Bruce Peninsula, Jennifer Castle - Lower Ossington Theatre - Summerworks (Aug 11, 2011)

Whereas the last show was a reemergence for Bruce Peninsula, this was a refresh, since for the majority of the show the band played new music from their forthcoming October release. Only bookending the set with classic BP standards. Amongst the couple off the top was Steamroller before the nine piece got into new material that they likened to baking all night (put the ingredients together and hope something tasty comes out). Well the ingredients remain the same, four guys on guitar/slide guitar, bass, drums plus a choir of ladies creating glorious harmonies and occasionally contributing shakers, tambo and even banjo. In Your Light was upbeat in Bruce's typical fashion. As Long As I Live was drum heavy and it worked. Pull Me Under has been showcased live before (likely at The Rivoli), as had the shouting chorus to Say Yeah. A change of pace was provided by Or So I Dreamed (not Unforgiven for Metallica reasons as they explained) that opened with slide guitar and had only female vocals. Open Flames was different too as it was a slightly quieter 'power ballad'. The final new track featured a fantastic five piece female vocal harmony but I missed the title (S something). To polish up the set the old reliable Crabapples rocked the somewhat reserved L.O.T crowd, and the lead singer tried to change that up by rocking right into the crowd. Even the encore mixed in the recently released Salesman before the solid one-two punch of Second-Fourth World War into Satisfied. Leaning heavily on new material, and being in a less-than-party space the crowd energy was slightly lacking for the show but the band was into it and the preview of the album creates even more anticipation.

Jennifer Castle sat in her shiny shirt and quietly picked her electric guitar for a captive audience. Her dynamic voice has that country tinge, akin to $100 vocals, and they really were the saving grace to a somewhat monotonous set. They were ever-so-prominently featured when she did an entire song a cappella in the otherwise silent space - confidence! She did pick up the pace slightly to strum Powers too. She definitely has the voice to pull it off.

Common Grackle - Hillside Sunday 2011

Gregory Pepper seems to be a hugely creative man and Common Grackle is his latest output source. Joined by fellow Guelph musicians all decked out in white (tops and bottoms) they put on a very enjoyable set for a small but warmly welcoming Sunday night Lake stage tent. Mike Brooks played guitar and slide guitar while also providing some seriously solid backing vocals. With only the one album (I know of) of released material they obviously covered a lot of Great Depression territory including All the Pawns, Down with the Ship and At the Grindcore Show. A really fast rendition was a playful way to perform Safe Word Play. Gregory and co. are deserving of Much greater notoriety than they have and I truly hope that their work pays off so we can all continue to enjoy the fruits of their imaginations for years to come.

Shad - Hillside Sunday 2011

Another Shad review? This guy must follow him around or something. Yes, and for good reason. From now classic, Compromise, through to The Old Prince Still Lives At Home, Shad had the Sunday afternoon crowd in his pocket (if his pocket were a tent with picnic benches suitable for cheering on). Fleshed out band obviously still had DJ TLo and Adam on bass but also expanded with a drummer and guitarist (in addition to when Shad grabbed his). Once again Lisa Lobsinger accompanied on Rose Garden which is always a delight, and I'm still not sick of Rock to It or Good Name. Glad to see the banger Me, Myself and I is now a part of the live show too cuz it brings the energy. Far as I'm concerned Shad can play every Hillside (but keep him on the Island stage where he acknowledged he belongs.)

Fred Penner + Dan Mangan - Hillside Sunday 2011

Word was spreading across the festival - Dan Mangan was tuning up a guitar at Fred Penner's stage. With the RAA's final note still hanging in the air I snaked my way out of that crowd and straight to see this for myself. Sure enough upon arrival Dan was already on stage with the man that sang my generation many a tune while growing up. I'm not sure that he entered through a log or if there was a visit from Word Bird but otherwise this was Fred. He knew how to play to our hearts, realizing that he was a distant but vivid memory of childhood for us in the crowd. When they busted out Sandwiches, the song - not the foodstuff, I was euphoric. As Gord of The Crackling joined Fred on guitar someone on stage made reference to Shred Penner! Fred was pretty hip still too, smoothly tossing a cat-in-the-bucket K-Os lyric into The Cat Came Back/Hit the Road Cat!
Nobody gets a midday encore at Hillside, but that Lake stage was adamant, so not only did he play This Little Light but he even came back again for You Are My Sunshine. Amazing what happens when your boyhood and manhood idols come together! Brilliant!

