Immaculate Machine - Babylon, Ottawa, 23/6/2006

  by Andrew Carver

published: 23 / 6 / 2006

intro

New wave melodic pop band Immaculate Machine have been attracting increasing attention in their native Canada. Andrew Carver sees them and modbeat-influenced support act the Ride Theory play active sets at a show at Babylon in Ottawa

Victoria, B.C.’s Immaculate Machine have won fans with their new wave influenced melodic pop, and grabbed a little extra attention thanks to singer and keyboardist Kathryn Calder’s connection to the highly acclaimed New Pornographers. That connection didn’t seem to generate a huge crowd on a Friday night – and other shows that night probably harmed their draw – but they and their opener generated a dedicated crowd. First band of the evening was the Ride Theory, a modbeat-influenced band from Canada’s premier steel town, Hamilton. A few listens and you understand why they’re opening for the reconstituted Yardbirds on a few July dates. The well-dressed crew knock out tunes that would have suited the Crawdaddy Club, or popped up on a Stiff Records sampler next to Nick Lowe. The Theory brought in a few rowdy fans of their own, one of whom bellowed for ‘Piper’, one of the band’s tunes, during breaks in the action. They were a very active stage act with the occasional near collision. On record Immaculate Machine eschew fancy production for an energetic rush through their material. Their live show has a similarly loose and engaging feel, with a set-list free approach to the running order of their songs: Introducing ‘There’s No Future’ one audience member yelled out “It’s so true!” which was misinterpreted as ‘Strange Brew’. After a brief stab at the Cream tune, and, for some reason, ‘Independent Women, Pt. 1’ – the Destiny’s Child theme for ‘Charlie's Angels’-the band returned to the previously announced number. There was also much amusing banter - including discussions of the band’s predilection for playing street hockey when they come to town - some remarkable gurning from shirtless drummer Luke and of course the band’s nifty melodies, three-person harmonies and apocalyptic litanies. Having played most, if not all, of their latest album, ‘Ones and Zeros’, the band rounded things off with a cover of ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Who Is We Are’ from their first long-player, ‘Transporter’. A pleasant show with a lot of exuberant charm.

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