No Age Sweat A Workout

It was a terrible night to forget earplugs. This show was packed with three of the loudest, latest buzz bands, and I didn't hear a word the entire night. Focused on the music and the swing of things, I noticed the night not only became a workout, but it also hit the high expectations that Toronto had for a slew of American bands who don't play here all that often.

First came the part of the workout I like to call the body shakes, provided by Los Angeles rockers Abe Vigoda. One by one, concertgoers kicked into these shakes while wiggling out their weekday stresses. The quartet seemed to be a carbon copy of Foals in sound, hairstyles and stage antics. But while Foals carry a funkier groove, Abe Vigoda are somewhere between pop and punk. They were enjoyable and loved the crowd so much that they extended their set by a few songs, all the while cracking sleepy jokes about being creepy or McDonald's. ("It's Canadian cuisine, right? Local stuff?" guitarist/vocalist Juan Velasquez quipped.)

The second part of the workout was an almost sedated dance party chaperoned by Brooklyn's High Places. Their name truly says it all. The girl-boy duo of Mary Pearson and Robert Barber (who looked like the '90s television character Alex Mack and A.C. Newman with a different nose, respectively) provided an extra lengthy set of jungle, Aztec, Asian and Hawaiian beats that would make them fit in with M.I.A. It was fun for a while, but as each song flowed into the next, the set became too long and tired. Barber laboured over his drum machine and Pearson held her microphone awkwardly when she wasn't dreamily cooing into it. The audience enjoyed the beats nonetheless, but then it was time for the workout's climax.

This, of course, was provided by the night's other L.A. dudes, No Age. The moshing, out-of-control head bobbing and pushing were all so athletic. Teamed with the buzz, feedback and insane level of sound that engulfed the venue, my ears hurt, but my body joined in on some form of motion. Drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt is by no means a good singer, but that was part of his charm. He pounded so hard on the drums that, at one point, he had to stand up and wring sweat out of his shirt. It was like he was wringing out a wet towel. Guitarist Randy Randall could change the mood or tone at any second, but decided to stay on power-up mode to keep the kids at the front happy.

No Age played songs like "Eraser" and "Miner" from their latest album, Nouns, and older tracks like "Everybody's Down" from Weirdo Rippers. They ended on a punk note by covering The Urinals and the Misfits to an overjoyed crowd, and then jumped into the audience as a rap song started.

It was a pretty good workout. I didn't hear a clear word from any of the bands — mostly due to the sound system, but also due to their singing styles — but it was ultimately a sweat-fest and a punk show for the new (or no) ages.