Rural Alberta Advantage - Hillside Sunday

It was a live Rural Alberta Advantage Hillside show that first made me really love them. Back then, oh two years ago, the trio played their hearts out on the Lake Stage and simply drew everyone in. With a second album out and a much larger following they were now upgraded to the mainstage. Upgraded may be the wrong word though, as the intimacy is somewhat lost even from the front row. Amy was still lovely whether doing keys, bass pedals with her feet or bashing a drum and of course her backing vocals to offset those of Nils. Honestly there wasn't much to set this set apart however, perhaps as I'd seen them play a full headlining show recently. Paul still plays the drums with enthusiasm, and his mother was also front row with us this time to see his work. At the RAA workshop only Nils had been there but he had done a cool solo acoustic version of In The Summertime but this set list was pretty standard mix of Hometowns and Departing - Muscle Relaxant, Haunt this Place, Under the Knife, Tornado '87, and Two Lovers included. In closing was the first and rather successful single, Stamp. Good but not all that special.

Kevin Drew + The Beauties - Hillside Festival Sunday 2011

Kevin Drew and The Beauties hadn't done a helluva lot of prep for the gig after agreeing to let Kev play with them. Actually the first song was reversed as Kevin started on the drums before moving to lead vocals for Tommy Lee.  The consummate musicians sounded just great backing as Drew sang and were apparently the inspiration to pull off TBTF as a countrified version. The whole crew together had even written a special song that a few fellow female musicians had dubbed 'one for the boys.' Eventually my attention was drawn toward the swimming hole but it wasn't due to getting annoyed with Drew's lead man antics as has been known to happen for BSS. Drew backed by the Beauties was a successful meld.

Grimes - Hillside Sunday 2011 Pop Montreal

Grimes is a solo project consisting of a young female singing over some cool prerecorded tracks. Not to say that she only sang, as the entire time she was playing keys and twisting knobs. The music is actually quite good and I was pleasantly surprised and the crowd was obviously appreciative as well. Interestingly the slight lisp-like quality to her speaking voice was mostly but not completely lost in song, although that may in part be contributed to the double-wired reverb mic that she sang into. It was a relatively upbeat set - moreso than Pat Jordache before but less than Gobble Gobble after - and even included a touch of Depeche Mode's Tainted Love. True promise from this up and comer.

Pat Jordache - Hillside Sunday 2011 Pop Montreal

Pat Jordache had two drummers and two guitarists alongside his own bass playing. The music was decent but nothing too standout; unique in that he has a slightly odd singing voice that he doesn't seem to stray from. Considering there's only one song I know from him and he didn't even play it there was little for me to pick out of the opening Pop Montreal showcase set.

Braids - Hillside Sunday 2011

The Braids set this year was much like that of last year except much higher expectations. Native Speaker is one of my favourite albums of the year but the way they take the sounds and warp them into songs seems like it should be interesting but isn't. Mind you this was a workshop with Lost in the Trees, obvious professionals who were able to play along as if they wrote the music, but really didn't add anything to the set besides a fuller sound with their tuba, cello, violin and xylophone. Even the double drumset which is one of my fave live elements didn't really accentuate much for this type of music. Especially on the ethereal-even-for-Braids title track Native Speaker. With such love for the album it's hard for the live experience to live up, and despite a second chance it seems Braids don't really come close so I'll keep my headphones in.

Dan Mangan - Hillside Saturday 2011

Having just seen Dan Mangan's intimate secret show in Toronto nights earlier, and the workshop earlier in the day, seeing his mainstage set may not have been completely new but he's such a performer it was STILL something to look forward to (from the third row). Things of note were just how epicly long the yell following the interlude on Road Regrets was. Additionally without Veda Hille's accompaniment the backing band stepped in to sing the female parts of Indie Queens (as they did last year in Trinity St. Paul church). On new bombshell Post War Blues there was a sweet acoustic slow down before Gord Geordini stepped up to absolutely rock out on guitar. A treat was the specially requested Baskets done acoustically by Dan with only the double bass backing him. Due to another broken string there was an brief interlude before one more strong live showing of Some People. Also new was a song about Castle Rock, Oregon before closing with the staple (that isn't always played) in Robots. Dan even clamoured down into the crowd where I was fortunate enough to sing the lyrics along into the mic with him and a handful of others. Whew! Third helping, still worth it.

