When: April 1, 2016
Venue: Roxy Side Room
Where: Barrie, Ontario
For a music fan, there is nothing quite like an intimate performance from a favourite band. The Roxy Side Room in Barrie, ON offers fans the perfect environment to get up close and personal with artists in this small and cozy venue that is located beside the much more grand, and historic Roxy Theatre. Their latest offering featured two hard rocking bands, The Motorleague and Poor Young Things.
The Motorleague, from Moncton, NB, opened up the show with what has been one of the most high energy performances I have ever witnessed. The quartet of this East Coast gem include the poutine-loving bass player, Shawn Chiasson; the guitar-shredding birthday boy, Nathan Jones; the tub-thumping drummer, Francis Landry; and tardis-toting lead singer, Don Levandier. These guys charmed on and off the stage as they took time to socialize with their fans and sign autographs. I had the chance to meet up with The Motorleague before the show for a Q&A session and a little game of BINGO. Stay tuned to Canadian Beats for this fun interview.
Having seen Poor Young Things perform a few times before, I knew fans were in for a real treat with their performance. I have witnessed their equally kinetic performance twice on a large stage to a crowd of thousands and reveled in the personal interaction made possible by this most recent small-venue performance. Consisting of Matt Fratpietro (guitar/lead vocals), Michael Kondakow (guitar/vocals), Dave Grant (guitar/vocals), Scott Burke (bass) and Konrad Commisso (drums), this band knows how to work a stage and engage a crowd. I was honoured to witness a close moment between artist and fans when Fratpietro engaged the crowd by singing along to a song’s chorus as he extended the mic towards them. It is moments like this that fans appreciate and don’t soon forget. Like The Motorleague, the personalities of this group of musicians shine both on and off the stage. You can catch a glimpse of the fun-loving and cheeky nature of Poor Young Things in this interview that I conducted with them when they stopped in at the Opera House in Toronto for a show with The Glorious Sons last November.
Check out our Facebook page for more pictures from the show!