Sneaky Dee’s saw Japandroids play a sold-out show to a hot and sweaty crowd on September 22nd. Fans of the two-piece rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, packed the upstairs venue for an 11-song set of tracks both new and old from their musical catalogue. Guitarist/vocalist, Brian King, and drummer/vocalist, David Prowse, proved that a band needs no more than two members to pack a room and woo a crowd.
The band took advantage of their first Toronto show of 2011 to introduce new material from their upcoming album, expected to be released next year. Japandroids kicked off the set with three new songs - including “Adrenaline Nighshift”, “Younger Us” and “Fire’s Highway” - though promising to arrive quickly at fan favourites from their debut album, Post-Nothing.
While the crowd was pleased with the brief preview of what’s to come in the future in terms of the band’s updated (though very similar) sound, they were eager to hear familiar tunes. Japandroids delivered, launching into “The Boys Are Leaving Town”, causing the audience to erupt in excitement. Some fans sang along faithfully, while others displayed their enthusiasm by moshing in front of stage.
Crowd pleasers from the set list included the duo’s unofficial singles “Young Hearts Spark Fire” and “Wet Hair”. Japandroids opted to wrap their set with a cover of Gun Club’s “For The Love Of Ivy” - and they killed it. Beers were spilled, bodies were drenched in sweat and voices were lost throughout the night - an indicator to us that Japandroids know how to put on one hell of a show!