Live Review: Morgan Bain, Simone & Girlfunkle, Nicky Sandover

Although the weather outside looked a little dreary, inside the Indi Bar was filled with people escaping the cold and getting ready to see up and coming singer-songwriter Morgan Bain and enjoy the launch of his new What You Believe EP.

Opening Scarborough-based singer-songwriter Nicky Sandover was a versatile talent, displaying some fantastic looped-based guitar playing alongside her percussionist sideman and well-crafted songs. While still a relatively new act, she won the crowd over with originals Energy and Friday as well as interesting bluesy takes on Britney Spears's Toxic and blues classic, Baby Please Don't Go.

Though the weather outside certainly hadn't improved, the bar was filled with a bit of sunshine in the form of seven-piece pop collective Simone & Girlfunkle. The beautiful, weaving melodies of  opener Heart Goes Pitter Patter and then Blown Into Wind were warmly received by the crowd. The group even had time to throw in a quick cover of The Go-Betweens standard, Streets Of Your Town, before finishing with their infectious single Secret.

Morgan Bain and his band walked on to a strong reception before quickly launching into the funked-up sounds of his new single In The Middle. After pleasing the receptive crowd with a Butler-esque wah solo on Sink Into The Ground, Bain ran through two unreleased songs, Get Away and Caught Red-Handed, with both fitting in well alongside the new material. Unkind saw some impressive high falsetto vocal chops from the singer and I Think I've Got You showed his talented harp playing as well as electric piano playing. Throughout the nearly 20-song set, Bain and the band were on fire, playing with an energy and confidence that will surely help him establish himself as a popular local talent with a bright future ahead.