Digits, Terror Bird, and Certain Breeds

At Funky Winker Bean's Pub on Saturday, May 8

On a night made for sipping wine coolers under the stars, it was altogether impressive that Funky Winker Bean's Pub—the latest dive bar in the city to be annexed by the hipster set—was packed by 10:30 p.m. It seems that the record-release party for a split seven-inch featuring local synth-pop devotees Certain Breeds and Terror Bird was all the reason people needed to abandon the fresh spring air for the faint scent of cigarette smoke still leaching from the innards of the old Hastings Street watering hole.

The boudoir-red walls, which cast a dramatic rose-coloured glow on a stage decorated with a lone string of Christmas lights, were a fitting match for Certain Breeds' macabre melodies. The entrancing voice of lead vocalist-keyboardist Jen Riego drew patrons—an eclectic mix of Emily Carr types, fellow musicians, and dapper fashionistas—to the dance floor to get a better look at the Siouxsie-inspired outfit. The crowd stared intently at Riego and her companions as they performed gothic-pop numbers like “Walk in Sleep”, the band's contribution to the joint seven-inch on Global Symphonic.

While no one seemed brave enough to venture much more than a calculated head bob during Certain Breeds' stellar set, Terror Bird managed to coax a few audience members from their shells. Clearly a bit frazzled from playing with their other project, Modern Creatures, a few blocks away at Pat's Pub before taking the stage at Funky Winker Bean's as the electro-pop duo Terror Bird, Nikki Hebert and Jeremiah Haywood made the best of a set marred by awkward starts and stops. Regardless of the hiccups, which Hebert playfully addressed by joking “We're breaking up,” the husband-and-wife team were perfectly on point when their haunting, new wave–y tracks flowed without interruption. Much like Riego, Hebert has an uncanny ability to mesmerize a room with her striking voice, and this was no more apparent than when Terror Bird performed “Who's Sorry Now?” from the aforementioned disc.

When it came time for the final-set changeover, an overly energetic bunch of girls decided that rather than make the usual rounds to reapply their lipstick and chat up the smiley bartender, they would use the interlude to rehash their Electric Circus glory days. Bouncing around to techno goodies like Caribou's “Odessa”, the gals must have bolstered the confidence of Toronto-based Digits, as the musician was about to unleash a set tuned in to a similar clubby vibe. And while Alt Altman, the face of the experimental one-man disco band, did his best to tap into the party atmosphere with his buttery vocals on the soulful “Saturation” and the moody electro ballad “Endgame”, the crowd lost the plot as his beats sputtered on.

The fading energy didn't seem to concern Digits in the slightest, though. The lanky Altman happily alternated between plucking his bass and clocking time on the synthesizer as samples piped from his laptop, clearly thrilled by the prospect of taking his bedroom project for a spin in the real world. It was hard not to marvel at his unbridled enthusiasm, especially since it's not something you get to see every day in Vancouver.