The last time Kadavar came to Toronto was over five years ago, when they played the Horseshoe on a Monday night (April 21, no less!) Even with just two albums out at the time, they put on a solid 75-minute headlining set…and then we waited, and waited, and waited for them to come back.
Finally, nearly 68 months to the day, they made their return, playing Lee’s Palace on a Tuesday. Sad to say, I’m not sure the crowd was much bigger. But their touring support did get a few bodies out early (they went on at 8:30), and a few people moving in the front row.
I’m still not all that enthused about their recorded output, but Ruby the Hatchet won me over in the live setting when I saw ’em in Baltimore a couple years back. While their organist’s organ did not make it out on tour, the 70’s-style keyboards really give their sound a big boost…although you had to be standing right in front of him to get enough keys in the mix.
Now, being on the right side of the stage for Ruby put me directly in front of Kadavar’s towering bassist, Simon “Dragon” Bouteloup. Despite his intimidatingly groovy presence, this is not in itself a bad thing. However, there were no monitors on his side of the stage, and when his earpieces crapped out, he turned up his amps even louder…so from my vantage point, it was pretty much all bass in your face. Those were some pretty tasty basslines, though!
