Library Voices, Taylor Knox, Tim Moxam - Horseshoe (Aug 28/14)

Changes are afoot in the Library. The personnel has some tweaks from years back and if you listen to the latest offering, For John EP, it would be tough to still tag them with their self-branded 'Pop as Fuck' label. They opened with a track from it, Anti-Matters of the Heart, and peppered the rest of the set with the majority of it including a heartfelt tribute to John Farrell before the new single in his memory. Even some of the down tempo cuts got the live treatment. Of course they are going to play the new music and it's not that it's completely out of place but it is a definite departure. I'm concerned because there are plenty of indie bands but far fewer groups that play indie pop as lustfully as this prairie group does. Naturally they still have the pop-ability and proved it on Haunt This House, Generation Handclap and Raymond Carver which got the people moving - plus a song that broke them to many which they thought they'd moved on from playing but did by special request, Step off the Map and Float. Notable that on old tunes the singer altered many of the lyrics to a spoken word format which seems to show his fatigue of them and comes across as phoning it in - we came to hear the songs as we know them (or reinterpreted) but not read to us. As a figurine of ET that matched the lead's t-shirt went around the room they faked us out by saying "this is a prairie song.. It's Prairie Girl by Rah Rah who we share a jam space with" before playing a song unknown to most (cover?). In encore they started to make up for it with Kundera on the Dance Floor and Traveller's Digest. Yet again they left beloved tunes like Drinking Games and 2012 on the shelf in favour of another song I did not recognize from any release, with a chorus of 'ain't no goddamn sonofa bitch.' This review may come across as a downer, written from a curmudgeon who hates change, when in fact it was a solid set from a great band that is worrying me with where they're heading.

Taylor Knox
Excellent musicianship from all three on stage, drum, bass and Knox on electric guitar but his lead vocals come across as quite flat and the same. It's a shame too because of the talent on stage that seems like it might be better served with a dose of charisma up front. The single Fire was a highlight with its mid-song breakdown that makes you wonder - why can't all their songs be like that?


Tim Moxam
A solo man plucking and strumming his single electric guitar and singing plus sparing harmonica, Tim was comfortable and confident on stage. With those guitar chops he has every right to be. After a few tunes he invited the Ivy, the young lady from Bruce Peninsula plus an armless partner (turns out they were behind her back under her denim jacket) who both provided mostly ooos and ahs. Even vocal solos on his original songs weren't words but seem like they could be if they put a little more into this project. For the cover of I'm on Fire their whoa and woo, plus his vocals made for a nice bare bones rendition. A 'shoe regular thought he sounded like the Righteous Brothers (all of them??) and I agree that he's got the guitar and a voice but we'll see if he can make an impression in the tough to make an impression world of solo singer-songwriters.

Arcade Fire - Amphitheatre (August 29/14)

Initially the costume idea struck as a brand making demands but upon reflection it could be seen as a band making an event out of their concert. Wouldn't it be more exciting if you planned for it and were surrounded by people looking their best, or in their best costume? In interview Win backed the latter reasoning and any attendee would have to admit that it worked. Sure there were more people in jeans and a tee than a suit or a banana suit but there was plenty to look at and even more to be excited about. For me it had been damn near a decade since the last show (Hillside July 2005), an awe-striking performance that still wells up joyous feelings, so I could hardly wait for it to begin. It was fitting that the band took part as a costume-head in the likeness of each band member marched out to start the show, breaking into the music and setting the crowd off only to be booted by the actual band who emerged in faux surprise and anger. Scripted yes, but still amusing.

