Modern Day Poets’ up beat high energy riffs, champion musicianship, and hearty stage presence make them strong dynamic performers to watch for within Vancouver’s thriving live music scene. The Roxy’s very own live sound engineer Cole, who was manning the helm presented a balanced and pleasing overall house mix, distinctly characterizing MDP’s Quiet/ Loud/ Quiet song formula. A strategy that is working very much in favour for this four piece modern day rock band.
Make It With You by beloved Queens of The Stone Age was the only song they covered throughout their entire nine song set. Jina’s vocals opened up with robust personality on the third chorus, thanks to a healthy vocal accompaniment from bassist Ryan Z.
With co-founder Billy McAloney on drums, this tight rhythm section dialled into what works and locked it down throughout the show. Offering brother and co-founder Bobby McAloney a perfect canvas to layer his sweeping guitar leads over one sweet lick at a time.
Newest member and front-woman Jina Anika personally engages with the crowd, highlighting a fun and authentic stage persona. Her comfort zone seems to live within improvising and ad-libbing. Her go-go dancing background feeds this organic free-flowing body movement and is liberating to watch. The song Going got a few more people onto their feet and into the party mood. She awarded free drink tickets to the best dancers who braved the seated onlookers. This only encouraged those firmly planted to sharing in laughter and applause right where they sat. Jina then jumped off-stage during an instrumental section to dance and mingle with those who got the hint to get off their butts and join in. Not a break went by without exuding her love and gratitude for those who showed up. Thanking the humble fan-base between songs and plugging the band’s latest single This City, which is currently being supported by their first official video found on youtube.
It was during their final song Bomb that we heard a glimpse into the raw potential of Jina’s voice. If they keep progressing at this pace, then it is only a matter of time before her vocal tone is soaring open and free with the eagles.
What was a bit surprising however, was how they wrapped their set up on a somewhat serious, yet inspiring spoken word message, “…In this world full of hate… Change your mind. Change your self. Change your fate.”
A post performance meet and greet was a brilliant promotional opportunity to hook fans up with wrist bands containing a free download code off cdbaby.com for said single. There is much to be said for the sheer chops and business savvy of this relatively young band. Less than a year old MDP is still in their early days. With so much more to come, we’ll be watching out for this band for sure.
-Mark Writes
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