Alvvays have been on my radar since the Two Hours Traffic
shakeup saw Alec O'Hanley leave to join Molly Rankin in this endeavor. Also on my radar,
though for a much shorter time period, was the Arts & Crafts photograph
installation for NXNE. The latter would prove interesting for what it was,
while the former turned out not to be worth the wait.
The gallery included B&W close-ups of members of nearly
all the current label’s roster, many of which blown up to larger-than-life
proportions. The Snowblink pic was particularly interesting as it showed half
of each members face, one in profile, the other half-covered by the first. In
the back room was a collage of candid (and not so-) photos that chronicled the
lifespan of Broken Social Scene, which in itself branches throughout much of
the other bands featured elsewhere. A neat glimpse into the down-to-earth
social lives of the artists whose art so many of us have come to idealize.
Back in the front room the band was behind schedule – a NXNE
no-no. The reason was a terrible soundcheck by a seemingly unpractised, or
perhaps just inept, sound technician and despite the delay there was a
noticeable buzz that persisted for the entire set. At first it seemed this was
what was bothering Alec as he dully played his guitar with a frown on his face and attempted to rearrange amps and mics between songs in a futile attempt to
clear the air. From what I’ve heard from - and about - Molly Rankin I was
expecting her vocals to save the day but was dismally disappointed. At no point
did she enunciate or even put anything that could be construed as emotion into
her performance. With uninterested members, monotone vocals and rather bland
songs there were not many redeeming qualities. The parade of hand-holding adults
who streamed by the Queen Street window provided the best distraction of the
set!
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