The Joy Formidable at Lee’s Palace

text: Michael Raine

When I had the privilege of interviewing The Joy Formidable’s soft-spoken front woman Ritzy Byran last month, I prepared by listening to the Welsh band’s debut LP The Big Roar. I listened to it countless times and fell in love with the album’s anthemic, wall-of-sound approach and sing-a-long choruses. And judging by the live videos I saw online, I thought the band, who produced most of the album themselves, had admirably captured the power of their live show. I was terribly wrong.

Playing to a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s Lee’s Palace on Monday night – the last show of The Joy Formidable’s North American tour and their final show in support of The Big Roar – is was clear from the moment the trio launched into set opener “A Heavy Abacus” that there’s far more power and energy to this band than can be captured on an album. The crowd – which, in typical Toronto fashion, was only mildly enthusiastic when Bryan and co. walked on stage to a recording of crashing waves – was in frenzy by the time the opening song came to a loud, pulsating finish. It was a scene that would be repeated throughout the night. If there is one thing The Joy Formidable do incredibly well live, it’s build a song into a mesmerizing finale.

Clad in a pink dress with bleach-blonde hair, Bryan worked the crowd like a true rock star. Building tension with the audience through gestures both subtle and dramatic, the sweet looking woman then launched herself around the stage like a pinball, banging into bassist Rhydian Dafydd and kicking the symbols of Matt Thomas’ drum set. It was as if Tinker Bell left Neverland, discovered rock and roll, and joined a badass rock band. Thomas – whose drums were setup at the front of the stage and to the right so his hyperactive playing was on full display – provided the show’s comic relief. He spoke hilarious nonsense between songs before flailing about like a madman on speed while remaining amazingly precise with this playing.

The thing that was striking as the band rolled through its 12-song set is that nearly every tune could be a show-closer. Songs like “Cradle,” “I Don’t Want to See You Like This,” and “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie” all contain the catchy hooks, big choruses, and even bigger instrumental climaxes that could easily provide a thrilling finale to any show.  Of course, when a band fits songs like those into the middle of a set list, the actual show-closer better be stunning.

After kicking off the two-song encore with a new acoustic number, “Silent Treatment,” off their yet untitled sophomore album, the band, accompanied by a harp player for the song’s intro, closed the show with fan-favourite “Whirring”. I’m not sure if the band ends every show like this or if it was because it was the last show of the tour, but Bryan, Dafydd, and Thomas seemed determined to leave every ounce of energy on the stage.

After building the song into tense, loud, and pounding climax, Bryan got down on her knees, grinded her guitar into the amps, slammed it on stage, and then got up and pounded it into a large gong at the back of the stage. As her bandmates tried to keep any semblance of the song intact, Bryan began ripping apart the drum set as Thomas kept playing. With an intense look on her face, Bryan then stormed off stage, seemingly too wound-up for pleasantries. But after an enthralling display of raw emotion like that, pleasantries would’ve just ruined the mood.

It’s easy to be impressed by a band in a live setting. Especially a band whose songs you already know and like. But it’s rare for a band to completely blow away your expectations like The Joy Formidable did on Monday night. Hopefully they’re back before too long.