Hamilton's Young Rival played to a disappointingly small crowd last week, despite both their critical success and online popularity. Unspecific to this band, worry over declining audience attendance is something many Canadian musicians are currently expressing.
Online music sources such as MySpace, Podcasts and downloadable sessions, originally intended as marketing techniques, now seem to be the preferred form of intake for audiences.
The frustration over low attendance would perhaps be less extreme if it weren't for the difficulties that come with touring Canada.
"The major issue of touring Canada and being successful here is there are so many tiny little markets. It's a huge country and you spend so much time and money going from one place to another," D'Alesio said.
Other explanations for low audience attendance have been found in the Canadian confusion over our musical identity. Many Canadian bands have only found success after leaving the home market. Acts such as The Arcade Fire and Crystal Castles only gained audiences here after touring the UK and the States, yet mainstream Canadian radio play is still nearly impossible to come by.
Further perplexing the situation is the simple fact that Young Rival puts on an exceptional show, and their self-titled EP has been at the top of my own playlist for the past two weeks.