First You Get the Sugar Play 'Tight Tunes' at CMW Music Festival

You might think of 'The Simpsons' reference when you see Montreal-based First You Get the Sugar's name in print, but hearing them play live will change all that.

Last night at their CMW performance at Toronto's lively disco ball-adorned Painted Lady, many people got Sugar-coated. First You Get the Sugar's style defies easy description (so does their name, explained in our Weird Band Name at CMW feature). They blend bits of rock, pop, soul, funk and at least one kitchen sink. They're a jam band without the yuck factor, groovy but never ironically so.

"We all have pretty eclectic tastes," Mick Mendelsohn told Spinner.

"People bitch about being force-fed pop music on the radio, but the flip side to that is that anyone with an active interest in music has more exposure to a diverse array of sounds than ever before. Ask anyone what kind of music they like and nine times out of 10 they'll say 'everything.' We're no different; our goal has always been to distill all our influences into a coherent style."

And that style had Torontonians dancing in a bar on a Wednesday night. As far as accomplishments go, this is on par with cracking the Enigma code machine.

Weirdest Band Names at CMW Sadly, the band's set was a scant eight-songs long, which is fairly standard for CMW. Happily, they closed strong. 'Always Wrong,' featuring lead guitarist Alex Silver prominently on both guitar and vocals, was a heart- and show-stopper. While the band has no designated vocal frontman (Silver, Adam Kagan and Mick Mendelsohn all take turns), Silver brought some old-school rock star swagger (and serious skill) to the stage.

First You Get the Sugar might be representative of what the Montreal's scene's sound is or is becoming these days. In contrast to the aughties when the Dears, Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire and various other bands defined what Montreal sounded like, FYGTS are actively trying to explode that notion.

"There are so many brilliant musicians in [our] city, and great bands like Arcade Fire and Sam Roberts and Islands come from here, yet so many acts that have become synonymous with [Montreal] seem to take pride in sucking," said Mendelsohn. "The worse you are at playing, or singing, or writing, the more hipster cred you get. The whole hipster scene is like the Emperor with no clothes. We don't think this is indicative of what Montreal has to offer. It's tight tunes vs. tight pants."