Hotel Mira @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 02/29/20

Two weeks after the release of their latest album Perfectionism, Hotel Mira returned to the Biltmore to play a sold out, hometown show.

Backlit by a square of colour-shifting lights, the band kicked off with the album's lead track, the eponymous "Perfectionism", starting with a high energy and barely looking back from there. Especially singer Charlie Kerr, who hardly stood still throughout the show; the personification of a ball of electricity, as he moved around the stage, up on the sides, and even into the crowd at a couple points.

The set spanned from tracks off the brand new album -- which had the crowd singing along despite only being out a couple weeks -- to older songs like "Bully For You" harkening back to the former iteration of the band, as JPNSGRLS. Highlights included the infectious chorus on "The Eyes On You", the raucous harmonies on "Jungle", as well as "Better On Your Own", featuring bassist Mike Noble and guitarist Colton Lauro hitting the falsetto backups performed by Vancouver duo Harlequin Gold on the album.

As the graphically personal "Speaking Off the Record" drew to a big, dark-80s-synth finale, they capped off the main set with another huge singalong to an old favourite "Southern Comforting", before coming back for the obvious encore. Starting soft with the heartfelt "A Song for Daisy", they then exploded into "Oh My God" and finally, ended the night with their current (hit) single, "This Could Be It For Me".

Hotel Mira seems to have a rocket strapped to them over the last few months, and if the barely-room-to-move crowd inside the Biltmore was any indication, that's the last they've seen of the venue. And with the performance they put on, it's well deserved.

setlist
Perfectionism
You Know Best
Better On Your Own
Arcade Heart
Circulation
Bully for You
3am Lullaby
Ladies and Gentlemen
Son-in-law
The Eyes On You
Jungle
Speaking Off the Record
Southern Comforting
(encore)
A Song for Daisy
Oh My God
This Could Be It For Me