In a continued effort to provide descriptions of my favourite shows from last week’s festivities, today I’m combining diverse standalone sets from The Superfantastics and Spy Machine 16 for an all “S” edition of live reviews.

Jumping back to where I left off with yesterday’s post, I pried myself away from the Horseshoe on Thursday night just in time to run down the block to catch The Superfantastics at the Cameron House. Of course, seeing as this meant that I was missing the Sunparlour Players, you’d have thought that the Halifax duo had to work hard to win me over. In actual fact, I knew I had made the right decision the moment I showed up.

To say that Guitarist Matthew MacDonald and drummer Stephanie d’Entremont have an amicable chemistry would be a massive understatement. These two bantered and quipped back and forth as though they’d started playing together in the womb. Of course, it helps when the crowd is largely full of friends and well-wishers (at one point a comment was yelled from the audience to which Steph replied “Is that Mary?” …and it was).

That said, enviable stage presence wouldn’t mean much if there weren’t great songs to back it up. Thankfully The Superfantastics have no problem in this department either, as their latest EP, Choose Your Destination, is full of ridiculously catchy ditties (read my review of it here) and their 2007 debut, Pop-up Book has only grown on me even more since its release.

Basically, these two East Coasters have some serious momentum going at the moment and their likable and relaxed live show only serves to enhance that.

The Superfantastics - Vantastic (Eastern Canadian Road Trip Blues)

The Superfantastics - Glitter

I’ve been meaning to catch Spy Machine 16 live ever since I got a hold of their frantic and supercharged 2007 release, How Things Come Apart (a release that made my list of last years best unsung albums). It is fitting then, that their set at the Savannah Room on Saturday night was the last show I took in during Canadian Music Week. Thankfully, I couldn’t have picked a more energetic or impassioned performance to close out my harried few days of concert hopping, as these Guelph rioteers were the definition of animated.

Of course, that is not to take away from the various politically-charged messages inherent in Spy Machine 16’s tunes. In fact, singer Dave Hudson made it known that these were no mere throwaways, as he gave introductions like the following: “This song has a deep anti-imperialist sentiment…which means you should dance to it.” And boy did they ever! In fact, encouraged by the band’s full time dancers, the dimly lit Savannah Room erupted into a veritable dance party throughout SM16’s frenetic and driven delivery.

All told, the band lent live credence to an already commendable album of spastic and upbeat numbers in what was arguably the most energetic performance I’d seen all week. Check them out if you get the chance—you won’t be disappointed.

Spy Machine 16 - I Lost My Edge Last Night

Spy Machine 16 - On Struggles for Change and Hope

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More CMW coverage to come tomorrow. In the meantime, you can buy digital copies of albums by both The Superfantastics and Spy Machine 16 from Zunior.