I've been a Sunflower Bean fan since I first heard their music. This was my first time actually making it to one of their shows. It was one of those mixed emotion things. I looked forward to this show for a long time, I loved their set and was so happy I got to experience their amazing live show, but it made me wish that I had seen them on their previous Toronto tour stops. I hope I won't miss them again.
I find that singer and bassist Julia Cumming channels so much 70s glam rock's energy, attitude and vibe. And it's not just the boots. Sunflower Bean's music definitely has a harder edge to it live and they even got a pit going during the main set when Julia jumped down into the crowd, and again for show-closer "I Was Home". They got good crowd interaction during current hit "Crisis Fest".
Their set struck a good balance between their two full-length albums and brought their abundant influences, along with their own unique additions to them, to the surface. The set varied dynamically to keep things flowing. I loved the band's overall energy, highlighted by Julia's amazing presence and stage attitude along with guitarist Nick Kivlen's nuanced guitar playing and pyjamas, and drummer Jacob Faber's relentless beats. They make a gloriously full noise for a three-piece.
The only lingering question I'm left with is, what was that one-off cover tune that they started the encore with? If anyone who was there can fill me in, I'll add it to the post.
Check out some Sunflower Bean tunes from their setlist:
"Come On"
"Twentytwo"
"Crisis Fest"
"Easier Said"
"I Was a Fool"
"I Was Home"