Daytona with Velour

Daytona (with Velour) Saturday, Feb. 3rd, Gastown Music Hall

It was a dark and snowy night. I was recovering (slowly) from an all-night tango with an English paper; it was the kind of night that I would normally spend complaining about the kind of night it was. It was also the night I went to see Daytona and Velour at the Gastown Music Hall.

Despite my mood, I must admit that I was quite excited about the evening's show. Daytona is a band that I had been wanting to see for some time and had just never had the chance. Velour was a rather pleasant surprise; I had seen and liked them when they were SugarCandy Mountain and was interested to see what they were up to.

Pleased that I was able to find a seat in the somewhat crowded little club, I was treated to an evening of very good music. Velour, who had (as well as having dropped a few syllables from their name) recently dropped a fourth member, were a very tight, very entertaining trio. Their dual-lead vocalists were fantastic and they complimented an impressive and varied set of songs (including an amazing cover of The Velvet Crush's "Hold Me Up"). I'm not sure if it was the change in numbers, but Velour really impressed me. I found myself humming their catchy pop songs long after their set had finished. Don't be too surprised if you hear their name again soon.

The crowd, who were mostly there, I assume, to see Daytona, showed that they were also impressed and applauded enthusiastically--with more than a few patrons calling out for more. After procuring a fresh pint, I shook the reluctant last echoing notes of Velour out of my head in anticipation of Daytona.

Much to my delight, a smooth, confident Daytona took the stage and played a smooth, confident set, through the haze created by the overworked smoke machine that shared their space. And, for the second time that evening, I was extremely impressed by the ability of the vocalists, who sounded good both in solo and in harmony. Their music is interesting without losing pop appeal; they don't sound like everyone else, but they maintain a grip on what everyone else is doing. Their songs ranged from soaring and moody to driving and danceable.

And dance they did. I was surprised by the large number of people that fit on to the club's tiny dance floor and, although I have a burning hatred for dancing, I found myself bopping my head and tapping my extremities- "the white man's pseudo-dance"-I call it--along to their music on more than one occasion.

My only complaint with the show is that Daytona played one song twice during their set. It is a good song and this is a pretty minor complaint, but one thing that I've always valued about live music is it's seeming spontaneity; that is, the illusion that it can sometimes create that the music is inspired by something other than a set list at the musicians' feet. But, in the grand scheme of the evening, this was of little importance.

What was important was that I left the Gastown Music Hall having thoroughly enjoyed both of the bands that had played that night and having forgotten completely about my earlier complaints. It says quite a lot for the local music scene, I think, that people can pay a relatively small cover charge and still get to see and hear bands playing high-quality music. - Chris Lovell, The Peak, 12 February 1996.