The Go! Team
October 30 at the Phoenix

The Go! Team performed at the Phoenix with as much energy as a leg-humping Chihuahua. They also had about the same amount of appeal: they were cute, yet annoying. During their gig in Toronto, all six members amazingly achieved the feat of cheesily smiling for the whole one-hour show. They also didn’t stop jumping around like prepubescent teeny boppers at a Pussycat Dolls concert. The main offender was MC Ninja, whose dance moves looked like they were choreographed by a 12-year-old.

But all this corny behaviour, which was laid on even thicker by sticky sweet post-mod pop from their debut album “Thunder, Lightning, Strike,” was exactly what the fans were after. The sold-out crowd obediently cheered out “Go Team!” when they Brits told them to and they grooved to the TV-themed instrumentals that were accompanied on screen by montage footage.

It was like watching a game of musical chairs as the band members gaily swapped instruments after almost every song. Frontman Ian Parton went from the guitar, to the drums, to the harmonica. Silke Steidinger played the drums, guitar, keys and melodica. And Sam Dook made the rounds on the guitar, banjo and the drums. But for all their talent as musicians, there was something too rehearsed about them that made them seem unworthy of their “indie pop” title.

event words LIZZA GEBILAGIN