Sloan - Hillside Sunday 2011

Sloan have been kicking it for twenty years and are still pumping out music, not to mention live shows. They've certainly got a handful of really great tunes but at the end of a long, exhausting, yet amazing, Hillside festival I just didn't have it in me to stick around for the whole set to see which of these they would play. Instead I caught Coax Me, Everything You've Done Wrong and Who Taught You to Live Like That? from the back before bowing out. As I was so far back it was difficult to see exactly what was going on for any detailed review but the sound was still there, that's for sure.

The Sheepdogs (@Beerfest, Exhibition Bandshell, Aug 7)

The Sheepdogs quite successfully transformed Beerfest into Beardfest with a healthy dose of '70s rock and roll. Guitar solos ruled the afternoon as the most recent (and only independent) Rolling Stone cover band rocked the beer swillers much to our delight. That riff on Southern Dreaming brought us through the light rain off the top, and Right On did the same as it picked up. Somehow we were able to get by the biggest downpour with I Don't Get By. Tossing in back-pressed-to-back double guitars and the sweet midsong breakdown of Learn and Burn the crowd couldn't be bothered by the weather (besides there's always more beer). It was all worth it to shout along to I Don't Know as the sun burst through to create a sun shower. From the music to the weather, we had just about all the elements of a blissful Woodstock set.

The Trew (@Beerfest, Exhibition Bandshell, Aug 7)

The Trews were already in the swing of things before expected as I sauntered up, beer in hand naturally. The energy was high as they ran around the stage throwing down hits and rockin it out. It was pretty in your face as the sun was now shining and the guitars soaring. The keyboards were an especially nice touch at the ending of Paranoid Freak after the song's interlude. I hadn't realized just how many Trews tunes I knew - after Not Ready to Go (2003!) I thought they'd be out but this wasn't near true as they hit us with Tired of Waiting, So She's Leaving and even a singalong to Hope and Ruin. With tongue planted in cheek, they told us how they were once on the cover of The Pulse magazine in the Niagara region,referencing The Sheepdogs who'd warmed the stage for them. Good humour, sun, and most of all music, this was a perfect accompaniment to a festival celebrating the goodness of beer.

Owen Pallett and Beirut (Phoenix, Aug 4, 2011)

Owen Pallett is worth the price of admission alone. And alone is how he began the show - recreating a song he wrote alongside Beirut with just his vocals, violin and looping machine. The highlight of my entire night followed as still solo he did an impeccable version of Scandal at the Parkade that had my hair raised, along with the corners of my lips in a broad unceasing grin. I could have gone home happy.

Naturally this was nowhere near the end and Owen invited the recently somewhat-reunited Les Mouches to join him on drums and shaker for Midnight Directive. I was apprehensive about any accompaniment, as part of the magic is realizing that every sound heard has been produced by this one genius of a man, however the additional instrumentation really just filled out the sound (especially for the orchestral Heartland songs) without being overbearing. Even when shakers were swapped for guitar on subsequent A Man With No Ankles and the wonderful Lewis Takes Action I began to more fully accept them.


Having joked earlier about a night of dry banter and plenty of music, Owen gave us the story of how Tryst with Mephistopheles was the abridged version of a ninety minute opus (Dammit?) that really favored G-major. With the joyous trumpet provided mid song by the Beirut trumpeter subsiding into the ominous key ending, this live rendition definitely benefited from the fleshed out band. The new song that followed was actually very much drum driven, and impressive as such, with Owen touching only the keys and not his violin.

Once again Owen found himself alone on stage to perform the cover of Caribou's Odessa to the crowd's adoration. Sadly upon the band's return there was a looping machine malfunction meaning we got a tease of This is a Dream (or was it Many Lives?). Either way we didn't get to hear it and instead of fix the computer the band was again dismissed in favour of a loop-free rendition of He Poos Clouds. The crowd showed massive appreciation for Owen's first hometown show in some time, and despite the bittersweetness of the missed song, there was more than enough included to be happy about.


Beirut
Beirut, like Owen, craft pop music out of unconventionally pop instruments. The most notable here is the 120 button accordion and the mixture of brass from half of the six members. No guitars in sight, unless you count the bass, which was at times swapped for the stand up variety anyway. Admittedly I'm not overly familiar with their catalogue despite a bit of cramming in preparation but the music was obviously well done. And obviously appreciated by the crowd as well - I was surprised at just how enthusiastic they were. This may have been part of the reason their encore consisted of a full four songs, and understandably included Owen on violin (and one of three backing vocals) for the final two. Even if I came primarily for the Pallett spectacle this was a sweet bonus to go along with it!

