Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Film & Music

Nguyen's band creatively blends folk rock with fanciful pop Photo: Natascha Malta

Have you ever wondered how the city of Toronto would fare in a contest that rates the enthusiasm of audiences in various cities? I know I can't be the only one who's ever stopped and thought to myself, "wouldn't it be great if a geographically neutral judge- perhaps the bassist for some touring San Francisco band- could rate sample audiences across North America using the Pitchfork scale of music evaluation?" Well, I have very good news for you, because when the Portland Cello Project opened for Thao and the Get Down Stay Down at the El Mocambo on November 1st, Get Down Stay Down bassist Will Thompson selflessly volunteered to step up and solve the debate once and for all. The Portland Cello Project took to their strings, and started to saw out the intro to "Hey Ya," and the audience began to sing what was probably the prettiest version of the Outkast song that's ever toured across the continent, and in the end Toronto earned itself a solid 8.8 out of 10.

As much fun as the Portland Cello Project (PCP) were, the undeniable star of the show was Thao herself. Thao was beautiful and intense as she threw herself around the stage with a guitar and frenetic abandon. The frontwoman for an indie folk outfit with a distinctly West coast vibe, Thao Nguyen's vocal style alternates from short, percussive syllables that drive an upbeat, poppy style, to a powerful wail that really manages to bring the intensity of the music home.

The Get Down Stay Down consists of Thao on guitar, Adam Thompson on bass, and Willis Thompson on drums. However, all of the acts showed an easy fluidity accompanying one another, with members of both David Shultz's band and the PCP seamlessly stepping in to provide musical accompaniment as needed to create a beautifully complex layering of sound for some of their songs. This tight meshing of the bands is perhaps in part because all three acts have previously recorded material with one another. Whatever the reason, there was something both earnest and adorable in the way the bands worked together on stage. A fairly large range of musical instruments were employed- Thao herself alternated between three different guitars, and certainly one of the highlights of the show was a truly spectacular beatboxing introduction to her song "Bag of Hammers." For the most part, however, the band's sound centered around Thao's energetic vocals and jangling rhythm guitar.

The only real criticism I have of an otherwise spectacular show is that the transitions between songs seemed clunky, frequently giving way to awkward pauses that really dissipated a lot of the energy from song to song. This may have made the difference between an 8.8 and 10 in audience enthusiasm. While their banter with the audience was genuinely charming, there simply wasn't enough of it to cover what seemed to be disproportionally large gaps between songs. Tension and excitement raised a little bit mid show, when a cat made its way backstage and seemed determined to showcase its own vocal talent by mewing loudly for a solid twenty minutes to the visible discomfort of a very allergic bassist.

That said, their live show was a stylish blend of upbeat pop enthusiasm and folk rock, and their new album Know Better Learn Faster is an awesome listen. Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down, using the Pitchfork scale of music evaluation, on behalf of Toronto, I'm going to go ahead and give you an eleven.

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