Concert Review: Audio Blood Carves a Niche, Marks 5 Years in Toronto’s Indie Scene

Last night, the Toronto-based marketing and promotions boutique Audio Blood Media hosted their fifth anniversary party at Sneaky Dee’s. The Audio Blood team celebrated another growth-spurt year and welcomed indie music industry friends and guests, beaming about their newly established Toronto office, chirping anticipation for the Balconies’s new LP and the upcoming Canadian Music Week 2014 season (this week saw the announcement of Niles Rodgers, guitarist and sonic influencer of the year, to the conference’s list of speakers).

The feisty upstart led by Sari Delmar has built a niche in Toronto’s alt-indie rock scene, fostering the growth of Ontario-at-broad music talent, among this year’s notables include promotions for Toronto buzz-act Wildlife, and fleshing out their client roster with scene-periphery brands, including Toronto’s newest venue Adelaide Music Hall, Pistonhead Lager, and Beau’s Brewing Co. Last night’s celebration marked a confluence of those elements, their digital-savy and homegrown punk attitude on display with the event’s “#AB5” hashtag stencilled across grooves of the venue’s infamous hand-etched walls, as three bands from Audio Blood’s roster performed. Throughout the evening, the Love Machine, Highs, and Oh No Forest Fires were unabashed and effusive about their appreciation for the company’s work – the guitarist of Highs remarked that Audio Blood can get bands into rooms with influential people, but only the company’s holiday party could bring all of those people into one room. Hugs abounded and the Audio Blood team looked on proudly.

The Ottawa-based alt-rock Love Machine carried the opening slot of a below-freezing night with the early crowd huddled in front of the stage, as the band’s members rotated vocal and instrumental duties throughout their ‘90s-revisiting set that eventually found footing on the set’s closer, channelling a Clash-styled reggae-funk. Toronto-based Highs took the prize for crowd-darling of the evening, their woodsy blend of indie-rock psychedelia streaked with Afro-pop indulged a style uniquely championed by indie darlings-du-jour Vampire Weekend. The audience danced tobuoyantly-tropic “Mango”, and the band closed with an impressive show of saccharine-cloistered vocal harmonies ala Dirty Projectors. Highs was announced in the first round of CMW 2014 artists and stands as an early-frontrunner for “must-see”lists. The one-off reunion of Oh No Forest Fires brought a brashy mix of pop-punk rock, conjoined with prog tendencies, as the band’s frontman imbibed in the celebratory mood and offered a toast to the “spirit of adventure”.

This year, Toronto’s municipal government proclaimed the metropolis a “music city”, announcing efforts to bolster the city’s international reputation to contextualize the local industry and talent. Undoubtedly, a flashy lineup of international stars will strengthen Toronto’s standing amongst landmark North American cities, but Toronto is uniquely hungry for its own identity. At Audio Blood’s party last night, the DJ played the entirety of St. Vincent’s 2011 album Strange Mercy between acts, a subtle nod to a shared appreciation of the indie star’s music, but a vital reminder that Audio Blood’s mission is firmly devoted to building up local brands and talent that contribute to Toronto’s alt-music identity.