Inner City Elegance: Hot, Dangerous & Ready for Action

With the release of their debut EP earlier this year, Inner City Elegance have been taking over Calgary's music scene in a powerful and strictly energetic manner. Lead singer and guitarist Bruno Rodrigues, originally from Brazil, moved to Canada in 2007, later forming the band with bassist Justin Parsons and drummer Spencer Kathrens.

Like any other band, they've had to put in a lot of time and effort to get to where they are today. "In the beginning, we tried to play as many shows as we possibly could," they said. "From there on we worked hard to build our fan base and get the word out about our band."

After bursting onto the music scene in late 2008, the three of them had the opportunity to record and release their first disc.

"The album was produced and engineered by the wizard Casey Lewis," the band told us. Lewis operates Echo Base Studios in north Calgary and has worked with a substantial variety of artists. "We spent four days in the studio to record the five song EP," the band also said. "The whole time was spent twittering, cracking jokes, and upgrading our musical superpowers."

The Independently released cd includes title track Hot & Dangerous and fan favourite Jager Baby, as well as others. The EP finishes with a song called Can't Always.

"Can't Always was a big step for us," the guys said. "We feel it made us realize where we were headed as a band, and it gave us the inspiration to come up with our next batch of music." That being said, during live shows the band always plays a whole set list that includes songs that do not appear on their EP.

All ages fans gathered at Tubby Dog on 17th Ave. on Dec. 5 to hear them play, despite the blizzarding weather conditions. Beverages, fries and hot dogs were provided by the venue, and Christmas lights and retro decorations created a completely unique atmosphere. The bands performed in a small couch-lined area with old Loony Tunes cartoons playing in the background.

Opening the show was another local band called When We Were Dinosaurs. Unfortunately, those guys had other places to be after the show and couldn’t stick around. However, t-shirts and cds were available at the front of the venue while the band played.

Inner City Elegance took the “stage” to a small crowd of loyal fans, most of them knowing the lyrics and loudly singing them back at Rodrigues. An all ages show provided opportunity for a larger number of younger and more familiar concert goers to attend, regardless of the conditions outside.

The show was originally planned to take place on the 4th at The New Black Centre, but due to noise complaints the venue was shut down. Luckily, they’ve recently been reopened and the band has scheduled another show with them for Jan. 29. “We had a blast playing there and wish that Calgary had more venues like it,” the band said.

Given their crowd-pumping energy and loyal following, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Inner City Elegance is making their way up the popularity charts; the band has all kinds of hopes for the future. "We are planning a cross Canada tour in 2010, as well as working on getting everything in line to record a full length album," they said. "We are also working hard to arrange a tour in Brazil, which would be a trip of a lifetime."

Visit myspace.com/innercityelegance for more information on the band or to check out their music. But keep in mind that listening online is nothing compared to their live show, so make sure you get your tickets for next month's gig at The New Black. All photos by fourfourbeat.