Review: Tennis, The Drake Hotel, Published in Eye Weekly (now The Grid) December 8
BY Ofelia Legaspi December 09, 2010 13:12
Tennis — a.k.a. married band mates Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley — arrived right on time for Toronto’s extreme weather alert last night, as the Pitchfork- and New York Times-approved Denver duo proved they are more than capable of driving away the most serious case of seasonal affective disorder. Their weapon? Dulcet, dreamy, summery tunes, served up early-’60s style. Their debut album, Cape Dory, due out Jan. 18, 2011 on Fat Possum, is a Moby Dick-scale tale of adventures at sea (the duo lived on a sailboat for half a year) delivered through nostalgic, wall-of-sound pop.
Vocalist/keyboardist Moore came on stage with a disclaimer: she was feeling sick, but would brave performing because she knew better than to disappoint a sold-out crowd desperate to warm up their evening with musical reminiscences of summer days. And warmed them she did with the sunny opener “Take Me Somewhere,” which started out meditative and melodious, but swelled like a rogue wave into a faster and danceable pop chorus about wanderlust. If the overzealous fan swept up in his violent air-drumming near the front of the stage didn’t tilt the Earth towards a premature summer solstice, Moore’s performance certainly did. Though she warned that her being under the weather might make her sound like “Janis Joplin covering Tennis,” her voice was still mellifluous, if overpowered somewhat by the duo’s backing drummer.
Behind Tennis’ surprise success is a love story, and it showed last night, not just in Moore and Riley’s co-written lyrics, but also in their onstage chemistry. They do great back-and-forth banter, and also elaborated on the tales of deep-sea bravery that inspire their songs, recalling a particular moment when they almost lost their boat four times. “In front of a bunch of recreational swimmers,” Moore added, laughing.
The band’s performance, however, was all smooth sailing. Though Tennis certainly lose some of their beloved lo-fi intimacy in a concert setting, they showed their strength as a live act, as Moore challenged herself in the high notes in “Baltimore,” the edgier version of Jackie DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room” and the evocative, sad parting song, “Water Birds.” As the duo shared a post-show hug, you realized it’s only really a matter of time before Googling “Tennis” will yield more than just first-page results about Serena Williams.
