KULAS : TORONTO RIVOLI 21.2.02

Set list: Starland, Anyone Else, Beautiful Day (Part 2), "In Between Song" [5 minute solo adlib version of what sounded like "She's All the Rage" with made up lyrics done on the fly while trying to fix a technical problem with an amplified acoustic guitar], The Only One, She's All the Rage, Sleep, Pavement, Beginning of the End, Burning Down Hollywood, Glasgow Rain,

Encore: Gone Away Song (solo), Lust For Love (cover of a 1983 hit single by Canadian electronic band Images In Vogue).

After two short acoustic warm up spots in downtown clubs over the past weeks, Kulas made it to the Rivoli tonight for his first Toronto full band gig in five years, all in aid of his second CD, "Another Small Machine" (ASM).  Due to his ongoing commitments with UK superband James, Kulas was unable to take time to promote his latest CD until recently.  Tonight also marked the debut public appearance of his new four piece "supersonic band", as he had referred to them during his acoustic set last Saturday night at the Rancho Relaxo.  In addition to the standard bass and drums, the band features a second guitarist and a keyboard player who both added backing vocals through the night.

Communicating as always with his audience, about a third of the way through the night, Kulas described the tears running down his cheeks earlier that evening as the Canadian women's Ice Hockey team was awarded their gold medal for winning over Team USA.  It was a banner night for Kulas, first a gold medal for Team Canada, then back on an electric Toronto stage, and looking like he was really enjoying the return. 

Due to a late kickoff by the evening's opening act (promising Bjork-like, guitar-wielding up 'n' comer Priya Thomas), and technical delays to the start of middle band A Northern Chorus' set (droning six part folk-lite), Kulas and his "supersonic" band didn't hit the stage until midnight.  Though a little rough around the edges at times in their first public appearance together, and having to deal with a number of technical mishaps themselves (an amplified acoustic guitar that wasn't going through the sound system properly plus a guitar technician who was MIA and wasn't there to deal with a few other problems), Kulas and company delivered an energized, entertaining set, taking full advantage of Michael's strong song writing and the musical prowess of all the band members.

As one would expect, having a full backing band gave the songs that Michael had presented to us in his two Toronto acoustic sets earlier this month an entirely different flavour.  This was the case in particular for the three new songs Kulas had demoed last November in Scotland: show opener Starland came to life as a Ziggy Stardust/Spiders from Mars rocker which by itself was worth the price of admission; Pavement, though compelling when done acoustically, was even more biting when done by the band; and set closer Glasgow Rain came across like a future crowd favourite rock anthem.  The songs showcased off new album ASM, such as The Only One (done in the two previous Kulas acoustic shows), Beginning of the End and Beautiful Day (written the sunny morning after seven straight UK days of rain), were punchy and energetic with the band, even though they were largely straight readings of the CD versions.  "Sleep", also from ASM, was the only exception; this sombre tale had far more emotional impact in a stark solo acoustic format.

Tonight's late show also had its engaging twists and turns.  While preparing to play the fourth song of the night, "The Only One", the second guitarist ran into a problem with his acoustic guitar, which was coming through the sound system with heavy distortion.  As scrambling around ensued to isolate and correct this problem, Kulas broke into a solo rendition of what may have been "She's All the Rage", adlibbing some stream of consciousness lyrics about what you do "in between songs" (the new chorus) when you run into technical problems during a concert.  The entire band eventually joined in, with a disco-ball light show in tow, bringing this charming, quick-witted five minute diversion to a close (wish I had a mini-disc recorder with me).  The acoustic guitar remained uncooperative and Kulas and band were forced to substitute electric guitar in its place through the rest of the night.  This came to a head when Kulas returned for a solo encore and he started to retune his electric guitar to do "A Clever Mess" (off his first cd "Mosquito"); not happy with the guitar retuning results, Michael broke into a successful impromptu electric guitar take of "Gone Away Song" from ASM.  The full "supersonic" band returned to the stage, and Michael introduced "one of the greatest Canadian rock songs ever", closing the night with an off the wall guitar band take of 1983 synth-pop hit "Lust For Love" by long since disbanded Canadian group Images in Vogue (http://www.geocities.com/joeiiv/startpage.htm).  Kulas dedicated this song to Images in Vogue's lead singer Dale Martindale, a long time Toronto resident, who was in the audience. 

So an entertaining, fun night with Kulas came to close; a mix of hard work, polished and sometimes raw talent, as well as quick wit and grace under pressure.