Matthew Allan, October 11, 2012
Sound 4/5
Toronto’s FIRExFIRE are an extremely tight indie-rock band that owes a lot to post-millennium success stories likes The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. They cram numerous hooks into their well-written songs, and their Jimmy Gnecco-like vocalist never misses a note.
Performance 4/5
The band seemed unimpressed long-before they got into their set. They refused to interact much with their very appreciative audience, and only their rhythm section ever seemed to get into the songs. To their credit, their songs do beg to be played at an incredibly loud volume in stadiums – maybe then we could hear the keys.
Professionalism 2/5
Festivals like this are a true test of a band’s resolve – there’s no guarantee whether you will have two people or 200 people in the crowd, and no band is granted the proper time to set up. The challenge becomes remaining enthusiastic despite the difficulties and appearing like you’re having a blast regardless; here, FIRExFIRE failed.
Aesthetic 5/5
No one could ever say FIRExFIRE doesn’t look like a band – perfectly disheveled hair, denim and leather jackets, scarves, and horn-rimmed glasses were all on display. Add to that the endless looks of indifference and these guys may as well already be selling out much larger venues.
Authenticity 3/5
FIRExFIRE performed their songs so faultlessly that one could almost overlook the apathy of their onstage performance. Almost.
Overall 18/25