The Kills
A band who I really enjoyed one album of in the mid oughts, like a few other at this fest, I didn't know much about what to expect. Well it was a bit of a treat then to see the band being a male and female duo plus a contingency of back drummers (two male and two female) who all stood over their drum and beat it out. Even their movements were highly coordinated, not just for sound but for looks and style too. In the background was a leopard backdrop with changing colours to add to the effect. The female vocalists really pranced around the stage in her skinniest jeans like vixen with showy hair blowing in the fans, while her cohort was badass too, often playing guitar. Some of the tracks had some prerecorded sounds as well but it was mostly the coordinated drumming that held the attention. They rightly joined them for a bow after the especially powerful No Wow.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Kevin Drew, Austra, Darcys, Reuben/Dark - Field Trip Saturday 2014 (June 7)
The Darcys
Catching most of their set it was.. a lot like their set that I've come to know. The dapper lads (one all in white) were playing their solid rock songs, Pretty Girls included while giving and getting some real Toronto love. They mixed some electronic drum into their tunes too and played us out with a slower synthy number that bordered on prog rock.
Megan Bonnell
On an acoustic guitar with curly hair she was backed by the standard electric guitar, bass and drums, plus backup singer. She had an Irish singing accent which makes the uneducated (me) go straight to the Cranberries. Only catching a couple tunes it was decent and her final track was upbeat as she sang "you are the one!"
Reuben and the Dark
Probably pretty obvious by now but that Reuben sure does have a great voice and it was coming through clear - really good sound off this stage. Only able to stick around for four songs, plus the bonus Rolling Stone that had Reuben climbing up on the drum set as I was walking away.
Austra
I remember being heartily disappointed in being out of town for Austra's big show after the release of Feel It Break and now I would finally got to check her, and the band out. As it turns out I needn't have been so broken up as despite her obviously far ranging vocals the live show was not that explosive. Really unfortunate was that by the time I arrived the lady, all in red, was packing up her keyboard which is what I would have liked to have seen. They played the songs, key/synth/rumbling bass/female drummer but without a real wow factor, and over some pre-recorded vocals that were another letdown. She had a funny squat dance while decked out in sunglasses but her voice was really the redeeming factor, especially on the Lose It remix and strong Beat and the Pulse.
Catching most of their set it was.. a lot like their set that I've come to know. The dapper lads (one all in white) were playing their solid rock songs, Pretty Girls included while giving and getting some real Toronto love. They mixed some electronic drum into their tunes too and played us out with a slower synthy number that bordered on prog rock.
Megan Bonnell
On an acoustic guitar with curly hair she was backed by the standard electric guitar, bass and drums, plus backup singer. She had an Irish singing accent which makes the uneducated (me) go straight to the Cranberries. Only catching a couple tunes it was decent and her final track was upbeat as she sang "you are the one!"
Reuben and the Dark
Probably pretty obvious by now but that Reuben sure does have a great voice and it was coming through clear - really good sound off this stage. Only able to stick around for four songs, plus the bonus Rolling Stone that had Reuben climbing up on the drum set as I was walking away.
Austra
I remember being heartily disappointed in being out of town for Austra's big show after the release of Feel It Break and now I would finally got to check her, and the band out. As it turns out I needn't have been so broken up as despite her obviously far ranging vocals the live show was not that explosive. Really unfortunate was that by the time I arrived the lady, all in red, was packing up her keyboard which is what I would have liked to have seen. They played the songs, key/synth/rumbling bass/female drummer but without a real wow factor, and over some pre-recorded vocals that were another letdown. She had a funny squat dance while decked out in sunglasses but her voice was really the redeeming factor, especially on the Lose It remix and strong Beat and the Pulse.
