A warm, Frost Week welcome

Canadian electropop band headlines raucous night at Fed Hal

After three albums and multiple collaborations, Canadian electropop trio Dragonette has spent the necessary time required to cultivate their craft. At the same time, they’ve managed to maintain the freshness that young audiences desire. 

Recently returning from Europe, the band is touring across North America with their latest album, Bodyparts. With a new year dawning on campus, Feds brought the energetic band, and their opening act Dirty Radio, to the university for the Frost Week festivities. 

It’s not often that UW hosts events like this, so I stopped by early to find out more about Frost Week. Dragonette fan Brittany Mongolas patiently waited close to the stage for the concert to begin. This being her second Frost Week event, she made it clear that the event has been a hit: “[Frost Week] has been really fun. I’m really excited to see the rest of the week.” 

VP Internal Alex Russell explained the decision to have Dragonette perform: “We polled the students and Dragonette was one of their big preferences, it fit within our budget for the week and we always want to bring things students want to see.” 

The high expectations of the crowd indicated that all were excited that Feds were able to bring Dragonette this week. 

Dirty Radio opened the show with their electrifying presence, quickly capturing the audience’s attention as each song drew more people closer to the stage. 

The energy of the crowd quickly rose and it became clear that Dirty Radio’s performance was nothing short of epic; expect big things from Dirty Radio in the future. 

After the show, I asked Dirty Radio how it felt performing before a Waterloo audience and drummer Zach Forbes quickly answered, “Spectacular. It was awesome!” 

For audience members wondering where the band gets their seemingly limitless amounts of energy, vocalist Farshad Edalat attributes it to “pixie sticks, Redbull, and sugar.”

Next, Dragonette took the stage, thrilling the audience with a set that combined their past albums with their current one. Vocalist Martina Sorbara’s quirky, captivating stage presence is also a definite crowd pleaser. She interacts with the audience — at one point recognizing an audience member from Twitter —  and makes it clear that the bond this band has with its fans is truly unique. 

This mirrors the spark that the trio has together onstage, with their music and their playful banter. I caught up with them before the show to find out more about what makes Dragonette so unique.