Last night at the Green Auto outdoor stage, Francy Pants and Alexandria Maillot put on a very special show for the Sarcoma Cancer Foundation of Canada, both raising money and sharing their experiences. And if you missed the show or still want to support, you can do that at this link right here!

First up was Alexandria Maillot, playing their first show in quite some time. Their lovely voice joined by Daniel Baxter’s smooth guitar tones, Alexandria started with a couple familiar songs, “Make It Out” and “Pale” from their latest album Benevolence. From there, Maillot tested out some new songs, many written about their journey, which they also chatted about between songs, including dedications to their support group in the audience, and re-working old songs ideas that took on new meaning in “Back to Me”. Maillot finished off the set with another new one, “What is in a Mile”, excited to get the crowd singing along to wrap up the set.
It had (obviously) been quite a while since I’ve seen Alexandria play live, and it was great to see them back on stage.

Not long after that, it was time for Francey Pants, the moniker of Francis Hooper (currently one half of doohickey cubicle). First joined by Daniel Ruiz on percussion, he laid down some looped beats, and with soft vocals, launched into a very fun, animated performance that gave lounge singer vibes (in all the best ways).

Much like Alexandria, many of his songs were about his journey with sarcoma, including “Count On You” which was dedicated to his parents who were in the crowd, and “I Hate Change”, a song co-written with Maillot years ago, who also joined him to sing. Throughout the set Francis invited up a slew of friends, musicians, and co-writers for some groovy songs, including other half of doohickey cubicle, partner Alli Deleo with a synchronized dance number(!). The set grew to a close as the last few songs were more on the funky side, like “Wet My Plants”, and finished with what seemed like an actual encore, an impromptu final song.

The show was also my first time at the Green Auto outdoor stage (I had been inside, of course) and that was a really neat space. And on this night, it was very obviously filled not just with people there to see a show, but with a community; people who have supported both Alexandria and Francis not only as musicians, but through their journeys over the last few years.