The show that was dubbed “the one to watch” this month involved seven friends from the UK playing various instruments to very loyal fans. Of course we are talking about Los Campesinos! who played at The Opera House on April 1st. LC! played to an almost sold out crowd and iheartthemusic was there to get in on the action. We arrived fairly early, or what we thought was early, but upon arrival  we found opening act Sky Larkin was already halfway through their set! We were happy to find that this opening threesome, also from the UK, were incredible AND headed by a female frontman (frontperson?). Their sound is indie with a bit of Brit pop thrown in there (I mean, they are from the UK). Lead singer Katie’s voice was a cross between Feist and Lily Allen, and with no backing vocals she was able to take charge of the stage without a hitch. One song of note was “Beeline” which has a catchy chorus and also was able to showcase each member of the band individually (it also featured Katie playing guitar behind her head at one point!). For us, another one of the highlights was drummer Nestor’s onstage performance. He was incredible and captivated the crowd with each bang on his kit and decided to end their set by throwing his sticks up in the air. They were a perfect opening act and started the night off just right!

As it got closer to Los Campesinos! hitting the stage you could tell that the crowd was getting antsy. When they finally appeared on stage, the cheers and chants exploded and you knew this was going to be a great show! There was no introduction needed as the seven friends that make up Los Campesinos! went straight into their opening song, “Ways To Make it Through the Wall.” It was a great choice to start an unbelievable show with and was immediately followed by “The International Tweexcore Underground.”  Lead vocalist Gareth  pointed out that the video for that song was shot in the very room that they were playing in, so it felt “comfortable” to them. Well, they certainly looked comfortable on stage as they banged and strummed the plethora of instruments that they use to make that sweet, sweet sound. They played crowd favourites – including “My Year in Lists” and “Death to Los Campesinos!” – but by far the most well recieved was “You! Me! Dancing!” which opened to loud cheers and had everyone singing along. As if 14 songs weren’t enough to keep the crowd satisfied, the band put on an encore that solidified why fellow musicians like Broken Social Scene are huge fans! It was a great way to spend a Wednesday evening and made us even more excited to see what their third album (due out at the beginning of next year) will bring.

photography provided by James Blake