On Sept. 27, Tokyo Police Club, Born Ruffians, and the Elwins tore up the Garrick Centre. The Elwins kicked off the show with a ton of energy as they performed and engaged the crowd despite being the lesser-known band of the day. Born Ruffians played songs mostly from their latest album, RUFF. Like the Elwins, Born Ruffians had a locked-in groovy drum and bass section. The pace was a little slower for their set, but they had some enthusiastic crowd responses with their older, more familiar tracks.
Tokyo Police Club brought the house down. David Monks rocked the crowd,stepping down from the stage and into the audience during his performance of Frankenstein, leading everyone to whip out their phones to commemorate it.
Due to technical difficulties, Monks played Favourite Food microphone-less and with an unamplified acoustic guitar. The rest of the band eventually joined in to get the crowd excited; everyone clapped and sang along with the band. The band rounded off the encore with Cheer It On – an old favourite that reminded everyone why they fell in love with Tokyo Police Club in the first place.
Overall, the performances were excellent. The lighting coordinated well with the songs performed, brightening as rapid-fire tracks were playing and dimming on gentle-sounding performances. The Elwins introduced themselves as contenders in the Canadian music scene, and Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club proved themselves as experienced performers who are still evolving and keeping their audience captivated.
