Review of the Tokyo Police Club + Dizzy show at Petit Campus on April 17, 2019
I wake up early to catch a train heading to Toronto. Travelling 6 hours to see a show might seem a little crazy, especially if the band will be playing the next night in my hometown. Why on earth am I doing this??
Dizzy has been my favorite band, and favorite album for the whole summer. Dizzy performed in Toronto, then opened for Tokyo Police Club the next night. There’s a difference in seeing a band open for someone, and go to their own headlining show. (Close to their hometown nonetheless!)
So there I was, sitting around 2 hours early to see Dizzy at the Mod Club in Toronto, close to the size of Montreal’s l’Astral. I was accompanied by several other fans whom I talked to as we excitedly waited to enter the venue.
The show was amazing that night and I couldn’t wait to see them the very next night.
Dizzy and Tokyo Police Club share the small-town Ontario experience, with Dizzy being from Oshawa, Ontario and Tokyo Police Club from Newmarket Ontario. Interestingly enough, Dave Monks, the lead vocalist and bassist of Tokyo Police Club opened up for Dizzy in Toronto.
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such an interesting lineup. Dizzy supporting Monks, who released an acoustic EP, much different from the music produced with his band. Only to have Dizzy open up for his band the next night. It was heartening to see the support between the two.
Dizzy
I couldn’t help but be transported back to summer when Dizzy opened their set in the half-full Petit Campus with “Swim”, which me and two others I saw in the audience knew all the words to. They carried the same energy in this small venue as they did in a larger one just the night before.
If I were to describe the feeling of listening to Dizzy, whether in your earphones or live, I’d say it feels like floating. Floating in water or into space.
In an interview, Dizzy mentioned their album is about love and pain and looking back at adolescence as they float into adulthood.
The album reminded me of, when we are going through something, it can seem overwhelming. But when we take a step back or look back on the events, we have a different perspective. That only comes with growing up or with the passage of time.
This is what went through my brain as they played “In Time”. She sings about the nostalgia of being a teenager and the experiences we all go through.
Despite Dizzy being the opening band, there was no lack of applause. Clearly, they enjoyed the enchanting melodies and dreamlike beats.
Before playing a new song that is unreleased, the drummer, Spencer says: “Here is a new song. It means nothing if you’re a Tokyo Police Club fan!”, and Katie charms in: “But maybe it means everything if you’re a Dizzy fan!”. A few in the crowd (including myself) cheered in agreeance.
They played “Joshua”, a song about a boy who broke her heart and told the audience if they had a Joshua, they can join her, to flip him off during the song.
They ended the show with Backstroke, which continues the theme of water on this album. The crowd joins in as she sings the lines “I keep waiting, waiting, wading, for you” over and over. Which describes how I felt all summer waiting to finally see them live. The crowd cheered and clapped as they walked off stage, without a doubt they’ve made some new Dizzy fans.
Tokyo Police Club
The awaited Tokyo police club finally come out to a cheer of anticipation. They start off the night with a song from their newest album “TPC” entitled “New Blues”. What’s great about new albums, is that some can change their sound so you might have to get used to that new sound. They’ve managed to still stay unmistakably Tokyo Police Club.
They proceed to play “Boots of Danger (Wait Up)”, from “Champ”, and the crowd responds favorably. Everyone sitting or standing in the now packed Petit Campus nod their heads along and shout “So wait up!”, along with the song.
They next played “Favorite Color”. There are just some songs you have to shout along with all your energy, and this was one of them. Dave looked out into the crowd, making eye contact, while singing the line “You’re Tina but I’m not Ike”. The audience was for sure singing with him.
This is a band that appreciates the audience giving them energy (as most bands do), but it honestly didn’t look like they needed it. I don’t want to guess how many red bulls the guitarist/keyboardist had as he danced frantically, quite visibly feeling every note pass through him. It was really an experience in itself just to watch him dance.
Playing a mix of both new and old songs, the crowd moved to each song, as the music blasted on full volume and filled this tiny venue with so much energy.
With the band members living in different places, when they do get together, they feed on spontaneity. That’s how their new album came about. Just old friends asking each other what’s up? Want to record some songs?
Which is kinda interesting, because this band reminds me of being in high school, dealing with the same routine every day and using music as an escape from boring everyday routine. It also gave my day life, something I could dance to alone in my room when I had important things to do.
They played “Breakneck Speed”, one of my favorites off Champ. This got the crowd back into singing mode. The beginning of the song feels like time slowly stops, then as the drums kick in, it all floods in at once. The energy in the room reflected that. And the crowd sang along to the “Oh oh oh oh’s” shouting.
This is a band that’s been around for 11 years and brings a mature crowd, ones that purely enjoys the music and perhaps have seen them perform a few times already. You could hear the joyful cheering after an older song was played and all the nostalgia was came back.
While Dizzy had a dreamlike nostalgia, Tokyo Police Club is the other side of adolescence, the part that wants to yell and dance. Whether people knew they’d enter a time machine back to their teens that night, they were going to remember those good times and the bad while they sang out with everyone else.
I’d absolutely recommend checking out Dizzy. Website
And Dave Monks Solo Project. Website
Review – Breanna Wark
Crappy iPhone 6 Plus Pictures & Video: Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and MasterMind Facilitator with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
