David Bash returned to Toronto recently to close out this season of his traveling live music roadshow, the International Pop Overthrow musical festival. It was the last stop on a set of 10 dates that had him jetting from Liverpool and Copenhagen to Los Angeles and New York City. The Toronto dates offered four shows over three days featuring 20 local-ish acts, all playing at The Painted Lady live music venue. And Poprock Record was there to provide a snapshot of what you missed.

Things kicked off with a solo set from Dublin’s Barry O’Brien, leader of Slumberjet. So IPO Toronto was not all Canadian content. Fans of XTC and Pugwash won’t go wrong with O’Brien’s brand of melodic tunes. Then local boys The James Clark Institute featured a few tunes from their new album Under the Lampshade from a paired down version of the group. The results were more acoustic Mersey than the finished product but no less delightful. When The Nines took the stage it was like some joyous reunion concert. The audience seemed primed for every tune and if the band had been parted for some time you’d never know it. Another band that made the most of just having two members in attendance was Telejet. They cranked through a half dozen tracks from this year’s Spiritual Age record and the effect was magic. That album is a load of great tunes. Night #1 of IPO ended with an actual reunion of Halifax legends Cool Blue Halo. Chatting with the band’s former manager, the story he told me was so textbook: band on the brink of success breaks up. Still, this night they played tunes from their 1996 debut Kangaroo and you’d swear they were today’s latest new thing.

Day #2 of IPO Toronto opened with the inimitable Blair Packham. Man, can this guy weave a tale. His songs are hooky and touching and Packham can hold an audience in a spell like few performers can. “One Hit Wonder” is a brilliantly-staged story-song with a chorus that will have you singing along. Moving Clockwise, this band have been around for decades but their performance here seemed to distil their sound to its sixties British invasion roots. On record, I love the over-sized pop charm of “Lift a Finger” from their 2000 release Accidentally on Purpose. By contrast, Carmen Toth conjured up the no-nonsense, new wavey rock and roll bounce of early Pat Benatar or Chrissie Hynde. “Pretty Dresses” is a clever rumination balancing feminist critique with individual desire. But you could dip in anywhere on her recent LP Fix the World for equally good results. Hands down the rocking-est moment of IPO Toronto happened when The Wasagas took the stage. With matching t-shirts and guitars, the band blasted through a series of way-cool, seriously dance-able instrumental surf numbers. Windows fogged? Check. Day #3 was an afternoon, all-ages event. Standard Electric definitely offered up some family fun, complete with stickers and buttons. Don’t worry if you missed the party, you can hear on the band’s 2020 album Overnight Lows and Afternoon Highs.

David Bash operates with a big tent approach to the power pop genre, big enough to encompass jangle, roots, surf, singer-songwriter, art rock, retro and indie. If you were there at IPO Toronto you got to savor them all. But if you missed it, click on the hyperlinks above to get a taste of what was some great IPO action.