Who are The Evaporators? A Vancouver-based rock band that has been around for over ten years. Still doesn’t ring a bell? What if none other than Nardwuar the Human Serviette fronted this particular band? Now you’ve got something to write home about.
It you have ever witnessed Nardwuar’s antics on Much Music (who can forget his infamous interviews with Snoop Dogg) then you already have a good idea what he’s like; however, live and in concert, he doesn’t have to worry about the restraints of network censorship. Imagine The Bare Naked Ladies meeting Pavement in your hyperactive next-door neighbour’s kid’s basement. The jumping-off-the-couch-onto-giant-lego-castles-just-to-watch-them-explode-afternoons does not even start to capture the energy this guy produces.
And it’s all positive energy. Nardwuar does not believe in dwelling on the negative for any great length of time. With all the other bands out there screaming about their bleeding hearts, Nardwuar seems to say “Hey, after everything that has happened in my life, the sun is still shining, so why is everyone as sad as Morressey?” With songs like “(I Gotta Disease) I’m Addicted to Cheese” and “Maria,” The Evaporators do not want to be taken too seriously, which is perhaps why they are so entertaining to watch.
From the second Nardwuar’s high pitched voice echoed though the room, the crowd at Le Swimming last Friday night did not know what to do with him. From his costumed entrance to the final encore, he is the consummate performer.
However, it didn’t take long for the crowd to catch on to Nardwuar and The Evaporators particular brand of entertainment. The energy was contagious and Nardwuar would have been hanging off the chandelier if Le Swimming had one. He’s loud, obnoxious, out of control and utterly hilarious.
At the same time, the band is not all just flash and dazzle. There is a lot of actual talent to the slapstick garage rockers and the music deserves equal attention. While all the songs are short and sweet, in fact almost over before you know it, there is a lot going on technically.
It seems that Nardwaur’s encyclopedic knowledge of music translates well from his journalistic side to his musical composition side.
Playing songs from all across the spectrum, including some samples of old interviews, to their latest release Ripple Rock, this was one show that will be hard to forget.
As a special treat, half of The Evaporators were pulling overtime for another band, The Smugglers.
Also out of Vancouver, these two bands are at the same time very similar and yet very different.
While they may be sharing guitarist Dave Carswell and bassist John Collins, there is a lot less show-for-show’s-sake and a lot more pure good music. They are the perfect complementary band for The Evaporators, working the crowd into a frenzy and playing tracks from their previous albums as well as some from their latest, Pirate Ships. The Montreal crowd could not get enough, and eventually the band was forced off stage by the completion of their entire repertoire of songs. All I can say to both The Evaporators and The Smugglers is come back soon.
Ripple Rock by the Evaporators and Pirate Ships by the Smugglers are available now.
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