(all photos by Keith Klenowski)(Harlem Shakes)
Tuesday night brought a seemingly solid indie-rock double-bill to town, as the Harlem Shakes joined Tokyo Police Club at the Mad Hatter. First to take the stage was a band called Ruby Coast, who are friends with the guys from Tokyo Police Club, and also share the Toronto scene heritage. Their sound was a less-catchy version of what Tokyo Police Club does, with guitar, bass, and keys driving their emo-inflected vocals. It got a little grating toward the end of their set, especially when the lead singer decided that screaming might be a better option than singing. Turns out it wasn’t.

Then, after some minor technical difficulties, the Harlem Shakes took the stage to infuse their self-described sound of “prosperity in the mid-90s” on the crowd of around 150. They adeptly swerved their way through an all-too-brief nine song set with the ease and precision of a band that seemingly had been playing shows for years. Several of the selections were from their excellent new album, Technicolor Health, which combined with their killer live shows, has the ability to catapult this band as an important part of the indie-rock landscape. Lead vocal duties fall to Lexy, who yelps on stage like a strange combination of David Byrne and Bob Dylan. Surprisingly, it works well with the rest of the band adding harmonies that fill in nicely to create danceable, well-crafted, and inspired music.

(Harlem Shakes)

This band undoubtedly has the talent to fill rooms much larger than the one they were playing in, and the crowd seemed to notice this, praising them with hands-in-the-air applause as they graciously left the stage.

Tokyo Police Club didn’t stand a chance after the Harlem Shakes left, as their brand of catchy indie wasn’t nearly as musically gratifying as their stage predecessors. There is something to be said for short two minutes bursts on record, but the music just didn’t translate well live. Elephant Shell is a good album, but it was clear from this set, and more importantly from the one that preceded it, Tokyo Police Club has a lot of growing up and learning to do before they really reach new heights with their live performance.

(Tokyo Police Club)

There was a lot of starting and stopping which took away significantly from the flow of the set, and forced the band to make a lot of small talk in between songs. This caused their performance to drag on a bit, and ultimately a bit of boredom set in, which isn’t good for spirits past 11 p.m. But, on their behalf, Tokyo Police Club did follow one of the more promising acts that I’ve seen in a long time, which on the whole, made the evening a completely worthwhile venture.

(Tokyo Police Club)

Lots more photos from Keith Klenowski after the jump….

(Harlem Shakes)

(Harlem Shakes)

(Harlem Shakes)

(Harlem Shakes)

(Tokyo Police Club)

(Harlem Shakes)

(Ruby Coast)

(Harlem Shakes)