Kevin Drew
His latest release, a first sans Broken Social Scene and not even with a 'BSS Presents..' label (but backed by 6 members including Spearin and others) had come out only days earlier but was an expectedly solid album. Here he got to showcase a good chunk of these new tunes to his friendly hometown audience. Ever the on-stage controlling master he made us get rid of the beach balls bopping around this welcome-to-summer festival - 'I don't dig beach balls' - and even voiced his discontent with a certain musical selection repeatedly made by the new local radio station (perhaps rightfully so, but still.) This was all during Body Butter and Good Sex. It really wasn't a huge surprise to anyone when Feist joined him halfway through his Zack Galifinakas featuring music video tune, You in Your Were. But once again when they lost their spot he made the whole band go back through the latter half of a song they'd just completed to get it right - "don't screw it up this time." He tried to roll with it, saying things like "messy" and "crazy" while smiling but was obviously not so impressed (especially with the techs sidestage). This was before the failed vocal loop where he decided to just keep going - "I'm getting beat up up here." This was before he ventured into the crowd for a ballad to Toronto. The outro to Mexican Aftershow Party really has a familiar feeling as he just keeps repeating it differently - not unlike It's All Gonna Break but without the massive crescendo. In the end he did some straight BSS with Fucked Up Kid which got cut off but at least it was done semi gracefully.
His latest release, a first sans Broken Social Scene and not even with a 'BSS Presents..' label (but backed by 6 members including Spearin and others) had come out only days earlier but was an expectedly solid album. Here he got to showcase a good chunk of these new tunes to his friendly hometown audience. Ever the on-stage controlling master he made us get rid of the beach balls bopping around this welcome-to-summer festival - 'I don't dig beach balls' - and even voiced his discontent with a certain musical selection repeatedly made by the new local radio station (perhaps rightfully so, but still.) This was all during Body Butter and Good Sex. It really wasn't a huge surprise to anyone when Feist joined him halfway through his Zack Galifinakas featuring music video tune, You in Your Were. But once again when they lost their spot he made the whole band go back through the latter half of a song they'd just completed to get it right - "don't screw it up this time." He tried to roll with it, saying things like "messy" and "crazy" while smiling but was obviously not so impressed (especially with the techs sidestage). This was before the failed vocal loop where he decided to just keep going - "I'm getting beat up up here." This was before he ventured into the crowd for a ballad to Toronto. The outro to Mexican Aftershow Party really has a familiar feeling as he just keeps repeating it differently - not unlike It's All Gonna Break but without the massive crescendo. In the end he did some straight BSS with Fucked Up Kid which got cut off but at least it was done semi gracefully.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Basement Revue - Adelaide Hall (Dec 19/2013)
Note that this is from December 2013 but the excellently written draft was accidentally deleted and the drive to rewrite significantly waned. Memory may be a little fuzzy.
The big Basement Revue for this year fell short and it is hard to say exactly why though in all likelihood it was a combination. Firstly there were the expectations based on last year's Great Hall gig (Feist, Hayden, Snowblink, Aroara) which curator Jason Collett mentioned during his intro but seemed confident he would match. Then there was the change of venue which couldn't have been helped due to fire code capacity reduction at the original Great Hall but my first experience of Adelaide Hall left a lot to be desired. Firstly they force you to enter upstairs and then (since it's sold out and only the rail row can see from above) wind your way down a staircase plopping you literally backstage then up past a narrow avenue by the bar only to be stuck peering around poles or speakers. Speaking of the bar - no draft and just mediocre can selection!
The big Basement Revue for this year fell short and it is hard to say exactly why though in all likelihood it was a combination. Firstly there were the expectations based on last year's Great Hall gig (Feist, Hayden, Snowblink, Aroara) which curator Jason Collett mentioned during his intro but seemed confident he would match. Then there was the change of venue which couldn't have been helped due to fire code capacity reduction at the original Great Hall but my first experience of Adelaide Hall left a lot to be desired. Firstly they force you to enter upstairs and then (since it's sold out and only the rail row can see from above) wind your way down a staircase plopping you literally backstage then up past a narrow avenue by the bar only to be stuck peering around poles or speakers. Speaking of the bar - no draft and just mediocre can selection!
Back to the show though - after Collett's introductory tune it started well enough with two beloved Toronto acts sharing the stage. Margaret Atwood read while the Sadies strummed their instruments in the background. Her stories were rather interesting, especially the one where a bear gave up his name 'bear' and everything went backwards, unraveling as it went.
Up next was Rae Spoon who I really do enjoy. It was a solo performance which meant it was a bit sparse, especially for the large crowd packed in with high expectations but an artist I've enjoyed for a long time so it was great to get a chance to witness the performance live. Love is a Hunter was a notable tune.
