Concert Review: Aimee Mann Provides The Perfect Distraction From U.S. Election Night In Toronto

By: Stephen McGill –

Aimee Mann at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. November 6th, 2012. (Photo: Stephen McGill)

Aimee Mann is someone who has a lot of stories to tell, and the time between songs at her show at the Danforth Music Hall gave her the perfect opportunity to do so. The audience was regaled with stories about strange dinner meetings with writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network), as well as a lot of back and forth about the election which was taking place at the same time. Once nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the score for the film Magnolia, the singer, bassist, and sometimes actress was on tour in support of her newest solo effort Charmer which was released in mid-September.

Playing as part of a five-piece band, Mann opened with “Disappeared” from Charmer, which set the tone for the rest of the show which mostly contained Mann’s slower tempoed songs. Mann was in a particularly chatty mood, allocating any spare time to joke back and forth with the audience, with topics ranging from Fiona Apple, to Bath Salts and making out with audience members, which there was a queue for apparently.

Aimee Mann at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. November 6th, 2012. (Photo: Stephen McGill)

While Mann was slow to find her stride, she eventually found her legs midway through her set while she chained tracks like “Charmer” straight into “That’s Just What You Are.” Other highlights of the evening’s set included “Save Me” from her work on P.T. Anderson’s film Magnolia, and encore opener “Invisible Ink” which was a fan request, although Mann admitted she hadn’t practiced it, and it took her a few tries to get it right.

Her band provided excellent accompaniment to all of her songs, often given moments to shine in their own right. Bassist Paul Bryan provided a large percent of the evening’s backing vocals, and is credited with producing the latest album as well. One of the highlights of the set was song “Living A Lie” which was originally recorded with The Shins’ James Mercer, for the purpose of this show, opener Ted Leo stood in. After some playful back and forth while the band tuned they started the track, which is probably one of the best off of the new album.

Ted Leo’s opening set had a drastically different energy to it than his usual shows with his band The Pharmacists. Though only given 35 minutes to play, he played a set which largely consisted of newer songs like “One Polaroid a Day,” from his 2010 album The Brutalist Bricks, though there were one or two older numbers thrown in. The highlight of the set was a slightly mystifying cover of Rush’s “The Spirit Of Radio” done at the behest of members of Mann’s band requesting it from the side stage. Even on his own he managed to do the legendary Canadian band some justice.

Mann’s set-list ranged across the entirety of her nearly 30 year career, and lasted almost two hours, leaving it hard to imagine anyone asking for more.

Aimee Mann Set-List

1. Disappeared
2. Gumby
3. Labrador
4. You Could Make a Killing
5. Lost in Space
6. Living a Lie
7. Charmer
8. That’s Just What You Are
9. Ray
10. Save Me
11. Wise Up
12. One 
(Harry Nilsson cover)
13. Slip & Roll
14. Soon Enough
15. Goodbye Caroline
16. It’s Not Safe
    
    Encore:
17. Invisible Ink 
(Fan Request)
18. King of the Jailhouse
19. Deathly