"The Ataris return"

Show: July 8, 2008 @ The Kathedral, Toronto
Comeback may be the wrong word to describe the return of The Ataris in Toronto – but it definitely describes the feeling of their show Saturday night at The Kathedral.
After building a strong fan base with their “Blue Skies…” album and then breaking through with mainstream recognition on “So Long, Astoria” in 2003, The Ataris seemingly fell off the radar.

Leaving Colombia Records and releasing the little-known and underachieving “Welcome The Night” on Sanctuary Records, definitely played a part in keeping the band off the charts and out of their fans’ heads for the past four years.

With so much time off though, perhaps front man Kris Roe felt the urge to play live shows again – or maybe he just needed the extra cash. Regardless of the reason, Roe has been trekking across the world with his acoustic guitar, playing the entirety of “Blue Skies…” plus other “classics,” and brought this unique show to Toronto.

Carrying more weight and flashing less hair, Roe definitely looks like a shadow of his former self. But any sense of him being “washed up” quickly dissipated when his voice carried “Losing Streak” with as much energy as he did nine years ago.
Although Roe was by himself on stage, the veracity and strength of his voice made up for the lack of instrumentation.

In a good mood throughout the night, despite the surprisingly small crowd, Roe made sure to banter with the crowd throughout his set. Perhaps the most humorous point came before “I Won’t Spend another Night Alone,” and Roe explained there are just some lyrics he couldn’t sing out of embarrassment. Then, during the lyric “The things you make me wanna do/I'd rob a quik-e-mart for you,” Roe pulled away from the mic to let the sparse crowd fill in the blanks as he chuckled, most likely remembering his teenaged years when he wrote the song.

The highlight came at the end of his acoustic set when he had local act Outspoken back him up on four songs. Roe took the mic, looking somewhat naked without a guitar and fronting a band, and had a chance to rock out to a short set that included “Boys of Summer,” and “San Dimas High School Football Rules.”

The latter ended his set with everyone running to the front to get their chance to scream into the mic. Then, as quickly as he came on stage, Roe ran back to man his merch table before he hopped by in his Neon to trek off to his next stop. This was definitely a show that brought back memories of high school and skipping class.


www.myspace.com/theataris