Tabitha, a poet of sorts with iconic hair, then came on and told a few stories including an interesting one about how a limp.
Following this was a performance by the Guerilla Girls that is difficult to pin down. Essentially it was women with gorilla heads on dancing around with a distinct feminist feel from the words and video being shown. At first I thought it was a wardrobe malfunction that had them naked but by the end they were naked of their own accord. Odd but pushing the envelope.
Lowell was an artist I'd never heard of before but was introduced as a new addition to the Arts and Crafts label which carries some clout. Fronting a couple guys primarily making the music it the made slightly electo-pop which was catchy and sounded really good immediately as she sang and performed, giving hints of early Grimes.
Aroara were next in line which was a bit of a rehash of last year however if last year was their coming out show, after mild success all year this should have been a celebration. Unfortunately they were paired with a feminist poet who did spoken word. There was some underlying project I no longer remember but essentially this lady droned on for a terribly long time and even Aroara couldn't prop it up. Mind you Ariel and Andrew seemed to be very into it but I definitely wasn't.
To cap the night off should have been a hugely fun party with all that pent up energy from frankly a low-key event to this point and perhaps that was why Light Fires did receive a big response. A big response considering Gentlelady Regina is a standard in the Toronto scene, playing fairly regularly and hence not exactly being a huge cameo surprise. She can really strut it in those heels and belted it out while doing it which was entertaining no doubt but still somewhat underwhelming for what should have been a climax of an overall dull evening.
Up next was Rae Spoon who I really do enjoy. It was a solo performance which meant it was a bit sparse, especially for the large crowd packed in with high expectations but an artist I've enjoyed for a long time so it was great to get a chance to witness the performance live. Love is a Hunter was a notable tune.
Tabitha, a poet of sorts with iconic hair, then came on and told a few stories including an interesting one about how a limp.
Following this was a performance by the Guerilla Girls that is difficult to pin down. Essentially it was women with gorilla heads on dancing around with a distinct feminist feel from the words and video being shown. At first I thought it was a wardrobe malfunction that had them naked but by the end they were naked of their own accord. Odd but pushing the envelope.
Lowell was an artist I'd never heard of before but was introduced as a new addition to the Arts and Crafts label which carries some clout. Fronting a couple guys primarily making the music it the made slightly electo-pop which was catchy and sounded really good immediately as she sang and performed, giving hints of early Grimes.
Aroara were next in line which was a bit of a rehash of last year however if last year was their coming out show, after mild success all year this should have been a celebration. Unfortunately they were paired with a feminist poet who did spoken word. There was some underlying project I no longer remember but essentially this lady droned on for a terribly long time and even Aroara couldn't prop it up. Mind you Ariel and Andrew seemed to be very into it but I definitely wasn't.
To cap the night off should have been a hugely fun party with all that pent up energy from frankly a low-key event to this point and perhaps that was why Light Fires did receive a big response. A big response considering Gentlelady Regina is a standard in the Toronto scene, playing fairly regularly and hence not exactly being a huge cameo surprise. She can really strut it in those heels and belted it out while doing it which was entertaining no doubt but still somewhat underwhelming for what should have been a climax of an overall dull evening.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Hey Rosetta/Royal Canoe workshop - Hillside Sunday (July 27/14)
There's a possibility for greatness with every workshop. Putting two or three competent groups of musicians together to see what happens has the potential for greatness, yet often falls flat without cultivation. This set did have a great deal of thought put into it as apparently Hey Rosetta and Royal Canoe had burned up each other's inboxes as they narrowed down what they would do. Twitter had tipped it off but off the top of the set it seemed like the tweet had been a ruse since they were going back and forth, just assisting on the other's tunes like a pretty standard workshop. Then it began, as they all took their places and broke into it - Abbey Road,side B. It may not have been note for note, and wasn't mean to be, but had obviously been rehearsed. As it went on, without stopping, the swelling of good vibes grew. Somehow people were still seated partway through until finally a few in the crowd couldn't bear it anymore and jumped up - everyone else followed. It was rousing and uplifting and by the time it wound to a close there were grins on faces all around. The frontmen, Tim Baker and Matt Peters, realizing there were still a few minutes left after they had finished and walked off to thunderous applause, hopped back up. I was hoping for the beloved Hey Rosetta Graceland cover but instead it was another short, silly cover that almost would have been better skipped as Abbey Road was tough to beat.
