Gig: Woodhands

Woodhands (Bonjay)

Lee's Palace. Friday, November 19, 2010.

A Friday night show suitable for those with dancing in mind. As the crowd filled in, Grahmzilla (ex of Thunderheist) was playing a Wu-heavy DJ set, although there wasn't yet a critical mass to get too many people moving. Things were improving by the time Bonjay took the stage. A good pairing here — like the headliner, Bonjay appeals to several not-quite-overlapping crowds, with the dance imperative being the main intersecting point. So, a chance for the duo to introduce themselves to some new fans predisposed to movin' it a little.

Perhaps to get the crowd's attention, they led off with "Stumble" and a high-octane medley of older, more dancehall-y stuff, with vocalist Alanna Stuart showcasing her pipes and magnetic stage presence.¹ She also acknowledged the contingent of fans and friends up front, clearly relishing the chance to get back in front of a home crowd after a string of road dates.

And just as Stuart was engaged in a quixotic battle to have the stage lights lowered, the band also took down the intensity on stage. Saying how they felt comfortable experimenting a bit in front of the home side, they showcased some of their more restrained material. For a band like Bonjay that emerged from the high-octane dancefloor world, it's probably a bit of a dilemma to find the best way to integrate their slower side along with the bangers. And here, with the quieter "Creepin", the pair indeed lost the crowd somewhat. Following that with their cover of Caribou's "Jamelia" and "Want a Gang" made for an oddly muted middle portion of the set.

It took another cover (their melding of Feist's "How My Heart Behaves" and "Honey Honey") to bring the energy back up, and "Shotta" (from their fabulous Broughtupsy EP) put them back in the zone. By now, the dancefloor was pretty full with people getting ready for the headliners, and the set went out with the powerhouse one-two finishing move of "Frawdulent" and "Gimmee Gimmee", which showcased the band at their best. I'm glad that Bonjay are trying things out and seeing how they can mix things up live — so even if the lull in the middle of this set didn't quite work out, the strength they saved for the finish helped to leave a positive impression.

And then, though it had been fairly full already, the floor got well and truly crammed with the diverse branches of the Woodhands fanbase. Besides rock nerds who have come to know the band as a reliably exciting live experience, there were Club People, Fratboys and who knows what else.

There's a stirring alchemy in seeing a band — perhaps especially an "electronic" band — work this hard on stage, vocalist Dan Werb frantically twisting knobs and attacking his keytar, to say nothing of the awesome drumming machine known as Paul Banwatt. From "Pockets" at the outset the band were extending their grooves and pushing the songs far beyond their recorded versions. And if watching the pair weren't enough, there was more: "we brought some lasers," Werb commented, referring to the dancing lights spraying green vector-y fx across the ceiling — for a moment, I thought a Battlezone game was going to break out.²

All of which was backdrop to a walloping run through "Can't See Straight", which was joined to "Under Attack" as Banwatt took the mic to toss off some reappropriated pop lyrics, chanting out "I whip my hair back and forth".³ He also interjected the chorus of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" into "Talk" — though Werb took the song in a different direction at the end, telling the crowd, "we're going to get real proggy," adding a blurting synthscape to an extended coda. There was also a winning new song in the mix ("Gonna march you down the street") designed to take advantage of Banwatt's thunderous drumming.⁴

Mixing things up, they brought up friend and frequent collaborator Maylee Todd for a set-closing hat trick. "Dissembler" and "Sailboats" were both well-received, but the place went quite totally nuts for "Dancer", with lots of people singing/shouting along. The song stretched out for well over ten minutes with several extended instrumental breaks — "I feel ripped off," Banwatt said after the first one, "I wanted a much longer keytar solo", egging Werb on for another round. By the end, Werb (shouting out the chorus to Biz Markie's "Just a Friend") was drenched with sweat, and it seemed like everyone in the crowd was pretty damp as well.

Though that was the last song of the main set, the band didn't make the crowd wait too long before bounding back on stage, even though Werb came back with a perplexed "Really?" as if he wasn't expecting such a reaction. It would be understating the case to say that this was a positive, supportive crowd. And the band was earnestly grateful in return. So the band played "CP24" and "I Wasn't Made For Fighting", and after that it looked like they were done. The house music came up, but the chanting audience brought them out one more time. "This was unexpected," Werb commented as they busted out "Be Back Soon" (from first album Heart Attack) as an appropriate last gesture.

Listen to a song from this set here.

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¹ Beat provider Pho, meanwhile, kept his customary lower profile behind his table of gear. Despite the increasing warmth of the room, he was clad in a sweater that made it look like he might have a bonspiel to head to after the gig.

² Another most welcome distraction was the free samosas being distributed at the merch table, courtesy of Banwatt's proud family.

³ This is apparently from "Whip My Hair", a pop song sung by Will Smith's daughter, which seems pretty bizarre. Who knew this was a thing?

⁴ This song was subsequently revisited at their more recent Wavelength Festival show in February.