CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA
Winnipeg alternative rock band The Treble. On their Wherever You Got tour gave a stellar performance of both new and old songs at Rum Runners on Nov.18.

Canadian alternative rock band The Treble, made their second trip to London well worth the wait, as they performed an impressive set on Nov. 18 at Rum Runners.

The Winnipeg band hit the stage at midnight, singing a number of older tunes from their two previous independent EPs, and a few from their upcoming full length album, Modernaires (out early 2017), which is their first album signed with a label, Cadence Music Group.

The crowd, mostly made up of people in their 20s, bobbed their heads, clapped their hands to the beat of the songs and danced the night away.

The Treble, which consists of five members playing a variety of instruments including guitars, bass, drums and keyboard, all while singing in sync, were energetic and upbeat, even with a tight schedule.

The band played a number of songs including “Wherever You Go”, the first single off their upcoming album. The single, a dance inducing, feel good song incorporates a flare of both rock and pop infused together. This was one of a few songs that really got the crowd pumped.

Songs ranged about going through difficult times, to talking about one’s hometown and everything in between, all of which lead singer Mark Brusegard explained throughout the show as they took time to make a connection with the audience and thanked them multiples times for coming to check the show out.

While all the songs were catchy, “Boston”, an almost folk feel song, was played acoustically with Ryan MacDonald from the Honest Heart Collective. The rest of the band members stood on the edge of the stage and sang in sync with one another. This was one of the songs that allowed the men to step away from behind their instruments for the most part and showcase their vocalized and harmonized talent.

Before The Treble hit the stage, two other rock band, Old East and Northern Saints, opened the show. The former also had a bit of indie vibe to them.

Before the band hit the stage, the Interrobang spoke with Brusegard to give a rundown of what the band is all about, along with their upcoming album Modenaires.

“Our stuff is always kind of about just pushing yourself a little harder than you already do, taking chances, taking risks, travelling [and] enjoying yourself,” Brusegard said.

Brusegard said the process of the new album, which was produced by Rob Wells included “classic” songwriting, which is what the band really likes to do.

The last EP the band created was more so playing in bars and clubs, but this time, the band wanted to sound a little more upbeat and keep people moving, Brusegard said.

“It wasn’t so much changing it as bringing it back to where it all started a little bit, so it was fun to kind of do things the way we always really wanted to.” Brusegard said. “We didn’t feel like we were pushed in any specific direction, we just got to be ourselves a little bit. We took our time and everything that’s kind of happened since we put it together has been really cool.”

According to Brusegard, though the album took some time to fully come to life, since the recording process was lengthy and the band was determined to find a release partner, which they had never done before.

“It took a little bit of time to get to know everybody and share the music and shop it around, but we ended up falling into Cadence Music group who are now our label and they have been absolutely awesome since we figured it all out, so it was definitely worth the wait,” Brusegard said. “I think no matter where you are, you have to put forward the best songs and the best versions of them and the rest of it comes from there.”

Brusegard explained Modenaires is a full length album featuring “a very well rounded collection of stuff” and it wasn’t another EP simply because the band kept on coming up with more material they could use.

“We had enough songs that we were happy with, and we also have a lot of fans who have stuck with us along the way that [have] been waiting for a big chunk of music so we’re kind of happy to finally put that together,” Brusegard said.

Brusegard said though the band is fundamentally rock and believes that’s where “the heart of it is”, Modenaires’ first single “Wherever You Go” is a good example of the relationship between Wells and the band.

“[Wells] is more of a pop guy and we’re more of a rock band so it was kind of an interesting push-pull relationship we’ve had with him,” Brusegard explained.

Though it had been awhile since the band was back on the road, Brusegard was positive when speaking about the Wherever You Go tour.

“It definitely feels like we’re kind of at the start of a new journey, but it’s been fun. You’re travelling to a different city every night doing your favourite thing and packing up and doing it again,” he said with a laugh.

“Some shows are definitely quiet and some shows are full of people so you kind of never know what you’re going to get when you tour, especially when you haven’t done it in a little while. We always just go about it [as it] doesn’t matter if there’s five people in a room or five hundred. You play your music the way you like to play it and enjoy yourself and then you connect with people,” Brusegard said.