Akron/Family July 28 at Sonic Boom
This was the latest in Sonic Boom's series of excellent free concert. Over the years I have seen many artists perform at Sonic Boom, including Coeur de Pirate, Broken Social Scene, Thunderheist, Buck 65, Lioness and Courtney Taylor-Taylor from the Dandy Warhols. Typically, these are short, impromptu performances and are often acoustic. The mascot for the recent shows is a small baby who was rocking some stylish headphones to protect his ears from the onslaught. Akron/Family brought a full-on, jam-rock concert to Sonic Boom.
Akron/Family started a little late but delivered over an hour of psych-rock excellence. This was the longest, most complete concert that I have seen at Sonic Boom to date. As they were not playing a proper show in Toronto, they passed on the appetizer and moved straight into the main course. Based on my limited prior knowledge, I believed the band to be a freak-folk ensemble with at least eight members. Instead, this four-piece delivered focused, heavy psych reminiscent of Deep Purple and early King Crimson. While the bassist and guitarist both sang, the bassist Miles Seaton had the strongest voice and sang the best songs. The keyboardist alternated between Deep Purple-ish organ solos and experimental, free-form noise. Their songs mixed psych-rock standbys with loops and chanting to create a trance-like effect.
Despite commenting that they didn't have a chance to sound check, the band was very tight and the sound was loud, crisp and full-bodied. Akron/Family pushed the limits of Sonic Boom's sound system more than any other act I've seen, often reaching punishing volume.
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