Alvvays @ 9:30 Club - 5/8/2018
For those that missed out on Alvvays’s sold-out Rock and Roll Hotel stop in October, one can only hope they snagged a ticket to the band’s sold-out 9:30 Club stop this time around. And for good reason, too: Antisocialites overcame the feared sophomore slump to become one of the more widely-beloved albums of 2017. The latest album from the Toronto band (it’s pronounced ‘always,’ by the way) is a saccharine blend of dream pop and indie rock that fits on a Netflix series as much as it could fit on a John Hughes film. It’s the kind of music that can uplift you and get you ready for the day at hand, even if it’s a song that puts down people in rubber-soled shoes. So although it only feels like yesterday that they were last in DC, it was a welcome sight to see them return and selling out a venue twice as big as their last.
Alvvays lighting up 9:30 Club with a disco ball projection...and a disco ball (photo by Mauricio Castro / @themauricio)
It was the last night of Alvvays’s tour, and though guitarist Molly Rankin confessed that she was slowly losing her voice, it was barely even apparent. The way her vocals coalesced and contrasted with keyboardist Kerri MacLellan’s was a treat to hear, like in the aforementioned “Plimsoll Punks.” Their delivery on the chorus was so undeniably infectious and the guitars so melodic that fans in the crowd were furiously, yet politely nodding their heads to the beat of the song. In fact, there was a lot of polite, yet energetic head-bobbing all night. But the highlight of the night was their performance of “Dreams Tonight,” where the 9:30 Club’s disco ball lit the venue up like it was prom night in the 80s. Song after song deftly melded of sweet pop melodies and rocking guitars that validated all the comparisons to bands like The Cranberries and Teenage Fanclub. While they lamented that their hometown comrades the Toronto Raptors couldn’t finish their season on top, Alvvays ended their tour with a sold-out 9:30 Club and a lot of smiling faces making their way out of the venue.
Antisocialites is out now on Polyvinyl Record Co.
Opening for Alvvays was Frankie Rose, who has also been associated with groups like Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls. Her latest release is Rose Tropical on Slumberland Records.
