In no way was the opening act Low Level Flight foreshadowing of what was to be the rest of the show - thankfully. The only way possible to explain this band is to take every talented musician you knew in high school (that dreamed of becoming a rock star) and have them form a band with Ryan Malcolm (ahh, the 1st Canadian Idol). Now put them all together with several pop/rock-y songs... songs that were scarcely familiar to those of Chris Daughtry and his band. To denote the band is completely disrespectful considering the fact that they were easy to listen to and Ryan's voice is good, but in no way shape or form could they be classified as rock and roll.

"The Trews have quickly gained a reputation as Canada's best live band" from www.thetrewsmusic.com. Their really is no fair argument to make against this statement. Even in comparison to Canada's most internationally recognized band Nickelback, it was plain to see that The Trews would steal the show if their ever was a competition.

If your personally are not a big fan of The Trews, their live show will completely change your perception. These East Coast boys came out full guns blazing ...loud, racous and ROCKING playing songs off their forthcoming album and their radio hits (with injections of songs by The Beach Boys and Otis Redding in their radio hits; nice touch boys) all to an audience that I wouldn't say was unappreciative but seemed too laid back for the performance they were seeing.

Finally the crowd sprang to life when they played "Not Ready to Go" maybe finally realizing..."ah yeah we came to see The Trews tonight" ...it was there final song before the encore. When they came back out they started their encore with "Lucy in the Sky (with Diamonds)" and the audience never sat down until they were finished.

Colin MacDonalds voice is much stronger on stage than on record, his musical talent undeniable when seen in person. Having the ability to play guitar,keyboards, sing and still having the energy to put into an entertaining performance as well. 

However the rest of the band is not be discredited.

Jack Syperek on bass provided a solid beat and great backing vocals for the band to rock with every song. Even though I'm not personally an expert on the subject of drums there was no deceiving me when it came to Sean Dalton's talent. It is obvious that if The Trews lost theirs, they would lose most of their edge.

In the end though, it was John-Angus MacDonald's talent that pulled the show together. His vocals could of been as strong as Colin's if need be, he had more energy than a jumping bean on REDBULL, and his guitar transitions between songs were a tad reminiscent of the last concert I attended - Tom Petty.

All in all the show was an excellent rock and roll experience. Though it lulled for a couple of songs over the middle of the set, the show really rocked. If The Trews ever come back to Kingston I'll be the first in line to get tickets, heck I'll even travel to see them as long as I get there late enough to miss their opening act.

www.thetrewsmusic.com
www.myspace.com/thetrews
www.lowlevelflight.com
www.myspace.com/lowlevelflight

Brittany Knapp