Dead Soft

Pat's Pub, Vancouver BC, June 6

Photo: Steve Louie

BY Alan RantaPublished Jun 8, 2014

6
With the dance floor of Pat's Pub littered with red leather chairs and concrete pillars, Vancouver-based power trio Dead Soft bled '90s alternative. They all had the t-shirt/tank tops and jeans with long, messy hair look appropriate for the era and, from the opening riff of "Death March" (from their 2013 EP, Teen Fiction), they produced an impassioned grunge, indie rock and power-pop sound somewhere between early Weezer, Dinosaur Jr. and Foo Fighters.

Unfortunately, the vocal harmonies between guitarist Nathaniel Epp and bassist Keeley Rochon that would have hammered home their power-pop shine were non-existent, her mic barely audible and his sweet notes coming across underwhelming, but they had more going for them than against them. Epp emoted believable Pinkerton-esque angst when he screamed his vocals, Graeme McDonald pounded his kit like Bonham, breaking a drumstick in half at one point, and the gnarly bass and guitar riffs consistently hit the sweet spot. What started as a subtle crowding erupted into full cross-floor pogoing when they played their last song, "Never Forever", bringing their 20-minute long set to a close on a natural high.

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