T-shirts emblazoned with "I luv to Boom Boom" were proudly sported by many members of the sold out crowd at Canoe Brewpub Sat. Feb.2. In case you were unable to attend, here's what it means to "Boom Boom."
The Boom Booms and are a high energy band of six guys from East Vancouver who write their own lyrics and music. In the span of five years, they have developed a huge following and taken their craft across Canada, the U.S.A. and Brazil. They competed in the 2011 Peak Performance Project, a prestigious B.C. contest for musicians and took second place. Their style is a combination of Ray LaMontagne meets happy vibes! Their lyrics are honest, and inspiring, and celebrate the beauty of humanity, love and their youth. Throughout the evening the crowd lent their enthusiastic voices to many of the songs they knew from a band that has appeared in Victoria on a handful of occasions and as part of the Ska Fest in the past.
Lead singer Aaron Ross looks like he could be the handsome son of Fidel Castro and yet his sultry voice is distinctly his own.
The Boom Booms signature guitar sound flows from the hands of it's youngest member Tom Van Deursen; he sounds like a skilled veteran player and throws down chords influenced by world music that scream get your dance on!
Drummer Richard Brinkman expertly contributed to the infectious rhythms.
Geordie Hart adds a flair of James Dean on bass. Percussionist Theo Vincent rallied the crowd to sing along to the Boom Booms classic, “You Know” and then to join in on some Motown influenced dance moves; something the crowd jumped at!
Sean Ross is Aaron’s brother and he spun a delightful sound on his Cavaquinho, a Portugese four string ukulele.
The guys also mingled with their crowd at intermission, so you ended up feeling like you were at a house party with these talented musicians and new friends. In spite of a huge stage presence, they follow the lead of solid blues bands, by giving each member an opportunity for a solo performance tucked inside of a song. Saturday’s crowd was treated to an almost three hour dance party.
They dedicated their song "Fire" to the efforts of the “Idle No More” movement and to people around the world working to protect the environment.
The encore saw Aaron introduce this mostly under 35 crowd to the old soul classic “Grandma’s Hands” and with his heartfelt rendition, he skillfully brought down the house .
If these dudes sold tickets so fans could join them on the road as they tour, no doubt there would be a long waiting list and some fans might never want to part company with this feel good dance band.
Last summer they raised $13,000.00 for a few of their favorite charities from a single concert. On my way out of Canoe, I spoke briefly with Tom and Aaron. Tom says "my favorite thing about The Boom Booms is how much of the world we've seen and how much of it we have left to see and I don't see that changing in a long time."
Aaron hopes his band of brothers will be able to continue touring Canada and the USA and keep breaking into both music markets.
This gang of troubadours is in the thick of bringing new lyrics and music together to be released on a CD for September 2013. Until then you can still get your Boom Boom on and check out their webpage to find out when they will be back in Victoria and to order their current CD "Hot Rum." www.theboombooms.com
Review by Teoni Spathelfer
arts@mondaymag.com