Article and Photos by: Adrienne Row – Smith 

Ottawa, Ont. — Wedesday evening was host to the Prince Edward Island natives, Paper Lions stopping in to Zaphod Beeblebrox were in 2005  The Rolling Stones filmed a music video for Streets of Love. Paper Lions were joined by artists Townes and Rebelle to help make the night memorable.

Up first was Townes a synthpop/rock one man band, who played songs from his ep “Townes EP” and featuring a brand new song coming from his upcoming ep (which comes out in a month!), Songs like Loverboy, and Blood Diamonds are reminisicent of the PetShopBoys, with a dash of Kanye West’s 80’s & Heartbreak. This is evident in his cover of the more recent Kanye West song Fade. While it was impressive to see Townes master singing, the synth and guitar, it was at times difficult to hear his music with the sampling.  Yet, even with that – I look forward to hearing more from Townes and he got the crowd going with his cover closer!

Next up after Townes was Rebelle, who are a four – piece indie rock band from Wakefield, Quebec. With a high engergy, they embodied a true rock persona and drew in quite a large crowd. Playing songs Make it, and Rapture give feelings of being influenced by bands like The Strokes or Arctic Monkeys. Vocalist and guitarist David Taggart and bassist Ryan Wiles switched instruments for one song, and show the artisty that the band has, with everyone being able to shine while being a cohesive unit. Rebelle was the perfect opener for Paper Lions.

Paper Lions were eager to play, and the crowd was eager to see them. Featuring high energy, the band was a cohesive unit and really displayed pure artisty and showmanship. From Philedelphia acoustically in the crowd, and getting the crowd to join them in their performance. They also broadcasted Polly Hill as a live stream to their fans as they played. These events made for a memorable show. The show mainly showcased Full Colour their recently released album, such as Believer and Call Back and End of July, but also played songs from older releases such as My Friend. Lead vocalist John Macphee was dynamic bouncing around on stage, ensuring that he interacted with each of his band members, as well as the crowd by going into the crowd and high fiving fans. The band’s interaction on stage with each other also made the show a wonderful experience, joining each other as they played or singing together really tied their whole set together. Paper Lions provided their audience was a show to remember, and defintely are some great Canadian artist. For fans of indie – pop, their album Full Colour and their show is definetely something that individuals should look into! If you catch them on tour, you’ll be able to pick up their album which comes with a 14 page colouring book!