Hooded Fang (Lower Ossington Theatre, Aug 5, 2011)

Arriving late, Hooded Fang were already lined up seven strong across the shallow Lower Ossington Theatre stage. The lead was donning his pink hat as they played a healthy dose of fresh Tosta Mista songs - Vacationation, Brahma among them. The backing female vocals were lovely, as per usual, and she held it down on xylophone too. On ESP they successfully recreated the fade out, though that is sort of weird to hear live. There was the odd older tune too, including Green River, Highway Steam and Love Song. They even played a brand new song (as in newer than last week's album) for approximately the fifth time ever according to the bass player, who really abuses any chance she gets to banter. A highlight of the night was the throwback sounding Den of Love, chock full of ooos and woahs. It was a fun little evening topped off with a short encore.

The Sheepdogs X2 - Hillside Saturday 2011

The Sheepdogs were in the midst of three fests in as many days, but weren't too busy to rock Hillside twice. First the four pups gathered on stools with a pair of acoustic and an electric guitar, plus some shaker percussion. Their throwback songs actually came across really well in this format, and it is important to note that Neil Young's Down By the River didn't feel out of place in the least. As I watched from amid the large, seated sun stage crowd I couldn't help but think 'I could be looking at the cover of the Rolling Stone.'
However it is their full-on rockin' sound, as showcased a few hours later in the Island Tent, that has gotten them to where they are. Unabashed '70s rock and roll delivered with confidence and every hint of sincerity. This resulted in a capacity crowd and once finally inside the place was wild with people grooving up and down the picnic benches. The incendiary solos only spurred them on, especially on Learn and Burn. Impressive and worthy of the cover story accolades.

Mother Mother - Hillside Saturday 2011

Few people at Hillside hadn't mentioned that they were going to see Mother Mother. This band has come a long way from playing the Island Tent a few summers ago and continue to use the harmonic pop around which they became known to wow audiences. So for this massive sea of main stage fans they put on a show (redeeming themselves in my eyes after a couple less than exceptional Olympic performances last year). The Stand is a standout from this year's Eureka and is indicative of the slight move toward galvanizing Ryan as the lead. It went over well, especially when Jasmin shouted through a megaphone for effect at the end. Speaking of Jasmin, she has settled in quite nicely and appears strong and confident on stage, showcased during their early tune Dirty Town which is super quick and features fantastic harmonies. Molly, sporting green tights, eye shadow and feather earrings, had a little something to do with this too. Body of Years morphed into The Pixies Gouge Away and back. Wrecking Ball was alright too and the sax was appreciated. Overall it was a fun return to form capped by O My Heart. Most fans have already been won over by the recordings and I can only see people more turned on by this performance.

Handsome Furs, Parlovr (@Horseshoe, August 2, 2011)

Handsome Furs have been making high energy synth and drum machine electro pop albums for some time and the live show buzz finally got me out to check it. Apparently it worked on a few others too as this second of back-to-back nights at the Horseshoe felt like another capacity crowd. Alexei, Dan's partner both on stage and in life, did not appear nervous despite speaking of her nerves as she held down the keys and drum machine, all the while shaking it in her sparkling dress (or sticking a leg high up in the air to perch on the other). Dan meanwhile belted out When I Get Back, Cheap Music and Legal Tender off the top - sometimes axing a mean guitar at the same time. The energy in the room was palpable and I was even stood directly beneath the air con. The two on stage were genuinely gracious to the crowd that was cheering incessantly after tunes and even swaying a bit during (saying something for a Toronto audience). On Repatriated Dan's guitar absolutely soared, while for Serve the People they swapped positions and instruments (though Alexei didn't pick up the guitar).
After a mighty roar they returned to encore All We Want, Baby, Is Everything and the final track of the night (that wasn't I'm Confused but woulda been nice) on which Dan worked the guitar strings with the mic. Fantastic. Something about the way these two work off each other, swapping meaningful looks, dancing, whatever it may be, gives them the energy to pour back into the crowd. Reputation deserved!


Parlovr
A double shot of Montreal on this evening at the 'Shoe as Parlovr took the stage to start things off. Before even
playing a note they had us build from a whisper to a scream semi-successfully. From the top they had a high energy level as their vocals came through literally loud and clear over a grumbling guitar, synths and a solid drum beat. As the set carried on some of the guitar growl was dumbed down but the energy carried through as the two long haired members up front swapped lead vocals between nearly every song. Behind their dismantled traffic lights they absolutely rocked out the latter half of a tune about a 'general high', with back and forth yelling, much to our delight. Saving minor hit Pen to the Paper for last, they had an enjoyable set capped with a highlight.

