King of Queens Ottawa Debut was a success
On Jan. 19, a long line outside of Mavericks moved slowly as the soon-to-be audience buzzed with excitement. Once inside, there was a diverse age group; some people were the parents of the artists and some were friends of the performers.
Monostrat started their set, and the audience swayed and bobbed their heads. The energy of the three-piece band reminded me of 70s and 80s rock — sometimes sounding uneasy or edgy and other times emotional and intense. They played a variety of music with a few songs being instrumental and others with impressive vocals.
During the performance, the drummer thanked the crowd for seeing them and as their set ended, the lead vocalist acknowledged that their bassist had never played with them before during a concert. Overall, their performance was upbeat and introduced the crowd to a loud night.
Soon after, Shirley entered the stage and the cheers grew loud. The Ottawa-based band is composed of four people and they brought an amazing stage presence. Although it was their first time performing, they fooled everyone into thinking they were a seasoned band –their dreamy music had people dancing along. They played a mix of songs, some covers and some originals. Their sound was very nostalgic, as if it was the backtrack to a coming of age movie. Similar to Monostrat, they thanked the crowd for their support and introduced Kings of Queens, who were set to perform soon after.
Just before the final band came on, the crowd was intensely busy and packed. Kings of Queens started their show and their introduction at 10:30p.m. The Queen’s University-based band announced that it was their first performance in Ottawa, which really got the crowd cheering.
The band started off their first set with their original song “Fly” and many people were singing along with the band. After, they played a cover of Peach Pit’s “Alright Aphrodite” and Cage the Elephant’s “Come A Little Closer”. They then played their song “Cyrstal Box”, which involved the lead singer having a solo on the guitar and a classic back-to-back moment.
Soon later, the band member on keys sang a cover of “Tennessee Whiskey”, which the crowd went crazy for and his voice was very impressively rich. They then played a cover of a crowd favourite by the Backseat Lovers, “Kilby Girl”, and their debut EP opener, “Shadows”. It reminded me of an early 2000’s movie and the vibe sounded like the band The Driver Era.
During the bridge, the lead singer thanked the venue for hosting and he vocalized how amazed he was that his band was playing at Mavericks. They played some other covers and the crowd was rowdy; people started cheering as they sat on the shoulders of others. Kings of Queens finished their set with their final track on their new EP, “Scarlett (backseat lover)”.
Overall, the performances of all three bands were exciting and creative. Considering all of the groups are new and upcoming, they did a great job with getting the audience interested. If any of these bands are performing near you, I would definitely recommend going to see them.
