CMW Critical Conclusions for: The Strumbellas

The penultimate band at the Indies was one of the hottest indie bands around, The Strumbellas. The band are making waves in the States, and played as part of CMW2016 last night. Check out our thoughts.

Venue: The Phoenix

First Impressions: Simon Ward emerged with the unusual outfit of a hoodie, complete with the hood up. An interesting look, but it was all a ruse. Fool me once, shame on you.

Stage Presence: Happy and powerful. The band are clearly having a good time. And about that hoodie? It was ditched after the first song – the band did a little costume change.

Crowd Reaction: People pretty much loved it. They were witnessing a band breaking and hitting their stride, and it is always a great thing to witness. Large pockets of the crowd were a typical standstill Toronto crowd, sadly.

Last Word: The band played a good mix of old and new tracks, introducing breakout hit Spirits as a Motley Crue cover. Fool me twice, shame on me dammit! Given the momentum heading into the show, many people around me were stunned to hear that they weren’t the headliners. Fret not, as next time they will be in a much bigger venue. Solid and fun show: 9/10