On the third stop of his tour, Connan Mockasin and friends put on a show that will not be forgotten any time soon.
Kirin Callinan hit the night off with some heavy hitting, guitar driven tunes, distorted vocals and an affinity for flipping his guitar in the air. The music was a hybrid mix of industrial rock and moody goth with distorted vocals and multiple percussionists to create a dynamic and unique sound. Their style was most impressive, reminding me of Dexys Midnight Runners complete with overalls.
The scene that followed will be remembered as one of the more memorable shows in the history of the Music Hall. Connan Mockasin’s music borders on the fine line of reality and dreams with wobbly guitars, floating vocals and ethereal background keyboards. When translated live, it is a crowd interactive, masterpiece of epic proportions.
Connan’s set started normally enough with the audience providing some harmonies to set the groove. The first few songs were like a usual show then he decided to take a few minutes to crowd-surf, guitar and all to the delight and surprise of the crowd. Not long after during his hit song, “It’s Choade My Dear” which includes the lyrics ‘Please take it off’ the clothes started coming off onstage and in the audience, and did not stop until the final note. By the end of the show many people were half naked and pretty happy about it.
Halfway through the show Connan invited a few ladies from the audience on stage, one of whom sang with the band and was genuinely overcome with happiness and mentioned between songs that it was the best moment of her life. The procession of guests to follow are too numerous to name drop all, but Mac DeMarco, Liam Finn, and Andrew VanWyngarden (MGMT) were seen and heard playing bongos, keyboards, and guitars.
The highlight for many was the impressive and sexy diddy “I Wanna Roll With You” off his second album ‘Caramel’ which prompted some in the crowd to start making out with their significant other and possibly inspired a tender kiss between Mac DeMarco and Connan.
The night ended with a stage full of half naked people, drinking, smoking, and playing various instruments. Connan got on some guys shoulders, then another guy lifted him even higher on another set of shoulders while he shredded on his guitar behind his neck while the house lights came on.
In my humble opinion, this is a must see show so go and check it out!
Article and photos by Shayne Hanley
