Jordan Miller stalks across the stage of the Commodore Ballroom wearing a shimmering grey sequined dress, a fender bass guitar slung around her shoulder and long locks of jet-black hair cascading down her back. She scans the crowd impassively with a set of large, dark brown eyes and an expression that suggests she may be contemplating which of us to devour first.
Miller is the lead singer and bass player for the Toronto based rock band The Beaches. Her younger sister, Kylie is the lead guitarist, and their two long-time gal pals Eliza Enman-McDaniel and Leandra Earl round out the band on drums and keys (and guitar) respectively. Their show on Friday, January 7th was the second stop on their cross Canada headline tour in support of their latest EP The Professional.
The four fabulous femmes opened their sold-out show with “Snake Tongue,” the first single from the extended play. They followed that with “Moment” and “Gold,” a couple of tracks from their wildly successful debut full length album Late Show. The show was high energy from the opening guitar riff and stayed that way for the whole night save for one or two slightly more tender tracks.
Dressed in pink pants covered with skulls and a matching top, Leandra Earl hopped, skipped and jumped her way around the stage. Switching between keyboard and guitar duties, she was never still but always smiling during the two-hour performance. Eliza Enman-McDaniel was a relentless beat-keeper, and Kylie Miller impressed with some gritty and glittery guitar skills.
The quartet rocked their way through a two-hour set that was nearly twenty songs deep and covered all the bases of their seven-year run. They managed to sneak in a cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” that blended right in with their original work. I’ve loved the song “T-shirt” since it first came out and that was a stand-out for me. Deep cut “Boy Wonder” was another highlight, showcasing their musical skills with a couple of extended hard rocking jam sessions.
With a resume that includes a JUNO win for breakthrough group of the year in 2018, opening for Foo Fighters, The Rolling Stones, and the half time show for the Grey Cup, it’s hard to imagine a future that is brighter than the present (or immediate past). But after seeing their free-wheeling, yet polished live show, and how much their fans love their glammed-out garage rock sound, it’s hard to imagine them going anywhere but the fast track to superstardom.
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