Thought it might be a good night even with snow in the air and on the ground to take a break from all-night sessions with Derby gtar photos and go out and listen to some real live music. So we put on our best
Thames Fatales t-shirt to finally catch The Joys from Forest City on our own hometurf down at The Horseshoe on Queen West. The last bands that we had seen were during the cold cold Hallowe’en night in Kensington Market to literally catch an outdoor concert with The Shanks from the netherworlds of outer space [photos somewhere up on our Facebook page – search “joe mac”] and a night capped off with a Hallow Eve all saints march with crazed percussionists and dancers.
Paint = Marcus on bass, Mandy on guitar and vocal , Andre on drumkit, and Robb on the lead mouth and guitar
Paint came on after The Joys rocked out their last song. 
We apparently missed something good in The Roses [apologies] since a couple of ToRD types down there were there to see them and were heading out the door. The Joys’s good friends Paint stepped up to the stage and proved themselves worthy of all the radio station and media attention going around to them. We have been familiar with the good ol’ days of CFNY The Edge-y type bands back in the days of Profile or Free Music magazines and being in their camps and following them through CASBYs awards [first CASBYS attended highlighted Sarah McLachlan, Blue Rodeo and a cast of thousands on stage down at RPM, next CASBYS at the Concert Hall brings back memories of Dream Warriors probably doing some rendition of My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style] or Battle of the Bands at Metro Convention Centre.
So catching the ear of The Edge is no small feat. So vis-a-vis Paint, these Vancouver ex-pats now have settled into the Toronto scene and their music embraces the independent new wavey sounds that were the hallmark of Queen Street West and CFNY in its heyday – Paint’s second song of the night had some real Edge-y intro. Also conjuring the sonic aural assault from the days of The Mission or the positive roots of The Alarm. Women in rock always catch my eye and ear [always a sucker for a good female guitarist or bass player-cue Veruca Salt Shirley Manson Courtney Love Luscious Jackson] so it doesn’t hurt with Paint. There is a real vibe happening between Marcus and Mandy as they showcased their recent songs and singles.
Although the dance floor was pretty vacant punk style they reached out to the crowd spreading the friendship vibes with the bands on the bill and thanking The Horseshoe every chance they could get. They paraded their video single “Madonna” in another one of their catchy songs. So far the night was two for two – we should have hit merch if we had any extra $ in our pocket. Next time. Paint play a series of Tuesdays at C’est What in February starting February 1.
/… more to come from Paint, The Joys and Sons of York
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These are some of The Joys below
The Joys = Sarah Smith on vox and Fender, Brad Derby on guitar and sings, Ken Ross
on bass and mic plus Kevin Komatsu on drums
The Joys from the London of Ontario at one point towards the beginning of their set relit a lingering memory straight out of the hallowed halls of rock and roll – that symbolized all that was good and evil in rock conjured up during my favourite film at Toronto International Film Festival – Across The Universe – a testament to Janis and Helter Skelter Beatles colliding against the pose of Plant.
The Joys are a great band to hear on a Saturday night or any night and this night was Thursday at The Horseshoe. No doubt they get it all the time that Ken Ross is the next Page except he plays bass. Lots of it. And wears black.
Incessant tourers and they can put themselves down as the hardest working band in the nation – who goes out West to play Canmore on New Year’s Day? [And as I’m finally writing this they just finished a gig up in Ottawa at Gracie’s]. And along the way sell amongst their four CDs recorded to date and sometimes even play a gig in London. So how do you describe The Joys outside of driving rock and music you can fly to? The Joys are back in black and bluesy scorchers.
Midnight Matinee 