Great Bloomers (photo by David Waldman)

One thing I’ve noted from all Great Bloomers shows is that no matter how many times you’ve seen them live, they never fail to play consistently dynamic performances. To kick off their upcoming fall tour, the Toronto quintet put together a show at the El Mocambo this past Friday, Aug 20th with London, Ontario’s Olenka and the Autumn Lovers and Kalle Mattson from Sault Ste. Marie. Great Bloomers took the stage around midnight and opened with a trumpet-full track from their new 7-inch record, to be released next month.

A few technical problems arose during the set, but nothing too critical to set back the band, who continued with palpable sincerity and skill. After playing a handful of new songs, the band turned to play tracks such as “Young Ones Slept”, “Honey Blanket”, “Admit Defeat” from their well-received debut album Speak of Trouble, released last year.

It was also a delight to see Andrew Kekewich – the band’s former drummer who now plays for another Toronto outfit, The Wooden Sky – move to the front, leading much of the fist-pumping. Another thing that I love most about Great Bloomers shows, besides the teeming energy from the band, is the crowd’s complete adulation and submersion to the country-imparting rock music. Left and right, you could see everyone in the audience singing back to guitarist/vocalist Lowell Sostomi, both equally heartfelt.

—

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/greatbloomers
Website: http://greatbloomers.com/