Krief
Date: April 25, 2007 In Shallow Water After the recent sold-out shows that I attended, it was quite a turnaround for Patrick Krief's stop at Zaphod's, where it seemed like the two bands outnumbered the fans on the floor. Nonetheless, the Dears guitarist was undeterred, leading his band through a spirited set, following a similarly dedicated performance from opener JP Houston. I did not know JP Houston going in to the night, although I did get to chat with bassist Seamus Cowan, also of Bullmoose, before the show, while watching the hockey game at the bar and commiserating about the absence of the Habs. When the band got started, they joked about the low turnout, with Krief looking on and yelling, "We came all the way from Montreal to see you." Fortunately, they played as if they had a full house, presenting their keyboard-driven pop songs with a lot of energy. I thought that Houston had hit his stride early but after a few songs, he really began to unload with room-filling vocals, starting with the unhinged conclusion of "Tugboat." The songs covered a wide range but the band kept enough focus on the more rocking side of their equation to propel the set at a solid pace, keeping things interesting throughout. Naturally, I first heard of Krief's solo project because I have been a huge fan of The Dears, having seen him play with the band several times in recent years. Given that connection, the inclusion of Dears drummer George Donoso III added another familiar face to a touring line-up that also featured Andre Bendahan on bass and Roberto Piccioni on keyboards. The fact that this was only the second stop on the group's first ever tour likely explained the sparse attendance; but the musicianship reflected the members' experience performing together in other projects.
The focus was on Patrick Krief, of course, and he demonstrated fantastic skill on the replacement for his recently stolen guitar, as expected. More importantly, he proved to be a solid frontman, playing in support of an EP, Take It or Leave, on which he handled all instrumentation and vocals. While the live experience echoed that of The Dears, in the sense that the songs came across with an intensity notably increased from their recorded versions, Krief definitely struck his own tone, distinct from his more famous band. Although I had sampled the EP online before the concert, the show began with a pair of songs that weren't available on the official web sites. Additionally, almost half the set was taken from outside that EP, including a few offerings from Lesley Lane, a band featuring Krief, Bendahan, and Piccioni. Despite my unfamiliarity, the passionate playing made all of the songs effective. Of the music that I knew, "We're All Whores" was a highlight; and I was happy that when the band conferred, they decided to keep "Worries Are Over" in the mix. Although Krief did not quite live up to his joking promise to fill the twenty minutes of stage time remaining in the Zaphod's curfew with a monster jam, the Lesley Lane epic "Marching Backwards" did end the night on its most frantic and sprawling note. If the low turnout discouraged the bands, neither revealed it in their playing, for which I give them full marks. JP Houston made a fan out of me; while Krief impressed with the guitar talent that I had witnessed before, as well as an ability to step to the forefront with his own compositions. Krief setlist 
<--Prev (Interpol) | Next (Tapes 'n Tapes)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |