There isn't a shadow of a doubt that we don't take power and optimism to heart.

For almost all of Sunday afternoon, I had been outside being bombarded by the sun whilst at the Blue Jay's game, playing soccer, playing kickball and drinking (yes, a difficult effort, indeed). After all of the aforementioned, my legs were tired, my arms were sun-burnt and worst of all, my allergies were kicking up into high gear.

So let's think about this: if you had endured all of that "fun", would you really want to go to a show where you'd know that you'd have to be constantly jumping about? Well, the obvious answer is "Yes, of course! Why wouldn't I? I'm seeing Think About Life!"

The weekly music series, awesomely-known as Wavelength which happens at Sneaky Dee's every Sunday evening, showcased two out-of-town bands for its showcase: Mother (Vancouver) and Think About Life (Montreal). Mother are a West-Coast, high-pitched power-vocal band that came off like Dave Matthew's Band. Centre-stage is covered by lead vox/guitarist Ryan Guldemond, followed by strapping vox from Debra-Jean Creelman and Kenton Loewen. If you were to ask anyone, these three were definitely the stand-out's of the set. Both Loewen and Creelman had very distinct voices and propelled them very well. By the end of the set, Sneaky Dee's was almost-to-capacity - clearly a good sign for the final rock-out of the evening.

It was said that during sound check Think About Life were so loud they had to purposefully turn down their outputs. Hearing such fables lead to mouth-watering elation. The band set up with a calm pace and waited alongside the side-stage for M.C. Doc Pickles to address the masses and introduce the band. Sneaky Dee's was ready for a Montreal showdown. The band was introduced at the right time when everyone was ready to dance the floor off. A plethora of sounds clashed together as the disco-house trio were about to begin. Mother may have had five members to belt out their sound, but Think About Life had a smaller-than-normal sized drum kit, a beat machine, a keyboard, a mini keyboard, a sound sampler, a guitar, and vox vox vox!

The first notes roared through out the venue with many hands raised in the air awaiting the first rush of song. The beat kicked in and everyone began jumping and rustling about. You're pushed forward, you're thrown backwards, you're spun around until you can see straight, and furthermore, you're almost assured to be out of breath. When you actually have time to focus on the band instead of the rush of energy that prevents your feet from being planted, Think About Life's drummer is beyond fantastic. He many only use a snare, a small tom, a small kick-drum, a crash and a hi-hat, but with whatever energy he amasses, he frees it with full force TIMES 1000!

During the pushing, the jumping, the dancing & the roaring, the band (one member at a time, of course) would join the crowd in the sweaty brigade of on goers, high-fiving and hugging one-another. At a point, the ground became so slippery (partially from spilt water, but mostly from the masses) that people began to slip 'n fall from the relentless slam-dancing. As encouraged by the band and others, people who fell were given a helping hand back on their feet.

Near the end of the set, the applauses after every song became reduced and reduced. Yet, the room was still fairly packed. Why? Because everyone was so friggin' tired! Just a simple hand-clap and maybe a small "whoo!" would suffice, but that was it. By the end (of the 2nd encore...which doesn't really happen at Wavelength), I could squeeze my shirt and manage to get a fair amount of sweat out of it. Talk about a work-out!

So, yes: I was sore, I was drenched & my arms had been sun burnt and attacked by fellow slam-dancers (and you could imagine how painful that was). Yet after everything, I didn't care. In fact, I had felt remedied! My allergies weren't bothering me and I actually had MORE energy than before the show. Think About Life left a mark in Toronto after their stint for Over The Top Fest back in May. Hopefully, they won more people over last night with that vigorous powerhouse of a performance. If you like Ninja High School, Think About Life are right up your alley.

(Photo: Jen Osborne)