Oh Snap: Junior Boys entrances modest Cat’s Cradle crowd

Photos by Nick Pironio
Review by Jake Seaton

Having formed in 1999, Ontario’s Junior Boys can be looked at as the grandfathers of the synth revival.

Long before MGMT recorded “Electric Feel” or La Roux sang “In for the Kill,” Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus were crafting pop tunes laced with lovesick  hooks, sharp beats and icy syths.

Fast forward 12 years, Junior Boys still aren’t the most recognizable electropop duo on the market, but they probably have one of the more devout followings.

Take Monday night at Cat’s Cradle, for example. With students returning from Fall Break, attendance was light, but the few who did show were enamored by Greenspan’s fragile vocals and Didemus’ wall of synths.

With the crowd crammed to the front of the stage, no one would have realized the back three quarters of the recently renovated Cat’s Cradle was empty, save for a merch table and a few meanderers at the bar.

Up front — as the band effortlessly rolled through a balanced set of songs from their four LPs — attendees quietly hung their heads, swaying and tapping their feet along to the beats; while others didn’t hesitate to groove along to the more danceable numbers — most notably “Double Shadow” and “In the Morning” from 2006′s So This is Goodbye.

There was no flash in Junior Boys’ show. Lights were minimal, Didemus stood stoic behind his synths and Greenspan bounced only between his keys and guitar.

But what was clear is the band enjoyed playing together. Greenspan and the duo’s touring drummer cracked smiles and jokes back and forth, and Greenspan didn’t hesitate to poke fun at their home country — offering quips about the origins of Canada’s Thanksgiving.

Junior Boys are the perfect example of a musician’s band: as much as the modest crowd valued being their, the band appreciated playing for them.

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