Alvvays, Hydra - Hillside Fri (July 25/14)
Alvvays
In the time since I last saw this band, when the first hints of buzz were beginning, that buzz has grown to a roaring chainsaw! As you can tell I was less than enthused by the first listen to their gazy music but having heard the recordings now, and curious to see if I'd just missed something, I joined the throng of others who had heard the praise too. It was a definite improvement as Molly had more of a stage presence and Alec didn't appear quite as bummed but at the risk of sounding like a hipster I still don't know that all the hype is warranted. They saved Archie, Marry Me, the first single, for the end because people were already paying attention.
Hydra
That first showing in the Great Hall seemed like such a treat to have the vocal prowess of three terribly talented females singing together in harmony. It definitely seemed as if they had hit on greatness. Now a year and a half later the group has solidified, employing both Aroara and Snowblink's male counterparts in music and life, (plus Charles Spearin and Dan Kerr (drums) for this show) and beginning to play a little more regularly. In the two sets this summer however it has felt as if the magic was stretched a little too thin over a full set and I found myself cherry picking certain songs over others. I have found Snowblink rather mundane live and the same rings true even with Feist singing backups. Speaking of, the Feist songs (Bad in Each Other, How Come You Never Go There) are enjoyable but there is a great deal of her catalog that could be put to better use given this firepower. The Aroara songs however spring to life, which may be my bias as I prefer them performed by Aroara too over the others. Maybe it just boils down to expectations because the Antony and the Johnsons cover also wasn't anything special however what they did after the set was. Hillside is usually quite punctual and therefore does not allow encores, yet somehow most of the people were already out of the tent when they came back out for a raucous, short rendition of Immigrant Song that was nothing like anything in the actual set (and I don't just mean great).
In the time since I last saw this band, when the first hints of buzz were beginning, that buzz has grown to a roaring chainsaw! As you can tell I was less than enthused by the first listen to their gazy music but having heard the recordings now, and curious to see if I'd just missed something, I joined the throng of others who had heard the praise too. It was a definite improvement as Molly had more of a stage presence and Alec didn't appear quite as bummed but at the risk of sounding like a hipster I still don't know that all the hype is warranted. They saved Archie, Marry Me, the first single, for the end because people were already paying attention.
Hydra
That first showing in the Great Hall seemed like such a treat to have the vocal prowess of three terribly talented females singing together in harmony. It definitely seemed as if they had hit on greatness. Now a year and a half later the group has solidified, employing both Aroara and Snowblink's male counterparts in music and life, (plus Charles Spearin and Dan Kerr (drums) for this show) and beginning to play a little more regularly. In the two sets this summer however it has felt as if the magic was stretched a little too thin over a full set and I found myself cherry picking certain songs over others. I have found Snowblink rather mundane live and the same rings true even with Feist singing backups. Speaking of, the Feist songs (Bad in Each Other, How Come You Never Go There) are enjoyable but there is a great deal of her catalog that could be put to better use given this firepower. The Aroara songs however spring to life, which may be my bias as I prefer them performed by Aroara too over the others. Maybe it just boils down to expectations because the Antony and the Johnsons cover also wasn't anything special however what they did after the set was. Hillside is usually quite punctual and therefore does not allow encores, yet somehow most of the people were already out of the tent when they came back out for a raucous, short rendition of Immigrant Song that was nothing like anything in the actual set (and I don't just mean great).
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Cure - Riot Fest Toronto (Sep 6)
The Cure were the headliners on Saturday night which made sense to a degree, considering how many "throwback" bands were playing. I've never personally taken much notice but so many bands made mention of this set that I figured the least I could do was stick around and check it out. The five of them - electric guitar, bass, keys, drum plus Robert Smith on guitar - are still hard hitting and have some fine guitar work. Much of the set was lost on me, especially from the back, but I did recognize and enjoy Just Like Heaven and Love Song, of course. I was waiting for Friday I'm In Love however they had nearly a 2 hour timeslot and they just couldn't maintain my attention for that long and I split an hour in.
