In this special live music review, I’d like to do an in-depth review of the bands that played during the opening night, including Wintersleep & Always, and to let you in on the experience that I had during that night.

Déjà Vu seemed to be the common theme surrounding the Marquee Ballroom’s grand opening last weekend. All of the things that you can recall, from the hanging bicycles from the ceiling, to the pizza downstairs in Hell’s Kitchen were all there. And to all the important things that really matter to making a great live music venue like the nice seating arrangements that surround the dancefloor, and great sound system were all there too.

To open the weekend, PEI’s ALVVAYS took the stage in what I thought was a flashback to the 80’s, (now there’s our second Déjà Vu reference). The lead singer of the band was just a short of an enthusiastic Blondie as they played songs that had sounded like a modern versions of Kim Wilde, or the Primitives. Oh wait, they actually did a cover of The Primitives’, “Crash”, which I thought was a decent cover. I was expecting more of a crowd as these guys played, but they would later show up for the Wintersleep set.

As Wintersleep was setting up, I was quite unaware of my surroundings. To the point where, when they started playing, I looked around to see if the place was filling up, and it had already filled up to a packed venue. And Wintersleep, didn’t hesitate to rock the house, as they went right into their popular songs, receiving quite a crowd reaction.

They did run into a minor hiccup with the sound, as some recorded music played right over them playing. But the band just shrugged it out, commenting that they were being “out-played by the stereo”, and to laughing crowd reaction. Their sense of humor was a nice added touch to the night.

Unfortunely my night was cut short as I had to leave. And I was thinking to myself, “Wintersleep, what kind rabbit are they gonna pull out of their hat this time *chuckles*”, as I’ve seen them many times like tonight where they rocked the house, and haven’t deviated from their usually setlist. But they ended up playing a cover of Rita McNeil’s “Working Man”, which I regret not seeing. So much for Déjà Vu.

Anyway, I did leave the Marquee Ballroom in Déjà Vu, it’s a great memory of a rockin’ venue. I’m just waiting to see what’s in store as they workout a few minor bugs, and bring their special list of bands that they are well know for bringing to their next shows.