Rockin' Like Bunnies

Review by Daniel Ewacha
Photography by Paul Clarke

I admit I was awestruck when I first walked into the Starfish. I can't remember the last time I went to a show and found the room packed before the first band had played, but this was the case tonight. It was good to see so many people out supporting locals Citreon, even if they weren't the band most people came to see. Their Pixies-esque, Smiths-induced songs struck a very strong chord among many of the audience members, and the band was rewarded with thunderous applause after each song. Their mesmerizing stage prescence left me continually wondering what they would do next. Add great tunes to the equation and you have a local band with all the potential in the world to do some great things.

Next up were Local Rabbits. To pigeon-hole these guys would be nothing short of a disgrace, a travesty, for the Local Rabbits don't just play rock, they play jazz, country, blues, disco, reggae... the list goes on. The four members of the band do not survive on a diet of just one type of music; that much is apparent in their own music. This made them one of the most entertaining bands I've seen in awhile. In one song alone there were influences ranging from Santana to Blondie to Sonic Youth to Tori Amos. Wow! The best thing was that the band didn't make it all sound complicated or trivial. The music was smooth as silk and I hope the Local Rabbits find their way back to Vancouver soon.

The Inbreds, being the headliners and the band that most people had come to see, had their work cut out for them both in living up to the hype and in competing with Citreon and Local Rabbits. They proved in the end to be just another pop band who neither lacked nor possessed the ability to convert those who weren't already fans. The Inbreds do have a knack for writing catchy pop songs with plenty of hooks, but they sounded too much like Sloan for my tastes, and after awhile all the songs started sounding the same.

The best way to look at this show is that the Local Rabbits were the most exciting and fun to watch, Citreon were a bonus (an opening band that was actually good!) and the Inbreds added a bit of extra value for the dollar.