The Burning Hell, Tony Dekker, The Pining (Tranzac, July 29, 2011)

The Burning Hell
Mathias Kom was back with a decent sized Burning Hell composed of Toronto and St. John's (his new home) musicians, including three women holding down violin, sax and clarinet. All told the sound was rather full as they opened with the straightforward My Name is Mathias and kept it going with a number of new Flux Capacitor songs. During a song about pirates (Pirates) band introductions were made, giving ample opportunity to showcase each instrument with a solo.


A slightly sad, slower song about pets still showcased the quirky but amusing wit of Mathias' lyrics. Our moods rebounded with some more familiar songs such as the trumpeting Everybody Needs A Body and a faux-jazzy intro to Last Will and Testament.

Working toward climax they launched into The Things That People Make 1 and 2, with a hilarious In the Air Tonight intro. For the Dance, Dance, Dance finale they upped audience participation with an on-stage then in-crowd limbo contest below the bass neck.

We roared for more and they gave it to us in the form of a medley of sorts. Okay it was more like the first half of absolute fave It Happens in Florida with a drawn out singalong to the word Loooove each time it came around, meshed clumsily into Bretton Woods. What a celebration it seems to be whenever Mathias and friends play a show - now that he's moved base from Peterborough to St. John's the shows become more and more special.


Tony Dekker
Tony Dekker took to the stage without the Great Lake Swimmers. Instead he simply had his guitar in hand as he opened by plucking through a rendition of Moving Pictures, Silent Films. However being a large Tranzac room on a Friday night the place was a little chatty for the core of the set with either less recognizable or new GLS/T. Dekker tunes. He did play the wonderfully worded Your Rocky Spine and closed with an earlier Swimmers fave in Imaginary Bars.



The Pining
The Pining were a group of women playing country music. The vocals were sometimes unexpected but sounded solid even if I wasn't a huge fan of the genre. A small number of tracks were recognizable from Radio3 listening and the familiarity improved enjoyment.

Hollerado - Hillside Saturday 2011

Unlike the massively awkward 'we don't do acoustic' sun stage set earlier where they told jokes and played one song  (hilarious for me, a fan, but probably terrible for most everyone else who'd been watching $100) Hollerado were in their element as the closing Island stage band of Hillside Saturday night. This slot is now notorious for bringing the party year after year and there's nothing Hollerado like more than partying.

It began with fifty glowing beach balls hopping all around the already riled up tent from The Sheepdogs previous. As people danced all over those picnic benches they threw down all they had, getting a great reception especially on Juliette. A go-to in their bag of tricks is Petty's Rockin' in the Free World which they pulled out midset, inviting Harlan Pepper to join them for it. Who wasn't invited but felt inclined to go join, and was certainly welcomed, was Dan Mangan. In fact I had to prop him up in his hurry to the stage (Hillside moment!) to help out on vocals.

The band claimed that this was perhaps their favourite show ever and I believe it as it seemed right up their alley with confetti exploding throughout. The only odd moment was a perhaps misguided tribute to Amy Winehouse who had passed that day which came in the form of a call and response with the crowd of the chorus to Rehab. It didn't ruin the mood though. We poured it on in encouragement of an encore which was a silly choice but by this point nobody really cared and rocked along to The Bird is the Word. Hollerado may not be great at serious but they know how to create an incredible time.

Memphis - Hillside Saturday 2011

Torq the beloved frontman of Stars, Dead Child Stars and, as on this day, Memphis alongside Chris Dumont. In fact there was a full band contingent of six including them on hand for this show. Among them was a sax that played a prominent role in the set. On I Am The Photographer they were joined by a seventh in Gentleman Reg, similarly to the Hooded Fang/Memphis workshop of a couple hours previous. Before they even got into Memphis' undoubtably most upbeat song, Incredibly Drunk on Whiskey, Torq already had a mighty fine sweat worked up. As the song came to a close, in dramatic Torq fashion, he played an incredibly drunk person quite accurately in fact, even dropping the mic at the conclusion and walking of stage. Always a performer!

One Hundred Dollars - Hillside Saturday 2011

I try to keep an open mind when it comes to country. Folk is fine. I've even warmed up to Corb Lund. However I just can't break down the barrier between myself and One Hundred Dollars. Even during their acoustic sun stage set that simply had them on guitar (first three then two then only the lead female) it just didn't do anything for me. Based on her banter it seems that the songwriting is probably part of it but from the back I couldn't make anything of it and so despite another chance I am not yet won over.