Build “That Beep” beat – Architecture in Helsinki

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Architecture in Helsinki gig w/ support Hooray For Earth

The Mod Club, 722 College Street, Toronto, Canada, 9 pm

Keira: How did you meet your friend?

Allen: We were at the Arcade Fire con-

Keira [putting hand over his mouth]: Shut up! They’re talking and I want to hear the accent!

Just another Australian band performing in Toronto is justification enough for cutting off my friend mid-sentence. I was extremely happy to hear Melbourne-based indie electro pop group, Architecture in Helsinki [and their not-quite-occa Aussie accents, unlike Perth comrades, Tame Impala] were coming to Toronto – and so did the locals gathered at the not-quite-sold-out venue of The Mod Club.

Architecture in Helsinki, with Jamie Mildren hiding at the back.

A fairly even spread of shiny, happy songs off their 2 most recent albums, Places Like This (2007) and Moment Bends (2011), but it was original EP single That Beep which really encompasses Architecture in Helsinki’s only Torontonian gig:

Dressed up as bubblegum, I’m stuck to your shoe, let’s run, can you give me That… Beep! beep beep beep beep beep

Reading those lyrics, you could be forgiven to think AIH was a little more bubblegum pop than beep beats. But listen closer and you’ll hear a similarity that is more than a name between Kelly Ali a la Sneaker Pimps and AIH’s Kellie Sutherland ie sweet within edgy bubble-gum chewed up vocals. Look closer and you’ll see Cameron Bird’s less than complete chompers but his complete scope of vocals, guitar and keyboard skillz more than bridged that gap.

But while sweet beats lent themselves to a great dance party, AIH’s TO gig was feel-good and wholesome, which was reflective of the ethereal band overall. The light pings of guitar strings and airy fairy-tale like voices had the crowd floating in the harmony. The vibe of the gig was one of upbeat tranquility, where everyone was best friends and loved each other.

Flick that switch

P’haps that group love is because the band switched up their set like a frenetic swingers’ party. Kellie ran from boards to mic to guitar. Bird’s vocal range ran from typical tenor in Escapee to raucous roar in Hold Music. Keyboardist, Gus Franklin, kind of stood there and did some interpretative dancing, letting his sparkly tie do the talking, occasionally sharing and spotlighting the mic.

The switch up was a little too frenetic for me, not their entire set, but more their set list. Hold Music was the second runner off the mark, but the following songs didn’t keep the energy sprinting as fast as I would have hoped for a band who sound so enthusiastic on record. Especially testament, and surprising, was their choice of encore. The self-professed “slow jam” of B4 3D had the crowd mimicking the bubbles that floated from the disco ball spinning on the ceiling – floating low, delicately fragile and bursting quickly. I did love this touch, though it was no Muse signature balls, but it added to the sparkle theme.

Bustin', burstin' and bubblin'

Speaking of which…

Theme must be very important to the locals. Is the City of Toronto decreeing a dress code for out-of-town bands by requesting uniformity in both clothing and dance? Sometimes it works, like Misteur Valaire @ Wrongbar, and most times it doesn’t, like God Made Me Funky @ the Opera House. While the synchronisation of Franklin’s sparkly aquamarine tie with Kellie’s shimmering emerald frock bordered on cutesy, the band’s synchronised dancing was borderline freaky. Please. Just. Stop. It. Maybe it just doesn’t work when not all the band is dressed alike, you had Franklin and Sutherland in glittery garments, and Bird, Jamie Mildren and sometimes bassist Sam Perry in soup-stained shirts. As an aside, Bird’s hair must have been channelling his own name – first name Bird, last name Nest; I was expecting a magpie to fly out of that bouffant coif.

Synchronised clothes, no dancing yet -thank god!

End on a high

AIH had enough time to bust out Contact High as their finale. The crowd was bopping along and I think all could agree it was a great gig. AIH obviously looked like they were having a great time and appreciated their fans. About 4 people jumped on stage and dance jammed with the Aussies, one girl even scoring a hug from Kellie. High contact indeed. AIH was so cool with it happening, it took security a while to kindly gesture that they would usher them offstage in about 30 secs or so.

Some Aussies hangin' about.

For me, the best high was saved for last when I chatted to Kellie and Bird at the merch table. So down to earth, they were genuinely humble and pleased when ppl thanked them for an awesome set, if telling the crowd at the end of their set to “take care”. I said it was great they were serving at the merch table, to which Kellie sincerely responded: “Always! Always!”

She asked me many questions about what I was doing in TO. I, of course, gave her my whole life story, and she had no choice but to listen politely as she probably realised it was her own fault she opened that can of (big-mouthed) worms. Kellie told me they weren’t due home until August 2011, so they would have to have a HUGE storage of angelic patience, niceties and manners. But it wouldn’t matter a lick anyway – it seems it comes naturally to them! Must be the awesome music…

AIH's mantra - that's how they keep so nice.

PS We missed support act, Hooray for Earth, because 7pm was simply too, too early to arrive at the venue. Even AIH tweeted the show was “super early at 9pm” (@aihmusic fyi). The Mod Club is known for its early starts and its bang smack on time gigs, as it turns into a boom-boom-take-your-clothes-off-cos-its-hot-in-hurr type club.

[Check out finale "Contact High" taken at actual gig by Heyo0077. From .47 to 1.10, you'll see the crowd jammer bustin' out some nice moves. AIH don't bat an eyelid!]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7JnDcEYSTk

Set list

Song shout-out to W.O.W. Absolutely flawless and the Aussie twang on “When I caught ya walkin’ on wahta” makes my heart sing too.

[Full set-list yet to come. This is as best as I remember it, usually only remember first and last few songs.]

Desert Island

Hold Music

W.O.W

Escapee

I Know Deep Down

Yr Go To

Heart It Races

That Beep

Denial Style

B4 3D [encore]

Contact High [finale!]