Birds of Chicago were already back to warm more hearts. Technically a Chicago band they have Canadian roots that brought them to Hillside. First though were the Open Hearts Society and their female vocalist plus a new guy on electric guitar. The lady bird was flashy in her orange dress and large hair while her male counterpart played an acoustic. As a throwback to their roots in the 90's alternative band they pulled out a countrified version of.. no not their hit Two Princes but another gem in Little Miss Can't Be Wrong. Fun thing to do in a workshop and a fun thing to see for nostalgia sake.
Deep Dark Woods/Wooden Sky workshop
Forest in the Sky was not only made for the fantastic mash-up title but also because the two bands paired quite well. Both the Deep Dark Woods (forest) and The Wooden Sky (sky) were hairy creatures who combined on a Willie Nelson tune, complete with banjo and a country feel despite the keys. I'd skipped DDW the previous night in favour of the Arkells and considering I didn't really recognize or get that into any of the songs, I stand by my decision.
Arkells/Bright Light Social Hour workshop
Since Deep Dark Woods weren't quite doing it and the Arkells had the night before I went over to give them another try. Again Aaron Goldstein (who they introduced as a member of City and Colour as well as the Cowboy Junkies) joined them and again they did the Dylan with The Band cover "because it was so much fun last night!" The vocalists swapped from verse to verse which kept it fresh. All together they performed a Neil Young song and then I Need Your Love, another cover and why not? It is a workshop after all.
Canailles
While indulging in a traditional Hillside swim (in the untraditionally low, algae-filled lake) I heard the French singing of Canailles, complete with banjo.
Esther Grey
Caught a minute with Esther Grey playing a Pink Floyd cover with a lady on the kit.
Jennifer Castle
There seems to be much musician-love for Jennifer Castle, but not being a musician I guess I don't get it. I gave her another shot after an overall disappointing last show however I found it to be much the same. Fairly typical solo, female, electric guitar set.
ALX
I've always held a spot for Allie Hughes, and I think that stems from the power of her Ronettes at Dwayne Gretzky shows, so I was excited to see what this rumoured electro outfit was all about. Similarly to Diamond Rings, ALX (a play on her first name, something like Malcolm X, I presume) seems to be her alter ego where the keys and synths can dominate (but her strong voice can still play a notable role). My only desire would be for Allie to give herself fully to the project as John O'Regan did to rave SXSW reviews upon his debut. She came out with long, dark hair extensions and was flanked by a couple of female players. Yet she appeared tentative off the top and it took more than a few songs before she seemed to settle in and the smile looked less forced. The sound was enjoyable, not too synthy, and even danceable once everyone (band and audience both) settled in. There's a market for this as evidenced by the not dissimilar Grimes, so I'm rooting for Allie, er ALX, to roll with this.
Dirty Mags
Somewhere Dirty Mags managed to snag PBR tallboys on the island for their set. They needed it to soothe their throats from the screaming and fuel themselves for all the rocking they were to do. Adding to the sound was a female keyboardist. No longer my favourite genre of music but not a bad showing regardless.
Adam Cohen, Bry Webb, Tony Dekker workshop
The spoken word stage has expanded to include anyone afternoon workshops as well. This one had some great songwriters and therefore some great potential, yet it was dominated by covers in fact. This was still enjoyable though. Adam Cohen, recently embracing his lineage, introduced himself in a self-deprecating, yet still smug, way and then played Marianne which resulted in a singalong. The ladies took over and played Rush's Spirit of Radio, complete with an accordion solo for a new take. Continuing to hand the baton, Bry Webb took over with his acoustic guitar for a tune before Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers) played a Guy Clark cover. Back onto Mr. Cohen Jr. he went for another inclusive cover tune by taking on Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U which had most everyone singing along (to the chorus, and almost no one, not even the performers, singing along to the verses).
The Jezabels
The Jezabels had some buzz and had trekked all the way from Sydney, having toured Canada a great deal more than most Aussie bands. A four piece with a female lead and keyboardist they had a decent crowd but didn't manage to win me over. In fact I slipped away..
Belle Star
To catch more of the fascinating Belle Star who I'd been introduced to the previous night via their workshop. More tap dance percussion or hoofing as they termed it, not to mention the fiddlers and electric guitar gave it an interesting and upbeat feel. Very cool.
Sandro Perri
A lot of buzz surrounded Sandro Perri's ambitious new album Impossible Spaces so it seemed worthwhile to check out firsthand. The setup was unique with a couple of bongos while there was also a drum set off to the side where the drummer played with two sticks in one hand and held a weird train whistle in the other. Sandro made some excellent selections from this release including , Double Suicide, Changes as well as the title track. Further adding to the interesting instrumentation was the playing of a triangle, not to dismiss Sandro's use of his electric guitar's whammy bar.
Zeus/Rich Aucoin workshop
Another tribute to The Band but not the Arkells this time around but Zeus with Rich Aucoin (an early adopter of the YOLO tank top). Somehow that wasn't the highlight cover of the set though. No, no. That distinction goes to Zeus' remix to the Remix to Ignition - hilarious yet fully awesome at the same time!
Adam Cohen
There are a couple stellar tracks from Adam Cohen's most recent release but unfortunately I only got to see him play Sweet Dominique and not What Other Guy. He still came on a little "strong" and had to move on.
Imaginary Cities
Finally a real set from a real band that hit the spot. Thank-you Imaginary Cities for fully righting my day and setting up a spectacular Hillside Saturday night! From their own very strong material from their Temporary Resident debut, Calm Before the Storm, Ride this Out, and Cherry Blossom Tree among them, to their beloved cover of Cake's Mexico. After breaking an acoustic guitar string on the bonus track, Marry the Sea, they apologized for "going all Bob Dylan on your ass" in swapping it out for an electric guitar. For the devoted fans in the small but engaged audience they previewed two new songs, Bells of .. something as well as Water Under the Bridge which was pretty neat. To bring it all home they absolutely took off with Hummingbird, making me a very happy festival goer. Even two broken strings couldn't derail this set!
Chad VanGaalen
It took some time to come around to recorded Chad VanGaalen but finally was able to appreciate some of his tunes and had heard nothing but raving that "you have to see this musical genius live". Now I'm not sure if who showed up was the guy that I needed to see live but despite my best efforts I could not get into it. The opening track was simply Chad with an electric guitar and one other male adding backing vocals - no sign of genius yet. Another three dudes joined him to fill out to a five piece, and they played some unfamiliar songs to me. One of which employed the harmonica and Chad sang into an effect/reverb mic but the result was completely underwhelming. Perhaps it was a downfall of high expectations, also indicated by the large crowd amassed around me that I had to push through to leave part way through the set. Chad backers call me what you will.
Bright Light Social Hour
Fortunate for me the other options actually exceeded expectations as Bright Light Social Hour were going back and forth all around the stage. With keys, wild hair and drum solos this band had the Lake Tent whipped into an absolute frenzy. The song I caught had multiple endings, as it persisted, only growing in greatness and crowd reaction as it continued. It was raucous and it was fun!
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