upon it. At a basic level, Elephant Shell is a pretty good collection of songs whose production doesn't exactly do them a ton of justice. And that's why it's good that the quartet have become one of the best live groups in the country. It gives fans a chance to hear exactly what could have been.

Unfortunately, early concert-goers had to sit through Winter Gloves. Winter Gloves got the lowest grade of the bands I saw at this past Canadian Music Week and, I'll be honest, I was being generous. These way-too-clean electronic popsters from Montreal are essentially Metric fronted by a guy (which is, not coincidentally, exactly what I said about them last time). But not just any guy — basically Adam Levine from Maroon 5. If they're angling for an opening slot on a Matchbox Twenty tour, Winter Gloves are well on their way.

Then came Smoosh, formerly a duo of pre-teen sisters, who are now a trio of two teens and one of their little sisters. I last saw them when they opened for Eels to a sparse crowd at The Mod Club two years ago. Back then singer/keyboardist Asya avoided making eye contact with the crowd and Chloe's drumming was solid, but not great. Now, Asya's figured out that the way to get your audience involved is to keep your eyes forward, and Chloe is a monster on the kit. In two more years, she'll be one of the best drummers alive. Smoosh's songs have gotten better and the addition of little sister Maia on bass is a good omen for the band's future success. The crowd ate it up and their cover of Bloc Party's "This Modern Love" brought down the house. Now, if they could just do something about that name. Side note: Holy growth spurt, girls. University basketball stardom is Chloe and Asya's if they want it. They were as tall as anyone on stage Friday night.

Tokyo Police Club came out and, aided by a dazzling raft of light rods, blew the doors off the room. I couldn't put my finger on the problem with Elephant Shell, a record I like a lot, until I saw almost every song played live. As mentioned before, the production is the problem. All the album needed was the same urgency and raw energy as A Lesson In Crime and it would have been a complete knockout. As it stands, you'll just have to imagine what could have been when you see the group live.

Dave Monks sang every song from the record with the same passion he delivered on Tokyo's debut EP and "In A Cave" and "Sixties Remake" couldn't have benefited more. The rest of the group sounded both freer and more focused than on Elephant Shell, which, by the end of the set, I was convinced should be re-recorded live-off-the-floor. Of course, the A Lesson In Crime tracks were instant party starters. The audience clapping and shouting that came with them was unprompted, sweaty fun.

Elephant Shell may not break indie label sales records and Tokyo Police Club probably won't open for U2 and share the stage with David Bowie, but they're one of Canada's best live bands right now. And that's far, far from shabby.