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Asobi Seksu’s performance seemingly attracted only diehard fans, as the Brooklyn four-piece took stage to a surprisingly thin crowd at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern. Nevertheless, the band delivered a thrilling performance of dreamy shoegaze that highlighted music from their fourth studio release Fluorescence.
Asobi Seksu’s mixture of ethereal guitar layers strummed by James Hanna and the nothing-short-of-angelic vocals of Yuki Chikudate were intoxicating. Looking around the room I saw fans with their eyes closed, letting the music wash over them, only briefly snapping back to reality to cheer at each song’s completion. The drumsticks of Larry Gorman were a blur in the white strobe lights, and bassist Billy Pavone delivered an amazing, often fever-pitched performance.
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The band played a one-hour set that included mainly newer material, but old favorites were not ignored. Highlight songs of the night were “Thursday” from the 2006 release Citrus, and “Perfectly Crystal,” “Trails,” and “Pink Light” from the new album. I think it’s safe to say that Asobi Seksu will not be limited to playing small venues like The Horseshoe for very long, and besides, a sound as huge as theirs deserves a big venue, so those who did see this show may have been privy to an intimate show they’ll be able to boast about later.