They may not have a big top tent, a flying trapeze or a lion whipped into submission, but with 11 musical instruments blaring frenzied yet harmonious ska reggae, the Idlers "circus" tour certainly lives up to its name.
The Newfoundland band plays the Ocean Port Hotel Saturday (June 5) on one stop of their Canada wide spring tour.
From their seaside hometown of St. John's, Idlers have been loading and unloading their green pickle-van to bring their foot-moving skank and polit-reggae-ska-rock to cities and towns from coast to coast and everywhere in between.
With anything from a seven-piece onslaught of sound to a squat and groovy 11, Idlers conscious sound has earned the group fantastic reviews for their 2007 release Corner and their latest release, Keep Out.
"The Idlers are super high energy, crazy fun and they'll make you wanna dance 'til your legs fall off," said show organizer Paul Hudson of squamishmusiclive.com.
Hudson first heard the band while in their hometown of St. John's. The music aficionado said he was pleasantly surprised by the band's style.
"I expected to go out on the town hearing Great Big Sea cover songs and ended up hearing more of a Toots & The Maytals sound," he said. "Discovering this part of Newfoundland culture was a major highlight of my trip to The Rock."
Having already organized the Squamish Equinox Rock Festival (SERF), Hudson said he was inspired to share the Idlers sound with the rest of Squamish.
"Given Squamish (and the Sea to Sky Corridor) has a large segment of the population who are fans of reggae-rock bands I thought it would be fun to share my East Coast experience in my own town here on the West Coast."
The Canadian cultural experience gets all the more eclectic with the opening act, Jamatonics, a group of Quebecois ex-pats whose original songs in english and French have earned praise, as well as the people's choice and press awards at the 2009 Pacifique en Chanson.
Hudson plans to continue bringing live musical acts to town on a monthly basis, and said it's up to the people of Squamish to determine whether high level talent hits local stages.
"The better attended local music events are, the more likely they will continue to grow," he said. "If you're feeling a bit tired when there's a good show in town and you're not sure you have the what it takes to go out for the night, remember it's you, the music fan, who really makes the show happen.
"So make the effort to head out the door. Once you are there, you'll be glad you made the effort."
Tickets to the Saturday, June 5 performance at the Ocean Port Hotel are $10 and are available in advance at the Trinity Romance Shop on Second Avenue and Random Gallery on Cleveland Avenue.
