Matt Mays and El Torpedo

photo Michael Thompkins

Matt Mays and El Torpedo
Friday November 25 at The Marquee Club
It’s impossible to play your A-game every night, as illustrated by Matt Mays and El Torpedo’s first of a two-evening home stand at The Marquee Club. Looking as though they had left pieces of their mojo across the country on their three Canadian tours since March, Mays and the boys from Dartmouth looked weary and lumbered through an exhaustive hour-long set. On the heels of The Novaks, who still had some energy cookin’, Mays led off with “Wicked Come Winter,” featuring lyrics which were telling of the band’s evident fatigue. Predictably, there was more of an emphasis on songs from the latest album, with some references to Mays’ first full-length, including “Where Am I Going?” and “City of Lakes.” The set concluded with crowd favourite “Cocaine Cowgirl” before launching into an encore topped off by the re-emergence of The Novaks, who joined the headliners for a collective version of their latest single, “On the Hood.” However, this show was in no way indicative of the band’s usual vigour and on-stage liveliness.