Death From Above 1979 - Riot Fest (Sep 6)
Sure I'd just seen them with only 200 hardcore fans a few nights prior but that didn't mean I was going to miss another chance to check out their show. After all they disbanded for nearly a decade so you gotta take it when you still can! The stage set-up, the clothes and the band (yep, still no guitarist) was all very similar but the setting was thousands of extremely excited fans as dusk fell on the first afternoon of Riot Fest Toronto. Once more they opened with a 'classic', Turn It Out, from their only album released to that point, as Physical World, from which they would pull much of the rest of the list wouldn't drop until Tuesday. Again they followed up with Frankenstein and Virgins but from their things diverged from the previous show to some degree with different Woman/Machine tossed in (including You're a Woman, I'm a Machine) and playing every single new cut. This included Gemini which Sebastien dedicated to his wife for their anniversary, saying "this is very un-rock and roll", which it really was. Besides that the set did rock, adding Go Home, Get Down (but not Black History Month or Pull Out). The crowd felt like they'd been waiting for this show for years, rightly so, and were giving it their all up front - Romantic Rights dropped right as someone yelled for it and the sea of people soared with it. The backing tracks triggered by the electronic drumset were a little more pronounced as Sebastian messed around with them a bit. Once again the set closer was the title track and album closer, Physical World, and it fits really well with that final burst at the end to lay it all out. Right On.
Reuben and the Dark - TIFF (Sep 5)
Oddly the security wouldn't let us off the street and into the parking lot while they sound checked for a half hour after they should have been playing. Finally the couple dozen of us entered and as they began playing more were drawn in from the TIFF walking street. The band sounded good, booming their drums with cotton ball tipped sticks, under their conventional indie band instruments. Reuben strummed an acoustic guitar for much of the set but also utilized his strong voice without instrumentation in more than a few cases. They were all mic'ed, including the lone female who also played guitar. Nearing the end of the short set they broke out a couple of the more bombastic tracks and really got things going, swapping in a banjo on Rolling Stone but unfortunately, as they were already running behind, this set that the band came from Calgary to play was limited to well under a half hour.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Tegan and Sara - Hillside Friday (July 25/14)
Tegan and Sara were headlining the main stage Friday night. I was excited to see them for the first time live, especially following the release of their recent album. Thing was I had seen them before and just didn't remember which doesn't bode well. I was expecting a polished show due to the last release but things were so squeaky there wasn't much room for anything interesting. Yes, they broke out their guitars and they sang some older songs and they chatted with the crowd to show their personality, but were still missing.. je ne sais quoi. Speaking of speaking, the flow was drastically interrupted as Sara meandered on and on about her camping experience, to the point where we thought surely it was a joke. Tegan even jumped in to try and get the derailment back on track but Sara persisted and in the end all she ended up doing was insulting the majority of attendees as her point, best as I could interpret, was that she no longer likes to camp. Later she coerced Tegan into reading the lyrics, kindly written out by a fan, of a song that she had written in high school that she was clearly embarrassed of and had no desire to sing. This also broke up the flow. Overall they sounded fine and they covered a good selection of songs both very new and very old but never really broke across.
Back in Your Head
The Con
Walking with a Ghost
Now I'm All Messed Up
Call It Off
How Come You Don't Want Me
My Love Opened The Door (Pete Townshend cover)
Closer (Finale)
Monday, September 15, 2014
Rich Aucoin, Maylee Todd - TIFF (Sep 4)
Maylee Todd
Sure I may have originally lined up for the double whammy of Hollerado and Born Ruffians but the 600 nineteen-year-olds and the pop bottle it was to be played in put me off, not to mention I was sorta leaning Rich anyhow. Maylee Todd was partway through her set by the time the third TIFF volunteer finally knew what we were talking about "music? This is a film festival." With her still-shaved head she did her best as a hype woman to the smattering of people involved, even having people dance an imaginary red carpet. The tunes were similar to her Field Trip set though the emphasis seemed to be on the good times rather than the music.
