SIA!

[ <3 ]

Role reversal!

In an unusual twist of events, Alex spent Wednesday night lying low with a movie while I went on a musical outing. Wednesday is usually rehearsal night for him, but it was canceled this week. And I had plans! Sheila and I pre-ordered tickets to see Sia at the Phoenix and we were both anticipating our second-ever solo date (we usually roll in a brunch-y girl-gang).

I had been looking forward to seeing Sia live since I met her in LA (not realizing who exactly I was meeting at the time). I was already digging her songs, but didn't make the connection when we shook hands. She was recording her newest album in the studio next to Sweet Thing. I played with her dogs - Lick Lick Science and Pantera Marvelous - and we chatted about nail colour. She told me that we must have been sisters in a past life. It wasn't until I returned to Toronto that I realized who she was. ARG!

[ hanging out with Sia's pup, Pantera - LA 2009 ]

Her latest album - due for release in June - is much more upbeat and dance-pop than her older  down-tempo sound. I love love love it. Her die-hard-with-a-vengance fans are on the fence. While there are those who have been throwing around terms like "sold out", I think the new sound is smart, fun and still very, very Sia. She managed to explore a new genre while being totally true to herself. I hear she is (was?) dating JD Samson from Le Tigre, so maybe there's the influence? I actually think the new pop-infused sound is a better fit for her effervescent cute/weirdness (think Lady Gaga meets Sesame Street, maybe). The infectious Clap Your Hands has to be a hit, it just HAS to.

[ Sia @ the Phoenix, Toronto 2010 ]

Her live show was quirky, in true Sia style. She was funny, full of giggles and props, and sang against a backdrop of crocheted afghans and pom-poms. Pom-poms! See? See, I was right! Puffs and Poufs and Pom-poms are totally hot. Of course, I haven't started making my headpiece - yet another lonely abandoned project - but I'm really jazzed to get started.

[ Pom-poms!!! ]

Openers Dance Yourself to Death were decent, and I was totally digging White Bed and We Are All Made of Stone. They even threw in a Fine Young Cannibals (if memory serves...) cover, circa 1991. Sheila and I seemed surrounded by people who were born in 1991, so our enthusiasm was not entirely shared.

 [ Jen, DYTD ]

Despite vowing never to return to the Phoenix after being subjected to manhandling and triple-ID'ing at Alex's show, great artists just keep playing there! Location aside, it really was the perfect night out!

 [ We Are Born drops June 2010 ]

p.s. The only downside: I was cat-called by degenerates more than once en route to the show, and felt icky all over. To my horror, I was getting "She's asking for it" looks from passers-by. Or maybe I'm just being sensitive. Note to self: the short tulip skirt/fuschia tights/3" wedge combo will not be repeated. I am typically ignored by salivating drunks on the prowl and would like to keep it that way thank-you-very-much.

p.p.s F*&%k! I missed Kate Nash - she played The Mod Club last Monday.

---

"I am a dash and you are a dot
When will you see that I am all that you've got

I'm a binary code that you cracked long ago
But to you I'm just a novel that you wish you'd never wrote
I'm greater than x and lesser than y, so why is it
That I still can't catch your eye?"

-Sia (feat. Beck), Academia