With the real band on stage, a whole bunch of them, constantly moving about between instruments, they played a setlist that is damn close to what I would have crafted in a perfect world. This being the Reflektor tour this idea-heavy and danceable disc got its due with the obvious stellar Afterlife, while even Normal Person and Oh Orpheus were brought to life. That last track saw Regine out in the middle of the crowd to sing while three skeleton-suited people floated behind her. Slightly inexplicable it just added to the spectacle such as the being suited completely in chain-mail made of mirrors, in a cloud of fog, with spotlights beaming off as if lasers were being shot from this dancing light-emitter. Keeping with the reflecting theme there were a couple differing sets of mirrors that were lowered above the group depending on the song, but oddly not for the title-track of the latest album. Only a couple Neon Bible tracks made it, rightly so, if you include a top fun tune on the night, Keep the Car Running, (which was actually re-released after being on the debut self-titled.) In addition they also picked the best of The Suburbs - Ready to Start, The Suburbs - the best in my opinion as well as theirs apparently. To round out the set was the Regine-leading Sprawl II, hands-down my 'burbs fave, which didn't seem a natural show closer but I was pleasantly surprised to note the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the rest of the crowd to match my own.

All night they leant heavily on Funeral which is a tried and true strategy at this point - throwing Rebellion Lies, Tunnels and Haiti into the mix. However it was a safe bet that it would be included in the encore as well. Perhaps the only misstep of the night seemed to be upon re-emerging for the encore as they did something they've been doing at each stop - an ode to the city by covering someone local. First they referenced Hamilton's Teenage Head with a reprise of the costume-head joke, then for some reason a snippet of Shania Twain played before the band ended up playing Who Do You Love? as they reasoned it was made famous by Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. Maybe the song was just before our time, or that their version was unfamiliar but it fell a little flat. However when you follow it up the way they did it is easy to move on.

Nearly a year ago the half hour video was released in anticipation of the new album and since that point it was obvious that their live show was going to be a party. The primary reason for that is the tempo busting Here Comes the Nighttime which they played in all its glory - perhaps the crowning song of the night albeit not the last. No, they went back to Funeral for both Power Out and the natural nightcap - Wake Up (same as last time..). As if the song and the night aren't epic enough the Exhibition fireworks began to blow, as did the minds of everyone in attendance. A transcendental show that makes me wonder - what the hell have I been waiting a decade for?!

Openers - Constantines and Dan Deacon

1. Jurassic Park: End Credits 
   (John Williams song)
0. Rebellion (Lies) 
   (intro played by fake band)
1. Normal Person 
2. Rebellion (Lies) 
3. Joan of Arc 
4. Empty Room 
   (slowed down intro)
5. The Suburbs 
6. The Suburbs (Continued) 
7. Ready to Start 
8. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) 
9. Keep the Car Running 
10. Intervention 
11. We Exist 
    (w/ 'My Body Is a Cage' acapella intro)
12. Reflektor 
13. Haïti 
14. Afterlife 
15. It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus) 
    (Régine on B-stage)
16. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) 
    ('Damian Taylor Remix' intro)
17. Encore:
16. Picture My Face 
    (Teenage Head song) (Fake band on stage)
17. Who Do You Love? 
    (Bo Diddley cover)
18. Here Comes the Night Time 
19. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) 
20. Wake Up 

Hillside - Ought (Sunday July 27/14)

Their sound lumps them in with the alt bands that were just before my time, that I never really did get into, which maybe why I was surprised that they weren't the age of Pavement. Actually they were much, much younger than that despite the maturity of the music. Their singer gave his sing talk delivery some odd flair through actions and miming without looking like he was putting too much effort into it - not effortlessly per se, but lacking exertion. They sounded much like their stellar recorded debut, which is a huge compliment, opening appropriately enough with Today More Than Any Other Day. There's a high ceiling on this band hence why Pop Montreal must be so excited to present them. The only unfortunate part of the set was that the techs told them they only had 3 minutes left after playing a new Blue Sky song and rather than begin and play beyond that, finishing their intended set list, they admitted 'we don't have any songs less than 5 minutes' putting a damper on the end of the set more than the on again off again rain of the afternoon.

