Blank Cinema,
April 4 at the Cameo Café
By Curt Cherewayko

Forget the auto industry bailout. The worst kind of government interference is that which creeps into our social life. Case in point: Saturday night at the Cameo Café. Mount Pleasant’s newest venue played host to Mount Pleasant’s newest rock outfit, Blank Cinema. Fronted by singer/songwriter Jake Fox, Blank Cinema’s catchy pop-inflected brand of R’n’R promised to have the ardent crowd on its feet. Unfortunately, thanks to recent visits from their friendly neighbourhood liquor inspector, Cameo’s management was careful not to over-step the bounds of its restaurant permit. Most of the crowd was relegated to tables, restricted from shaking their tail feathers and hugging the stage as was urged by the music. Cameo also had to turn away a number of would-be attendees: a crowd that could have been 150-strong, was limited to 65. Alright, we get it.

Complaints about zoning and city by-laws aside, the crowd left the Cameo enthused. Blank Cinema was exceptionally tight in its first live show. The three-piece outfit’s 45-minute set was largely made up of songs from the band’s recently released debut album, Fickle Creatures. The album is almost entirely written and produced by Fox, an ex-pat of Toronto’s music scene.

Fox’s guitar led the band’s brisk stride, occasionally over-stepped by the bass guitar of Sarah Sangster. The bass-heavy tune, “Every Last One of You” led off the set and was the night’s only instrumental. The band’s inviting pop nuances contradicted some of Fox’s lyrics. “They’re building a neighbourhood around me” began with an incantation of the title. The repetition of the lyrics of the song’s intro simultaneously suggested claustrophobia and isolation. But the song soon took on a more optimistic mood when Fox advised the audience that he’s not entirely isolated, that: “they’re building a neighbourhood that starts with me.” Although Fox has limited vocal range, his voice reverberates well. His sometimes monotone declarations diffused perfectly over the hard-edged sounds of the band. The song “Glamorama” has a slightly circus-esque ring to it, with Fox urging: “come one, come all to the movie in my mind.”

On drums was Luke Kyd, who’s musical energy over the last 15 years was spent more behind turntables, as a house and dub deejay, than behind the drum kit. Nonetheless, Kyd had no problem navigating Blank Cinema’s complicated time changes. His reggae, Seattle grunge, and early punk influence were also evident. Equipped only with a guitar, Luke’s nephew Michael opened for Blank Cinema with a collection of folk songs that traversed the terrain of love letters and adolescent angst. Readers will recall Michael’s mother and Luke’s sister, local punk and metal mainstay Ani Kyd. She performed at The Main on April 2, exploring her bluesy and jazzy side with her latest backing band.

Blank Cinema’s “High Water” begins as a frolicking pursuit of some girl, whom Fox promises to find and put in a shoebox. The creeping, bouncing guitar is eventually joined by the band’s other instruments and finishes in a wall of sound, as many of Blank Cinema’s songs do. And so went the night. Keep an eye out for Blank Cinema – they’re just getting out there. Posted: Apr 17, 2009