FFFF Live Review: Japandroids

Photo by Shelley Hiam

Japandroids

"Your beautiful Texas sun is killing our Canadian bodies," quipped Japandroids guitarist Brian King. Maybe so, but the sunshine didn't have much effect on the Vancouver duo's music. More Minneapolis than Detroit or Akron, the 'droids crank working-class pop/rock chord progressions past 11 and let the rock anthems fly. King and drummer David Prowse exploded in joyous catharsis, befitting the title of latest LP Celebration Rock. Indeed, most of the set came from that album, to the delight of the surprisingly sizeable crowd. From openers "Adrenaline Nightshift" and "Fire's Highway" (which appropriates the lick from Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill") to the drum-solo enhanced "Evil's Sway" and hit single, "The House That Heaven Built," the widescreen melodies and "whoa-oh" choruses never let up. Older tune "Wet Hair" added welcome dissonance, but even that evolved into a fist-pumper, and by set's end, the band and audience were so amped that a closing cover of the Gun Club's "For the Love of Ivy" sounded like the click of a million lighters. The spirit of rock & roll is burning Japandroids up from the inside out, and we're privileged to bask in the flames.