Brian Jonestown Massacre review

The Brian Jonestown Massacre are infamous for their on-stage antics. They've been known to use each others' faces as percussion instruments and their fists serving as the drumsticks.

So, it was to the surprise and delight of a thousand strong at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre when the band not only kept their brawling tendencies in check, but pulled off a triumphant, hit-filled performance with more than two hours of catalogue favours and deep cuts of the band's psychedelic/country slop.

It was the BJM's first Toronto appearance in more than six years and despite a few new faces, the band's core remained static. Centred around singer/songwriter/ringleader Anton Newcombe, fellow singer Matt Hollywood and tambourine shaker/mascot Joel Gion, the BJM burned through two dozen songs with a lot of swagger and near-perfect precision, featuring as many as five guitars in any one sitting.

Newcombe is definitely the catalyst, but it was Gion who stood front and centre, treating the audience to various nonplused facial expressions as he bashed away on his tambourine and maracas. He was even wearing the infamous "Canadian tuxedo" (by his own admission) to celebrate the band's return to the north country.

While the band showed a lot of composure on-stage, the crowd seemed unhinged at times, especially by Toronto standards. Fuelled by a disproportionate share of girls and douchebags, there was a ton of pushing and shoving in the audience — some good-spirited, some not so much.

The crowd was paired with some ill-conceived attempts at crowd surfing and a primordial THC haze, which made it nothing if not lively, and it at times truly had the band feeding off the collective energy. That's a serious rarity for any live action in the GTA.

Highlights included such popular favourites as set opener "Super-Sonic," "Servo," "Here It Comes" and epic version of "When Jokers Attack," complete with a dense, layered outro that approached shoegaze territory on more than one occasion.

In their own detached way, BJM were clearly feeling the adoration and seemed a bit moved by the outpouring of support — as moved as a drugged out troupe of San Fran-based psyche revivalists could possibly be, I suppose.

Despite unseasonably warm temperatures outside, the energy remained indoors, even as the band wrapped up the main set with a quickie jaunt through "Hide And Seek." A few moments later, the band returned to tear through "Oh Lord" and a scorching "Satellite." The latter lead to a wee spot of moshing upfront and the aforementioned crowd surfing. It's a feat to get a 19+ crowd in Toronto to show much emotion for anything, but to have them stage diving for two hours in is nothing short of a miracle.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre truly defied the odds with this performance and more than made up for lost time north of the border