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| 4onthefloor at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern |
May 15 2012 – 4onthefloor play rock music. Okay, I was going to stop there and leave it at that, cuz really that’s everything you need to know, but I’m not sure Terry would have been good with that. [Ed. note – good call Steve]
4onthefloor is heavy stomping blues-rock delivered in 4/4 time where guitarists Gabriel Douglas and James Gould and bassist Chris Holm each play bass drums and drummer Mark Larson’s minimalist drum kit is prominent at the front of the stage. The strong drum beat evokes The White Stripes but their music is more a mix of The Black Keys meets Howlin’ Wolf.
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| 4onthefloor at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern |
4onthefloor isn’t all about the stomp though, guitarist Gould played slide on several songs and actually played his bass drum on only a few songs. Bassist Holm played harmonica on a couple songs. The band was in full stomp mode for the Them/Van Morrison classic Baby, Please Don’t Go. Despite his gruff stage visage, Douglas was actually quite funny. He deadpanned an introduction to the next song as one they had just recorded for a children’s album, then proceeded to belt out a heavy version of The Beatles’ Why Don’t We Do It in the Road, which had all the girls dancing. The dancing continued to Tom Jones’ She’s A Lady.
When Douglas announced a song title was I’m Drunk on Tuesdays in honour of the Tuesday night show, there was great approval from the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, it wasn’t as full as I was expecting. When Dave Bookman (Bookie, from 102.1 The Edge) tweeted a Youtube link of the band on Tuesday afternoon, I decided to leave early to stake out my space. I was I believe it was 4onthefloor’s first time in Toronto and I’m sure the crowd will be bigger next time. The Minneapolis, Minnesota based band has been on a tour for the last month that continues through May.
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| 4onthefloor at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern |
Americans in border states are always more aware of Canada than those further south, but it was still a little surprising when Douglas mentioned Winnipeg when they played a brief Guess Who riff. And later when they played an amazing anthemic version of Neil Young’s Down By The River, the song was dedicated to Thunder Bay.
They closed the show with Springsteen’s Atlantic City but came back for four more to a very appreciative audience. With the encores, they played for about an hour and a half.
Verdict: I loved this show and will definitely see them again next time they come through town, as should any fan of The Black Keys, Monster Truck or The Sheepdogs. Highlight of the night for me was King of the Jungle which absolutely smoked.
On a side note, I have discovered that girl bands cure insomnia. Why are all girl bands the same? With the exception of Lita Ford, Joan Jett or the Wilson sisters, I know what 99% of girl bands are before they’ve played a note.
Twitter: @4otf
Review and Photos by Steve Mallinson
