Playing The Hits: Electric Six At Canadian Music Fest

Needless to say, Mr. Valentine was at the top of his charismatic, sarcastic front man game.

He frequently waved enthusiastically at the crowd. . . like a four-year-old waving hi to grandma and grandpa. He repeatedly performed the Sammy Sosa heart gesture, made jazz hands, jumped up and down like a maniac (while singing), and flung the mic stand around without ever hitting anyone in the face (or even coming close). He posed for pictures by standing still a few times, grinning with his hands in his pockets or his suit jacket slung casually over a shoulder like a Sears catalog model. He repeatedly held his mic up to the band members during instrumental breaks, nodding and smiling, as if that gesture would help us hear them better.

There were so many funny bits I can hardly remember them all. After the first three songs were met with raucous appreciation, Valentine quipped that they were the band’s worst three songs. And he kept promising that after the next song, “then we’ll get to the hits.” One song was introduced with the line, “You guys probably aren’t ready for this yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”

Valentine admitted that probably only 90% of the crowd got what he was saying, after someone called him out on a failed Stephen Harper joke. This was part of a long string of Canadian references, like when Valentine claimed E6 were not only (still) Toronto’s Premier Party Band, but also that they were from Kingston, Ontario. Later he proudly introduced his drummer as being from Sarnia. He also announced one song as being part of a side project with Toronto musicians called Swashbuckler; it was the only song I didn’t know, but it did contain lyrics about Lucifer and demons (you know, like so many other E6 songs).

There was musical tomfoolery as well, like when Valentine threw in a bit of Depeche Mode’s “Everything Counts” in one song and the lyrics to “Sexy Trash” during the “Stop! Continue!” break in “Improper Dancing.” The Lt. Col. even tossed off the final riff from Guns ‘N Roses’ “Mr. Brownstone” at the end of “Dance Commander.” The band went into an extended reggae jam before the final encore song (“Germans In Mexico”), and Valentine stated that this meant E6 was now a political band and was going to Saudi Arabia to “stop the war.”

After 18 songs, E6 left the stage and left us all sated, sweaty, and satisfied. (Like they do.) After he’d gone to the bar for a drink, a few fans found Dick Valentine trying to get backstage again. Shaun witnessed one conversation between a so-drunk-she-was-cross-eyed girl and Mr. Valentine. She kept repeating, “Excuse me, Ijuswanna ask you one quessstion” over and over. When she’d finally gotten his attention, her one question was simple: “Who are you?” “My name is Carl,” said Dick, with a deadpan expression. She merely wandered away. Will we ever know what she wanted? Will she even remember the evening?

Perhaps not, but I will. Thanks Electric Six!

Setlist (in approximate order): Synthesizer, Naked Pictures, Improper Dancing/Sexy Trash, Down at McDonelzzz, Heavy Woman, Gay Bar, Gay Bar Part II, She’s White, Be My Dark Angel, Mr. Woman, Danger! High Voltage, Steal Your Bones, Body Shot

Encore: Dance Epidemic, Dance Commander, I Buy The Drugs, Germans In Mexico

YouTube user withsilentwings has uploaded several video clips of the show, so be sure to check them out here.

Electric Six are currently touring the US in support of their latest album, KILL. Their next three shows are in Dekalb, IL (4/1), Indianapolis, IN (4/2), and Cleveland, OH (4/3). Be sure to check them out on their Official Website or MySpace page.

RELATED LINKS:

Electric Six “Rocks Ass” At Dante’s, Popshifter November/December 2009 issue

Review of Electric Six, KILL, Popshifter September/October 2009 issue

Nothing Wrong With Liking A Flashy Man: An Interview With Dick Valentine, Popshifter January/February 2009 issue

Review of Electric Six, Flashy, Popshifter November/December 2008 issue

If Money Talks Then He’s A Mime, Popshifter May/June 2007 issue

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