Nova Scotia-based band delivers “cool” performance at Sportsman’s Club in Charlottetown
© Todd MacLean/TC Media Matt Murphy, left, Chris Murphy and Mike O'Neill of TUNS perform at a recent at the Sportsman's Club in Charlottetown.
by Todd MacLean
I remember the feeling I was struck with in walking into a bar in downtown Halifax in the fall of 1997, shortly after I had turned 19, and amid the energy of the Halifax Pop Explosion of the mid-90’s.
I had maneuvered my way to a good spot near the stage to see The Inbreds — a band I was a big fan of — and a band that was, along with bands like Sloan, Plumtree, the Super Friendz and Thrush Hermit, part of the phenomenon of the indie rock supernova taking place in Halifax in that remarkable era of music.
And, if I were to try to give a one-word summary of the feeling that that rocking-melodic duo brought to the bar that night, I think the only word I could use would simply be “cool.”
Last week in Charlottetown, I was brought right back to what that feeling was like.
This is because Pat Deighan (of Back Alley Music and The Trailside Café) organized a show featuring a band called TUNS: a new super group that consists of Mike O’Neill (bassist/vocalist for the Inbreds), Chris Murphy (bassist/vocalist for Sloan, and drummer in this group) and Matt Murphy (guitarist/vocalist for the Super Friendz).
(And by the way, for anyone who might be familiar with “TUNS” as being short for the Technical University of Nova Scotia – yes, the band’s name is in reference to this.)
These guys formed last year when they released their debut single called “Throw it All Away”, before their first major live show at Massey Hall, in Hayden’s Dream Serenade benefit concert in October, 2015.
They released their self-titled debut album this past August and their new single, “Mind Over Matter” reached number one on CBC Radio 2’s Top 20 chart.
TUNS is on a Canadian tour this fall, and before band members embarked west across the country, a crowd of close to 175 enjoyed a taste of TUNS fun last Thursday night at the Sportsman’s Club.
It was a bonus, too, to catch the opening act — Liam Corcoran and his band — who took the stage right around 11 p.m.
Playing to the enthusiastic gathering crowd, the former Two Hours Traffic front man delivered tunes from his 2015 album “Rom-Drom”, along with some new songs too.
(As Corcoran is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on a new 10-song record called “Nevahland”, most of the tunes he performed that night were of this new material.)
It was then at about 11:45 p.m. that the bar began to be pumped full of the sound of TUNS, as we were hit in the chest right away with the kind of slick chordal hooks, melodic chants and driving percussive grooves that one would expect from these three seasoned rock musicians united in one powerhouse trio.
With Mike O’Neill laying down the bottom end on his sweet Rickenbacker bass, Matt Murphy on his red and white Fender Telecaster guitar, and Chris Murphy excelling at the balancing act of playing the drums and singing at the same time (all while skillfully keeping his glasses on), the band nailed out songs like “Mixed Messages”, “To Your Satisfaction”, “Mind Over Matter”, “Throw it All Away” and more.
And with many tradeoff and harmony vocal parts between all three singers, surrounded by the support of a tight rhythmic foundation, it was just an hour-long set – but that was all the time that TUNS needed in order to make their impression.
Indeed, the era of the Halifax Pop Explosion may be long gone, but 20 years later, in TUNS, the aftershock is now strongly ringing out.
And to reiterate, if I were to summarize in one word the feeling that this pop aftershock brings about, that word would simply be “cool.”
--taken from: The Guardian
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