Rich Aucoin
Rich's shows have always been that way (good times over music), though his last album, We're All Dying to Live (2011, really?) proved that doesn't need to be the case. With the competent crew on stage, his brother on bass, Taylor Knox in his 43rd group on drums, and the Rubblebucket-shirt on synths and keys you would expect no less. Fighting the technics he just kept motoring in intro and having us scream Maylee Todd's name in appreciation until he got his audio to play with his video. From there we experienced his signature multimedia experience. Despite the release of Ephemeral, live standards such as Four More Years, Are You Experiencing and more, persist and rightly so. He did finagle most of the crowd, and even some passerbyers to join our tight knit circle for some cheers, some high fives and yelling into the mic. On one tune we formed a circle around him while he went around and made people's day with individual attention before we all raced to the center of the circle to pogo and yell the pre-taught chorus as loud as we could. A new and possibly unscripted element was when a swarm of dudes dressed in white and wearing bowler caps jumped over the stage barrier and began moshing around with each other and Rich himself who either invited them or was a great sport about it. Of course, the will-he or won't-he question is always about the parachute and sure enough he brought it. A huge one! Surely this has grown in recent years (maybe he's been quilting) and fit everyone who wanted to be under it, including Maylee Todd (the yelling must have worked) and her entire dance crew, plus - who is that dude across the chute? - none other than Mr. Jason Collett. As a friend said, "I don't go to church but a Rich Aucoin show always raises my spirits as if it's my religion." Amen.
Sure I may have originally lined up for the double whammy of Hollerado and Born Ruffians but the 600 nineteen-year-olds and the pop bottle it was to be played in put me off, not to mention I was sorta leaning Rich anyhow. Maylee Todd was partway through her set by the time the third TIFF volunteer finally knew what we were talking about "music? This is a film festival." With her still-shaved head she did her best as a hype woman to the smattering of people involved, even having people dance an imaginary red carpet. The tunes were similar to her Field Trip set though the emphasis seemed to be on the good times rather than the music.
Rich Aucoin
Rich's shows have always been that way (good times over music), though his last album, We're All Dying to Live (2011, really?) proved that doesn't need to be the case. With the competent crew on stage, his brother on bass, Taylor Knox in his 43rd group on drums, and the Rubblebucket-shirt on synths and keys you would expect no less. Fighting the technics he just kept motoring in intro and having us scream Maylee Todd's name in appreciation until he got his audio to play with his video. From there we experienced his signature multimedia experience. Despite the release of Ephemeral, live standards such as Four More Years, Are You Experiencing and more, persist and rightly so. He did finagle most of the crowd, and even some passerbyers to join our tight knit circle for some cheers, some high fives and yelling into the mic. On one tune we formed a circle around him while he went around and made people's day with individual attention before we all raced to the center of the circle to pogo and yell the pre-taught chorus as loud as we could. A new and possibly unscripted element was when a swarm of dudes dressed in white and wearing bowler caps jumped over the stage barrier and began moshing around with each other and Rich himself who either invited them or was a great sport about it. Of course, the will-he or won't-he question is always about the parachute and sure enough he brought it. A huge one! Surely this has grown in recent years (maybe he's been quilting) and fit everyone who wanted to be under it, including Maylee Todd (the yelling must have worked) and her entire dance crew, plus - who is that dude across the chute? - none other than Mr. Jason Collett. As a friend said, "I don't go to church but a Rich Aucoin show always raises my spirits as if it's my religion." Amen.
Lowell - Supercrawl (Sep 12)
Being the lead off band at a street festival that has barely begun isn't the easiest slot but Lowell didn't seem phased. In fact the leading lady could be spotted smiling and smirking throughout her perky pop set in front of her backing fellas. The first tune layered the vocals on and moved slow but sounded lovely before they laid down the pop. Dancing in bare feet Lowell sang out Cloud 69 and then her first single from the released-next-week We Loved Her Dearly, The Bells, a bright song like her hot pink backwards hat that saw her both laying on the stage and emitting her signature screech. Hitting on the live go-tos she carried on with I Love You Money, a cheeky tune to match her cheek decorations. Bidding Summer goodbye on this fresh evening in song brought us to the clap along of Palm Trees before finishing out with the only tune not from next week's release - Kids - another live fave that had the leading lady climb down off the stage, up over the barrier and wrapping her arms around front row fans.