Young Drones by The Bicycles - Summerworks - Lower Ossington (Aug 16)

A rock opera with a big divide in the band as the black-haired and the bearded guitar players were drones while the female drummer led her marching synth and bass player soldiers. The music wasn't as catchy as some previous Bicycles work but more serious to match the mood of the play; although a ridiculous premise it was told with authenticity and urgency. Underneath it all the message was positive and clear, making it a worthwhile tale, and the projected displays although not completely innovative definitely furthered the storyline and added the extra dimension (even if it was only 2-D). As it was a concert of sorts I couldn't help but bop around in my seat on a couple tracks as almost all the members, including the drummer, took a turn at the mic. Perhaps not Tommy proportions but a worthwhile endeavor nonetheless!

Offspring, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Vandals - Echo Beach (Aug 7)

The Offspring

A celebration of the band's breakthrough success of Smash two decades on, they barreled out with a raised drum kit and the pretty guitarist also on a raised platform, while flanking Dexter was his bassist and Noodles. After an extended intro from their classic pre-recorded voice, which finished by dissing us all in the way only The Offspring can, they ripped into Nitro and didn't look back. The pit was set off and the sand flew from Echo Beach. A crowd that seemed all to have been young punks for that initial release two decades prior proved it with a lot of shouting along - who can resist Bad Habit's "Stupid Dumb Shit Goddamn Mothefucker?" The only pause came when they skipped over Self Esteem in the track listing only to tack it onto the end the album in this live rendition. After a very brief 'intermission' they were back with a swagger to lay down basically the greatest hits - both singles and a few beloved cuts: Gonna Go Far Kid, Pretty Fly, She's Got Issues, Head Around You. Consummate performers they haven't missed a beat from their polished but raw show that I last saw in the Americana or perhaps Splinter era. Forgoing an encore they just closed strong with one of their strongest in The Kids Aren't Alright. Quite possibly, nostalgia aside, as good now as then!

Pennywise
I remember in my punk days debating whether Pennywise could be my favourite band. There's not a song I don't like! That being said, the songs were short bursts of fast chords with the odd political leaning rant and coming on thirty years into their career I'm happy to report they are still doing the same. The set was underway with a good showing of punks and former punks by the time they launched into Fuck Authority and I launched myself into the pit. There I found Pennywise the clown skanking it up in the circle pit as the beloved underachievers did what they've been doing best all these years. Compared to the consummate professionals in Bad Religion to follow, these guys were playing up their drunken laziness while sticking with favourites such as Society and their eponymous single. There were enough tunes to keep me going through the elbows and sweat of the pit until their finale, the still smoldering Bro Hymn.

Bad Religion
Is that the announcer? Maybe the guy in black pants and black golf shirt is a professor who has come to impart a message? The latter theory turns out to be closer to the truth as the singer for Bad Religion is a professor and he wants to teach us how to continue in success on your chosen career path. PW do things a little different, as BR seemed to be fit and focused on playing technically well. Their political messages are also sung loud though the collection of music is a little more varied than some of their punk compadres. Besides Sorrow and a few other bigger tunes, plus a newer tune, Fuck You, I knew less than I expected to know but they still sounded great. Perhaps scared off by my friend being dropped on his head at the last BR show nearly a decade ago I stayed to the back and away from the pit but from there I could hear it sounding quite fine.

The Vandals

All these years on and these guys are still goofs. I can't even remember now if I caught them at a Warped Tour or anything - probably - but they don't seem to have grown up much. Fun-loving they seemed to be taking the piss for much of the set, playing quick songs all introduced as "by The Vandals." From the back it seemed a bit silly but there were those who had come early and seemed to be digging in the sand of Echo Beach, especially for songs even I recognized such as Oi to the World! and My Girlfriend's Dead, both By The Vandals. As a finale their bass player took over and lead a long sprawling cover with a lot of personality though I couldn't quite figure out what was going on and perhaps that was the point.