Here’s July Talk in concert in Ottawa

[Another report by Capitol Region photographer Ross MacDonald. – AC]

July Talk kicked off their Live At Last tour in Ottawa on Sunday 28 November. The Bronson Centre was packed with fans as the opening act took the stage. Warming up the crowd was Toronto’s Little Junior the quintessential warm-up act. They didn’t have the finesse of pentatonic licks, but they more than made up for it by hammering out power chords reminiscent of early Ramones. And it worked, the fans were pumped for July Talk to take the stage.

July Talk enjoys their live shows not just for the music, but also their visual relationship with the audience. Leah was dressed in a silver sequined gown topped with a tiara and Peter’s dancing around the stage with quirky body movements were like a throw-back to Ian Curtis.

With cutting guitar riffs, it is the contrasting vocals of Leah and Peter that define July Talk. Going between Leah’s soft vocals to Peter’s raspy singing, their unique offset style is unforgettable. July Talk played all their fans’ favourite hits including “Lola + Joseph,” “Beck + Call”, “Guns + Ammunition,” “Johnny + Mary,” and “Push + Pull” (do I detect a pattern?), and the crowd loved it all.

There is no wonder that July Talk sold out two shows in Ottawa, and many other dates on their tour.

Pro tip for fans of alt-rock music: get your tickets to their show before they are sold out!

July Talk:
Leah Fay – vocals, keyboards, guitar
Peter Dreimanis – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Ian Docherty – guitar
Josh Warburton – bass
Danny Miles – drums

Little Junior:
Rane Elliott-Armstrong – vocals, guitar
Zoe G. – guitar, backing vocals
Jackson Beyer – bass, backing vocals
Chai Elliott-Armstrong – drums