Retrocity Was Like, Totally Awesome!

Tuesday night's Retrocity show at the Lula Lounge wowed the sold-out crowd with their vocal gymnastics and stage antics.

Aside from the rad tunes performed totally a capella by seven talented singers, they had "gettin' to know the new dudes" game-show like interludes that introduced the new members of Retrocity to the audience.

They let us know their favourite things from the '80s, from wearing acid wash jeans to collecting scratch 'n sniff stickers to use of the phrase psyche! Trivia questions included multiple choice questions guessing the singer's middle name. The winner received a bag of candy. Truly outrageous!

Dylan Bell mentioned in my interview earlier in the week how Ferris Bueller's Day Off is his favourite movie from the '80s. So I kinda knew it was going to be a dyno show.

But I didn't quite expect it when Retrocity alumnus, baritone Kevin Fox, took on the role of the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller, giving his Anyone? Anyone? speech, which culminated in what they called "Chaka Khan" economics, which segued right into a hip-hop medley incorporating Chaka Khan's def "I Feel For You." You haven't really heard this song until you've heard it all a capella.

Other totally gnarly tunes included Easy Lover, Once in a Lifetime, Senses Working Overtime and Michael Jackson's Thriller, complete with Vincent Price's narration over top. And that was all before the intermission.

The intro to Duran Duran's "Notorious" was really fresh and George Michael's "Everything She Wants," led by one of the dexter new guys, complete with a sportin' kerchief, was wicked!

If you missed the show and want to hear their way cool cover of Kate Bush's Cloudbusting you're in luck. It was awesome to hear her channel Kate Bush as this song is totally in her vocal sweet spot.

The talented Suba Sankaran and Dylan Bell (pictured together above) of Retrocity will be performing Sankaran's beautiful a capella arrangement Friday night Hugh's Room (2261 Dundas St. W. at Roncesvalles Ave.) for Toronto's first live tribute concert to Kate Bush, presented by A Man Called Wrycraft, who brought us the Girls Do Boys, Boys Do Girls and Tom Waits tribute shows.

Other performers will include Kevin Fox, Laurel MacDonald, Kurt Swinghammer, Andrea Koziol, Fides Krucker, Jennifer Moore, DJ Lexifer (Legion of Green Men) and The "Suspended In Gaffa" Mini Orchestra featuring Jaron Freeman Fox. Doors at 6 p.m. Show at 8:30 p.m. $18 adv./$20 door.

Photograph by Roger Cullman.