» The Beaches show Ottawa the Money.

The Saturday night at the packed Ottawa’s Bronson Centre was sizzling with anticipation as the female rocker sensation The Beaches were at attendance, and had brought along equally brilliant opener, also Toronto based Goodbye Honolulu.

Take Rancid, Dinosaur Jr., Weezer, and Cage the Elephant, mix it with a piece of old chewing gum from the bottom of the smelly kids chair in class, form it into giant spit ball, and kick it around gym class, and you will get something that sounds like it came from the nineties garage rock era with a side dish of punk and surf rock all tied into one. That’s how one can also describe the night’s opener, Goodbye Honolulu.

The four man band is brilliantly fun to watch. Every song has a catchy riff or a chorus, and unlike most bands who have one front man, these guys are all taking turns with leads and vocals. The band’s stage banter is spot on, and more like a standup comedy routine, and I could probably watch them crack jokes and talk all night and forget that they were there to play music. For such a young band, the boys play like seasoned veterans, and finishing their set with the self-titled song ‘Goodbye Honolulu’ as they walked around stage waving goodbye to the audience, was a classy way to end their set.

Goodbye Honolulu performing at The Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

If Tia Carrere was filming Wayne’s World now instead of back in 1992, she would probably want to study the night’s headliners The Beaches, because these ladies know how to rock!

The crowd at the Bronson Centre was thrilled to see the rest of the band walk out onto the stage as drummer Eliza Enman-McDaniel set the beat for the high energy one and a half hour set. The volume level was through the roof as the fans got loud to the point my earplugs were useless. The band masters the harmonized backing vocals, and I should also give a credit to front woman Jordan Miller, who can rock the bass while bellowing the low notes, and reaching the highest of high notes like a true rock diva. The big, loud drums, fuzzy Jack White-esque distorted guitars and synthesizers with tones blaring straight out of the eighties, made for a delicious rocknroll soundtrack for the rest of the evening.

The Beaches performing at The Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

All around the catchy songs, simple riffs, and all four women rocking their hearts out, prove the band’s Juno award for Break through Group of the Year, was well deserved. The band played through their set only stopping a couple of times for Miller to engage the audience, and kept the energy level turbo charged through the entire show.

The Beaches performing at The Bronson Centre. Photo by Laura Collins.

The band performed two cover songs, The Ronette’s ‘Be My Baby’ and James tune ‘Laid’ during their set, so I was a little confused as to their choice to start off the encore with Avril Lavigne’s ‘Sk8er Boy’, which seemed more like a step backwards than going out with a bang, as The Beaches’ original songs are far more superior. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the cover, and excitedly bounced and sang along to the tune.

Overall The Beaches are fantastic performers and you can see why Dave Grohl invited them to open for the mighty Foo Fighters at Toronto’s Rogers Centre this past July.

Setlist:

1. Back of My Heart

2. Moment

3. Let Me Touch

4. T-Shirt

5. Gold

6. Be My Baby (The Ronettes cover)

7. Loner

8. Highway 6

9.Give It Up

10. Turn Me On

11. Fascination