Oh No Forest Fires Party For Holidays

There was no mistaking this was a Christmas party, since the stage was sparsely decorated with strings of mini electric lights and the microphone stands adorned with cheap paper snowflakes.

But thankfully, attendees of the Audio Blood's Jingle Bell Rock bash didn't have to endure banal conversations, painful sweaters and the junior receptionist vomiting into a potted plant.

No, this wasn't an office party on Bay Street — it was the Horseshoe Tavern, where the spiked eggnog more resembled bottles of Labatt 50 and the partygoers were far too good-looking to be co-workers. Oh, and you'd likely never catch four local buzz bands playing many holiday parties, either.

The Balconies were the evening's opener and played to a loosely packed dance floor. The three-piece Ottawa ex-pats wasted little time jumping into the kinetic, garage-dance from their eponymous debut.

The band's spirited set was met by a crowd of bobbing heads and proved to be one of the evening's finest — if overlooked — performances. Each member contributed to perfect three-part harmonies, while leggy guitarist Jaquie Neville careened around stage like a younger, sprightly Julie Doiron, a messy tangle of hair and nickel wound strings.

Excited, disembodied chatter over bathroom stalls proclaimed '90s radio-revivalists Clothes Make The Man the "best band ever" prior to their set, and they certainly didn't disappoint their fans. Propelled by the sung-shouted lyrics of frontman Ryan McLennan, the tom-heavy drumming of Phil Wilson and the giant goatee of bassist Ross Machon, the crowd lapped up every lyric and power chord, dancing along with every step.

Make Your Exit, looking like a group of bong-toting college roommates, took the stage next. Quelling the energetic chatter left over from CMTM, the quintet soothed the crowd with their brand of soaring orchestral rock. The band's communal singalong hymns were more mellow — but no less captivating — than their Audio Blood brethren, and proved to be a welcome respite from the louder moments of the night.

Spastic math-rockers Oh No Forest Fires climbed on stage amongst a thicket of raised pint glasses. With their hometown venue at shoulder-to-shoulder capacity, the band opened with a twitchy rendition of "Carol Of The Bells," but soon settled into traditional ONFF chaos, with band members flying in every direction and beer spraying into the eyes of taller patrons.

While The War On Geometry spotlights the band's proggy guitar interplay, there were moments — notably during "Fighting Heidi" and "New Cove Home" — where the audience took centre stage, their singing matching vocalist Rajiv Thavanathan's yelpy enthusiasm.

It might have tasted more like beer and sweat than fruitcake, but hey, we never liked candied fruit much anyway.