A week ahead of Sommo, the HAFILAX team received an invitation from Toronto-based Goodnight Sunrise to check out their Halifax show at the Seahorse Tavern (@ 2037 Gottigen Street), as they were playing ahead of their Sommo Festival slot. Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, we were unable to attend in Halifax, but made sure to be there in PEI to catch the Sommo set.
Needless to say, after witnessing the power-pop prowess of Vanessa and David (and their talented bandmates), we were definitely kicking ourselves. Lead vocalist Vanessa Vakharia worked the stage like 
a consummate pro, with high-kicks and hair-flips aplenty. At various points in the set, Vanessa even made her way out in front of the stage, and we all shared a collective gasp when her boot got hooked for a moment on a stage cable and nearly caused an unplanned stage dive. If the high-energy antics weren’t enough, Vakhaira also strapped on a sparkling keytar and continued to wow the growing crowd.
This was one of my favourite performances of the entire weekend, and it was the first set I raced to when I finally offloaded the camera back at home. You can bet that I will not miss another Goodnight Sunrise show when they return to the East Coast. The band absolutely crushed their early Saturday afternoon timeslot and quickly earned themselves a spot on my regular listening rotation.
