I can never decide what’s better: Purity Ring or free concerts. But on June 13th, with the glowing glass pyramid of City Hall as a backdrop, internationally renowned and Edmonton-bred synth-pop duo Purity Ring turned Churchill Square into a jubilant dance party on a cool and cloudy Saturday night – I got to experience both.
Consisting of Megan James and Corin Roddick, they hosted a free (not to mention rainy) concert this past weekend to promote their second album, Another Eternity, and let me tell you, it was everything I had hoped it to be.
I had originally first found out about Purity Ring through a post on AMBY, so initially I knew they had to be good. This duo is quite well known throughout the entertainment world, having graced the stages of Conan O’Brien’s and Seth Meyers’ talk shows. They are best described as a synth-pop band that captivates any audience they play to, urging all listeners to tap their feet and clap their hands to follow in unison with Megan’s voice and Corin’s beats. On Saturday night, they were all ours.
With a set that started around 10:30 and with the clouds hanging over the entire city, I was half-expecting the crowd to be scarce. But that wasn’t the case at all. Some might attribute the energy that surged through the square to the amount of Red Bull’s getting handed out, but I think everyone just wanted to see some great home-town talent grace the stage. And they did. The moment Megan and Corin stepped on stage, the whole audience transformed from a once very quiet and anxious crowd into a very animated and on-edge one. With rain starting to trickle down onto everyone, the first notes from their hit ‘obedear’ broadcasted itself into the crowd. Roddick, standing behind his instruments-consisting of a series of crystal-shaped lanterns- began to produce ethereal melodies and ghostly glows all night long. James, who always seems to please with her amazing vocals, could not contain her gratitude.
“You guys. I’m trying to laugh to keep myself from crying right now.” But no matter how many times she said it, you could clearly tell that Megan was already crying as she spoke.
People from all walks of life seem to find comfort in Purity Ring’s music. From soccer moms to hipsters, everyone was tapping their feet and singing along to whatever seemed to come from the stage. Megan and Corin have a really amazing on-stage presence, and it’s truly great to watch artists such as them enjoy their work. More often than not, artists don’t look like they enjoy being on-stage as much as they project, but everyone in attendance – no matter how far away from the stage they were – could tell that Purity Ring really are grateful of their success. I can’t wait to see where they end up in the years to come, but as for right now, I’m just proud of how far they’ve come.
Review by Alexandria Hay | @Alexhay18Alex