Arkells, Harlan Pepper, Beaches, Dead Tired - Supercrawl (Sep 12)
Arkells
I didn’t exactly make the trek to Hamilton because I wanted to see a certain new song or a particular sequence and that was good because the set highly resembled that of Riverfest, Elora from a few weeks back – right down to the new year’s resolution piano solo. The reason I came was to see the hometown boys, the proudest ever Hamiltonian’s, rock the biggest festival of their fair city. Rock they did, and the crowd came out in droves, jamming (around) Jackson Square and anywhere nearby (even caving in an unfortunately placed van’s roof) to get a glimpse of the Hamilton heroes. Max, speaking for the group, was honoured by the opportunity and had a lot of shout outs and local references to make both through banter and in song, such as pointing out the payphone referenced in Leather Jacket. Starting similarly, with the two High Noon opening tracks before busting out an old one, they managed to mix in a bunch of new with a lot of classics in their hour+ set. They did include 11:11 at 11:11pm no less, which was a notable omission previously. A bummer was that they sucked so much energy in the beginning that they actually cut the speaker system early on, yet continued to play into their monitors. This took a song or two for the technicians to work out – apparently needing to pull from the light grid as the next few tunes were played in the darkness. But by mid-set the technical difficulties were behind them and the Arkells could hit their stride. Plenty of buy-in meant clap-alongs and shout-it-outs galore as there wasn’t much free space for dancing. To close out they Rock(ed) the Casbah, a nod to the venerable local music hall, and a tune that fits their catalog and keys quite well before one of their most Hamilton-proud songs, Cynical Bastards. Not to let us down they returned for a post-midnight encore which blasted Whistleblower before throwing it back to their debut with a singalong on John Lennon. Somehow this morphed into Iggy’s Fancy to the delight of the drunken high schoolers, and wound through a lengthy list of thank-you’s, before closing out in rock. Worth the trip!
I didn’t exactly make the trek to Hamilton because I wanted to see a certain new song or a particular sequence and that was good because the set highly resembled that of Riverfest, Elora from a few weeks back – right down to the new year’s resolution piano solo. The reason I came was to see the hometown boys, the proudest ever Hamiltonian’s, rock the biggest festival of their fair city. Rock they did, and the crowd came out in droves, jamming (around) Jackson Square and anywhere nearby (even caving in an unfortunately placed van’s roof) to get a glimpse of the Hamilton heroes. Max, speaking for the group, was honoured by the opportunity and had a lot of shout outs and local references to make both through banter and in song, such as pointing out the payphone referenced in Leather Jacket. Starting similarly, with the two High Noon opening tracks before busting out an old one, they managed to mix in a bunch of new with a lot of classics in their hour+ set. They did include 11:11 at 11:11pm no less, which was a notable omission previously. A bummer was that they sucked so much energy in the beginning that they actually cut the speaker system early on, yet continued to play into their monitors. This took a song or two for the technicians to work out – apparently needing to pull from the light grid as the next few tunes were played in the darkness. But by mid-set the technical difficulties were behind them and the Arkells could hit their stride. Plenty of buy-in meant clap-alongs and shout-it-outs galore as there wasn’t much free space for dancing. To close out they Rock(ed) the Casbah, a nod to the venerable local music hall, and a tune that fits their catalog and keys quite well before one of their most Hamilton-proud songs, Cynical Bastards. Not to let us down they returned for a post-midnight encore which blasted Whistleblower before throwing it back to their debut with a singalong on John Lennon. Somehow this morphed into Iggy’s Fancy to the delight of the drunken high schoolers, and wound through a lengthy list of thank-you’s, before closing out in rock. Worth the trip!
Harlan Pepper
In my head it seems that Harlan Pepper dropped out of high school to make music seriously. And by this I mean smoke pot and jam a lot. This because they are young lads that I have consistently seen pulling their weight behind their seemingly large instruments in Toronto, and now Hamilton, for the past five years, and their musicianship is extremely high. The vibes are still throwback with a nod to old school guitar work and psychedelia. They seem comfortable on stage and were playing mostly unfamiliar music compared to the last few times. Bob Dylan’s secret grandson (a dead ringer anyhow) took up the keys for a few track before switching back to the guitar. Seems like they’ve got more than a few more puffs to take as the end is nowhere in sight.
