Sloan Cameo With Bicycles On Stage

It's safe to say that after 30 years, any statute of limitations on parodying monumental events in rock history has expired.

Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz was released to the public in 1978. The documentary was a record of The Band's (original lineup) farewell concert at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom. The Can-Am rockers were joined on stage by some of the biggest names in popular music on that night — from Bob Dylan to Muddy Waters.

Lee's Palace is no ballroom, but it was certainly grand enough for The Bicycles and the event they labelled "The Last Schmaltz II." Like The Band, the Toronto-based quartet invited all of their famous-ish friends along for the release of their latest disc, Oh No, It's Love. It featured a seemingly endless parade of guest musicians that included (among others): Henri Faberge And The Adorables, Laura Barrett, Sebastian Grainger, Sandro Perri, Hooded Fang, Forest City Lovers, $100, Green Go, The Old Soul and Young Rival (who had already done a capable job as the night's openers). An unnamed three-piece horn section and a second drummer were also on hand for most songs to add some body to The Bicycles' bubblegum pop.

As a byproduct of the guest-heavy format, only half of the night's songs were actually Bicycles tunes (a mix of old and new). The remainder of the show — which lasted several hours — was filled with the sit-in players performing their own music, sometimes supplemented by The Bicycles, sometimes as their own complete band.

In case it needed further proving, Bicycles drummer Dana Snell demonstrated yet again why she's one of Toronto's hardest working musicians. In addition to singing lead or backing vocals for all of her own band's songs, she also played drums and sang back-up on all but one of the guest musicians' songs.

Highlight of the night #1 began with someone in the audience remarking, "Is that seriously Chris Murphy?" The Sloan singer had wandered on to the stage — seemingly lost — and was eventually joined by bandmate Jay Ferguson for a rollicking rendition of Sloan's "I Hate My Generation."

Highlight #2 transpired when Henri Faberge And The Adorables guitarist/singer Maylee Todd provided some lighthearted half-time entertainment. She and several others, garbed in spandex, led the audience through a naughty workout routine. It was weird and inappropriate, but no one could look away.

None of the night's music was blow-you-away spectacular, but the sheer volume and stature of the guest players made it a concert worth remembering. Local indie pop lovers should definitely feel shorted if they missed this one.