Show Review - Eggy 5/8/24 Toronto, ON

One Set: One Stop Shop > Sweaters for Strawmen > Come Up Slow, Rosetta Stone, Sweat Equity-> The Windup^[1]-> Sweat Equity-> Chest Fever^[2] > A Moments Notice, Smile^[3]

Encore: Shadow

Footnotes:
    [1] Keith Jarrett cover
    [2] The Band cover
    [3] With Chest Fever (The Band) teases

Eggy performed their first show outside the United States last night, making their Canadian debut to a packed house of just under 500 people at Toronto’s Adelaide Hall.

Over the course of the 100-minute show, the Connecticut quartet delivered well-played originals, a pair of choice covers, and some seriously excellent improv.

The band emerged for the show onto the tiny stage, keyboardist Dani Battat showing his spirit with a bright red Team Canada hockey Jersey, and hit into “One Stop Shop.” Guitarist Jake Brownstein let loose on his new custom Frank Brothers guitar during the solo, clearly enjoying its crystal-clear tone.

“Sweaters For Strawmen” came next and kept the energy high through the catchy tune. We were treated to another strong Brownstein solo on this tune before his harmonization with Battat’s Moog Model D synth beautifully brought it to a close. Next up was yet-to-be-released new tune “Come Up Slow,” a short and poppy number led by drummer Alex Bailey that showcases Eggy’s impeccable vocal harmonies – and a lyrical similarity to “Atomic Age” with the line “why did you have to run.” This could mean nothing, but you never know…

“Rosetta Stone” concluded what could be considered the “first set” portion of the night as the band switched their focus to more adventurous improv with the opening of the driving “Sweat Equity.” Eggy has a knack for writing really catchy hooks and this song is one that you can’t resist dancing to – the crowd seemed to laser in on the band.

The jam began in earnest with a funk groove, Battat throwing bright organ chords over bassist Mike Goodman’s steady pocket before Brownstein took control with some strong leads. Making a pivot into what felt initially like a standard tension-build, Brownstein began to pull the band into a more chaotic motif with Bailey switching his steady ride-cymbal beat to include more toms and crash cymbals.

From there, the quartet began to slowly drift outside “Sweat Equity” proper into a spacier motif thanks to some heavy reverbed-out guitar and synth contributions to Battat. Goodman slowed his thumping bass line as the textures started to take over, each member floating into a pleasant haze. Brownstein activated his Mu-Tron envelope filter and began playing some eerie leads similar to Phish’s “What’s the Use?” while Battat’s Virus TI synth dominated underneath him.

The band members exchanged grins before Brownstein hit some dark minor chords to signal a change to the next section. Latching on to a blissy idea around some hits, guitar and drums played around with it for a few measures before heading back to more straight-up funk.

Seamlessly working in a cover of Keith Jarrett’s instrumental “The Windup,” Eggy navigated its composition with ease before returning to the chorus of “Sweat Equity.” Not to leave anything on the table, a brief reprise of the jam led into an absolutely MAGNIFICENT segue into “Chest Fever,” an ode to The Band’s hometown that had the packed room howling with delight and singing along.

This wasn’t your average wedding band cover – Eggy extended the classic anthem for nearly 17 minutes, descending from the initial guitar solo into a dense funk groove led by Goodman’s aggressive bass work. Brownstein opted for a more textural role in the initial jam before heading into some delay – hinting at what would come later in the set. The intensity increased and it seemed as though the band could drop back into “Sweat Equity” at any moment through the upbeat space.

It was time for another bout of ambience as Battat and Brownstein took a duo jam for themselves – the rhythm section dropped out as organ and guitar chased each other through melodies for a minute or so. Bailey cued Goodman for re-entry and the band blasted back into the peak and return to “Chest Fever” with practiced fluidity to bring the amazing cover to a close.

The band’s latest single “A Moment’s Notice” acted as a nice cool-down before a massive “Smile” closed the set – my personal jam of the night and one I cannot WAIT to relisten to.

Brownstein laid on heavy delay early on in the jam as Goodman jumped in with some envelope-filtered slap work as the band departed from “Smile” proper. It wasn’t long before the guitar was infused with the computerized sound of the Chase Bliss Mood pedal – a favourite of Brownstein’s effects.

The band built to a rolling boil with the steady chirping before falling away into more synth-funk, sticking to some incredible democratic spaces with light Battat synth textures overtop.

The brighter mood began to darken as Battat took to his Moog, spreading some alien sounds across the jam as Brownstein’s Mood work became more and more aggressive. Goodman got in on the action as well and dialed in a filthy synth effect on his Future Impact pedal as Brownstein came over to his side of the stage for the two musicians to face off.

Audience members hooted in delight at the adventurous improv continued, Brownstein even taking the spotlight for a Mood-only breakdown after an especially tight minor-key build. “Chest Fever” teases included, this rendition of “Smile” will go down as an all-time Eggy jam (in my very noob-y opinion haha) and the packed house chanted for the band as they walked off stage.

Before the fiery encore of “Shadow,” Battat took a moment to thank the Toronto crowd for making their international debut so special and that the band looks forward to coming back soon – SO DO WE!!

Walking out of the venue, I remarked that the show had significantly more jamming and relisten value than I expected from a single-setter - don’t make the mistake of underestimating what these guys can do!

The band heads back to the States tonight for a show at Buffalo Iron Works (something good about shows in that city on May 9^th), and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us tonight!

Special thank you to Sarah Elaz and MRG Live for bringing Eggy to town!

I also had the amazing opportunity to film a rig tour with Mike before the show - stay tuned for that coming next week!