With hipster garage punks and psychobilly vixens already eating up a good portion of Toronto’s live music audience Thursday night, it was no surprise that Lee’s Palace was extra roomy for a bill stacked with Toronto regulars. It’s a shame, because in a city teeming with blog-hyped gigs, a bullshit-free rock show is a humbling experience.

After turning heads last year with his unofficial score (or "synch," as he calls it) to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Haligonian Rich Aucoin has to prove he’s more than a one-trick pony. He still soundtracks films clips, but now uses pieces in the public domain following some stern warnings from Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The cut-and-paste pastiche method he employed for new tracks plays like more of an afterthought than when he performs with the Grinch visuals, but the songs themselves are tight, catchy and filled with (figurative and literal) bells and whistles. As fun as Aucoin’s soundtracks are, his skills as a songwriter are slowly outpacing his need for visual aids.

Up next, and sticking out like sore thumbs, were Can-rock cast-offs The Waking Eyes. The Winnipeg quartet have come a long way since the heady garage rock days of 2004, pulling a Panic! At the Disco and morphing into a '70s-pop–inspired indie-rock band. Whatever merit their new songs might have though was obscured by an onstage air of self-importance punctuated by choreographed head bops and leg kicks. The Waking Eyes came off like Spinal Tap dropping “Jazz Odyssey” on a half-empty bar. The guy playing video game and movie themes on piano between sets was more engaging.

Finally The Golden Dogs hit the stage, ripping through three tracks off 2006’s Big Eye Little Eye to start the show. These Toronto locals have played a smattering of gigs around town over the past few months to try out new material. But that hasn’t stopped the band — particularly keyboardist Jessica Grassia-Azzolini — from playing like 10-year olds hopped up on pop-rocks and Coke. Her face was hidden under a thick mane of brown hair for most of the show as she bopped along with each new tune, stopping only briefly to throw her formidable background vocals into the mix.  

The half a dozen new tunes the Dogs dropped into their set show the band continuing to develop their propulsive power-pop sound. Some of the arrangements remain rough and there aren't any hints at an upcoming artistic breakthrough, but they’re strong enough to stand next to the band’s best work and were enthusiastically greeted by the crowd. After exhausting their catalogue and themselves, the band left the stage having reminded everyone how much you can do with a little heart and some great tunes.