IV Thieves - Show Review

By Sean McArthur
November 13, 2006
(Toronto - El Mocambo November 11)

After two less-than-stellar openers, the four affable members of British rock outfit IV Thieves (formerly Nic Armstrong and the Thieves) shambled onto the stage to show the audience what a real band sounds like. After a few uninspired numbers, the band stepped up the energy and played a decent set of bangers and ballads in the venerable Brit-pop vein.

Of course, Brit-pop bands are a dime a dozen, and anybody who went to the show expecting something groundbreaking were certainly disappointed; those looking for an above-average set of unpretentious, hook-laden rock and roll were not. As the new name indicates, singing duties are now distributed more equitably among the band members. Bassist Shane Lawlor and guitarist Glynn Wedgewood both took on singing duties (drummer Eliott Frazier picked his nose but didn't sing!), but Armstrong still seemed to be the voice of the band. The set was heavy on new material, which I found to be a step below the catchy 60's throwbacks from previous album The Greatest White Liar, with a few exceptions; Catastrophe was one of the standout performances of the night. New songs like You Can't Love What You Don't Understand, on the other hand, abandon the band's most successful elements (fusing Kinks-influenced pop with bluesy and southern rock influences) for the more recent and less enjoyable soundscapes of 90's alt-rock and blase middle-of-the-road British...anything.

In the end, the Thieves pleased the audience most with the closing number, a romp through White Liar track Broken Mouth Blues, easily the most memorable part of the show. I found it hard not to like IV Thieves when they were on their game; I also found it easy to dismiss them when they were not. The bottom line is, the set closer left me wishing that the Thieves had played that good old rock sound all night long. One can only hope they keep doing what they do best and leave the influences of the 90's to their less inspired and less likable peers.

Overall 75%