On the Road Again
Live Review

Limblifter
Lee's Palace, Toronto
Feb. 15, 1997

    An excellent line-up brought in a very full house on February 15th at Lee's Palace in Toronto. Not only was local band Radioblaster a surefire draw, but recently-signed Scratching Post had a substantial fan-base of its own out in full force. Three-quarters of the crowd stuck around for Vancouver surprise pop stars Limblifter, who put on one of the most entertaining shows I've seen in a while.

    Lead singer/guitar-slinger Ryan Dahle had dyed his bleach-blonde short locks to an inky black that afternoon, lending a more gothic air to the proceedings than usual, while drummer/brother Kurt Dahle kept the audience in stitches for the entire set with his gags and run-on jokes, never mind his poking fun at the audience periodically. Without the organized smoothness of a set list, the band played requests from the audience all night, stopping frequently to banter with the crowd on its choices.

    At one point, the set digressed into a 15-minute marathon of about five different snippets of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden songs, as Limblifter joked about the bands on which it was weaned. Ryan admitted to having attended not only a Dr. Hook gig in his youth, but also Juice Newton! The crowd was not very responsive, considering its numbers, until the boys broke down the stiff ambience with their charm and humour, warming the audience up considerably as the set wore on.

    An interesting mix of Scarborough rock boys and glam downtown scenesters filled the club and were treated to the singles "Screwed It Up," Vicious," "Tinfoil" and "Dominant Monkey" as well as a new song, apparently called "I'm An Accident." Being a half-believer in the pure-pop songwriting of the Limblifter lads, I left with a more positive bounce in my step after a fun show by a band with a knack for radio-friendly songs and a tongue-in-cheek style, regardless of whether they are taken seriously or not as an Age of Electric "side-project."

-Karen Pace