Ben Stevenson and The Wondertones
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Ben Stevenson and The Wondertones

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE
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"Concert Review: Bedouin Soundclash with Ben Stevenson and DJ Degree @ The Starlite Room’s 5th Anniversary Celebration"

By Eri Gayler

The Starlite Room has been a staple of the Edmonton music scene for 5 years, and last night they had a chance to show their members a great time for their birthday bash. Arriving to two hours of reggae beats spun by local DJ Degree, the crowd was a perfect example of the mix that both the venue and the headlining band tend to attract: hipsters and rastas, frat boys and nerds, tattooed goth-punk types and couples that look like your parents. The club was packed, and most headed straight for the dance floor.

Former Edmontonian (now in Toronto) Ben Stevenson set a high visual bar for the night, dapper in his grey suit and tie as his band started out playing along with the last song in Degree’s set, jamming on it for a bit before getting into their own tunes. I’m not entirely sure what I expected from the former Our Mercury frontman, but this sure wasn’t it! Stevenson is completely chill and manically high-energy at exactly the same time, with a stage presence that encompasses his entire body, keeping all eyes on him. This cat is too cool for words, and bonus points for a solid, funky band that included Edmonton favourite Michael Rault. The thing that caught me again and again through the set was Stevenson’s voice, smooth and soulful with just the right rough edges, lyrics delivered with a power that seemed to suggest he was so full of music that it just had to come bursting out all night long. Trust me, you’ll be hearing more from Ben – and if you need it right now, check him out tonight at the ARTery with Rault as his opening act. The house will be rockin’, just like last night.


Bedouin Soundclash frontman Jay Malinowski (Photo: Jason Bouwmeester)
If Ben Stevenson’s band brought the house down, the Bedouin Soundclash boys-in-black blew the roof off. The volume was a little high for a small, brick-walled room, but they do say something about “too loud” and “too old,” and my 18-year-old self would probably just laugh at me. After that, though, I can’t possibly have a single complaint about this show, and might even call it one of the best performances I’ve seen.

Fresh from the previous night’s pick-up soccer game with both bands (Soundclash frontman Jay Malinowski told us proudly of his two goals, and praised the other guys for their skills), the band is excited be back in Edmonton to play for an audience that knows every lyric and every callback well enough that raucous cheers go up after the first chord of every song. From the second the music starts, there’s no way to not feel good, and I firmly believe that even the most steadfast non-dancer was tapping their toes so hard that they may as well just go all the way and shake it!


Bedouin Soundclash @ the Starlite Room (Photo: Jason Bouwmeester)
Malinowski and bassist Eon Sinclair travel with two horn players, trumpet and tenor sax, and a session drummer who replaces Pat Pengelly, the band’s original drummer who departed in January.

A musical bed that makes you swear you’re in a 1960s dancehall down Jamaica way, and vocals that I’m sure are what Joe Strummer would have sounded like if he had been in Jamaica at the time, combine to drive the audience into a mellow frenzy, with gentle swaying, dancing, and fist pumping as far as the eye can see.

The tunes pay perfect tribute to the classic reggae they were born out of, while still having a modern flair and a distinctly Canadian flavour.

Malinowski is the frontman bands dream of, with a clear and haunting voice and the perfect amount of stage banter to not get in the way of making music, and Sinclair is somehow perfectly mellow as he lays down a solid foundation while hopping all over the stage.

Their two spot-on horn players and rocksteady drummer rounded out a sound that was felt in the musical bones of all in that room.


Bedouin Soundclash headlining the Starlite Room's 5th Anniversary Party (Photo: Jason Bouwmeester)
This morning, a lot of Edmonton concert-goers have been left pleasantly exhausted by those five funky gentlemen, who personify everything that’s still right with the music industry today. Bedouin Soundclash, you can bring your own personal dancehall back to Edmonton anytime, and we’ll be there to groove.

- theedmontonian.com


Discography

Demos 2009-Distributed online, word of mouth.
Blue Avenue EP- Forthcoming in early 2010.
That Kind of Feeling LP- Forthcoming in summer 2010.

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Currently at a loss for words...