Dragonette ‘thrill’ audience at Starlight on Friday night

The crowd at the Starlight Lounge in Waterloo was perceptibly anxious on Friday night as they awaited Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette on stage.

Cheers erupted as singer Martina Sorbara, bassist Dan Kurtz and drummer Joel Stouffer appeared through the backdrop and delighted the crowd by opening with “I Get Around,” the intoxicatingly catchy hit from their 2007 debut album Galore.

The intimate atmosphere of the show can be accredited to pint-sized frontwoman Martina Sorbara, who charmed the audience with her playful rapport and self-deprecating humour, telling the crowd she had nearly been “fired from playing the guitar in this band” the previous week.

“I’m not lightning fingers McGee or whatever the fuck I’m supposed to be,” joked the singer before launching into “Fire In Your New Shoes” in a voice both girlish and raspy.

The energy in the Starlight Lounge only grew as the night went on and the crowd danced their way through a set of high-energy tracks from 2009’s Fixing To Thrill, plus other singles like the current chart-climber “Hello” featuring Martin Solveig.

The energy peaked when the band pounded out the title track “Fixing To Thrill,” as the audience jumped up and down to the beat like a single entity.

“Best, most fun show ever,” a breathless Sorbara crooned at the close of the song, just before leaving the stage.

The band reappeared moments later to play an encore consisting of “Volcano” and “Big Sunglasses.”

The numerous fans singing along to every song was a good indicator of the successes Dragonette have enjoyed over the past several years.

Notably, they garnered a 2008 Juno nomination for Best New Group, while Kurtz and Sorbara have collaborated with Cyndi Lauper for her album Bring Ya To the Brink in 2008.

Although it may not be able to compare in size to shows in their recent catalogue, such as Lollapalooza this past summer, the band members were obviously fond of the Starlight.

“We made a super effort to be here tonight because this was one of the best shows we played last year,” bassist Dan Kurtz told the crowd. “We’re talking about moving to KW.”

Doubtful, as the trio are currently living and recording in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.