In my head it seems that Harlan Pepper dropped out of high school to make music seriously. And by this I mean smoke pot and jam a lot. This because they are young lads that I have consistently seen pulling their weight behind their seemingly large instruments in Toronto, and now Hamilton, for the past five years, and their musicianship is extremely high. The vibes are still throwback with a nod to old school guitar work and psychedelia. They seem comfortable on stage and were playing mostly unfamiliar music compared to the last few times. Bob Dylan’s secret grandson (a dead ringer anyhow) took up the keys for a few track before switching back to the guitar. Seems like they’ve got more than a few more puffs to take as the end is nowhere in sight.
The Beaches are a four piece all-girl outfit from, I believe, The Beaches, Toronto. Despite being not even a couple decades old they have a comfortable stage presence and can all handle their instruments. This allows them to craft a rock and roll set styled over with punk, even adding elements of surfabilly and 80’s synths. I shouldn't have been as pleasantly surprised seeing as they'd played the Rebel stage at Riot Fest this past weekend.
Blue Rodeo, Serena Ryder, Odd Years - Riverfest (Aug 23)
Blue Rodeo
The epitome of Canadiana (alongside The Tragically Hip alone) and they are still wowing with their performances. Almost nonstop for well over an hour they mixed in all sorts of tunes, both beloved (5 Days in May) and new (New Morning Sun, Mattawa) - and even the new stuff sounds beyond good. Their lasting power definitely has to do with the shared songwriting, primarily provided by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, as each has written definitive classics and performs them magnificently. It was really stunning to watch up close, and they've surrounded themselves with the finest musicians on offer too - writing and selecting songs that showcase those talents by including pedal steel, drum, and piano solos (Disappear) galore. Jim performed his own mini piano solo, but Greg also got a few moments in the limelight (Diamond Mine, Rose-coloured Glasses). The crowd had it's chance to shine by singing along to Hasn't Hit Me Yet before the encore. Try had to be one of the standouts among great songs all night but as it should it all came down to Lost Together in the end. As previously they've allowed guests to share the stage and have a go at the vocals (Wayne Petti - Vancouver Olympics, Cuff the Duke - Amphitheatre) this time they invited Jadea Kelly and Dan Mangan himself (his bandmates could be seen grinning sidestage cheering him along too!). Jadea just harmonized but Dan went a step further and utilized his sandpaper voice for the second verse which was really neat to see. But it wasn't like the rest of us were left out, we all had the opportunity to sing it out together into the Elora night.
While sitting at the back just listening to Odd Years after the mind-stretching Dan Mangan set I didn't realize that there was a contemporary Guelph indie rock supergroup playing, but it did sound like it so I moved my lazy ass into the tent. Perhaps because of their combined experience the sonic territory they covered from song to song was incredible. At first I was going to peg them as a folk group, borrowing elements from this night's headliners, Blue Rodeo. Then on the very next song they would change it up with a bluesy number and then an indie rock tune (and even some Super Mario music from the keyboard.) Regardless of the genre they were consummate musicians and with a deeper Beatles cover they had people, both young and old, dancing in the tent. Only afterwards when I went to get their album, inspired as I was, did I realize that their ranks include members of Cuff the Duke, Minotaurs, and Lowlands.
Serena Ryder
Serena Ryder has never been anyone I've called myself a fan of but I don't mind her from what I've heard. That being said, I didn't feel the necessity to watch all 60 minutes of her but only felt the rumble in my belly. I suppose this isn't the place to complain about the "No Outside Food" policy with very limited (and then sold out) vegan options but as you can imagine I was a little perturbed when I returned for the end of the set. Rather than fight the crowd we hung out partway back which showed just how into her the patrons were. Even in the limited five songs she showed off her vocals, sultry at times, and guitar work, as well as the solid work of her multicultural band with their big drums. The Sharon, Lois and Bram-esque actions to the one song were rather obnoxious but it proved how she had the crowd eating out of her hand even before Stompa and that bank commercial song (What I Wouldn't Do).
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Operators, How to Dress Well, Spoon, Kevin Drew, Eight and a Half - Supercrawl Saturday (Sep 13/14)
Eight and A Half
Kevin Drew
Kevin himself said that this was basically Broken Social Scene, including Justin Peroff and Charles Spearin among others but missing a few members too, as the six musicians playing with him came in and out, swapping instruments and positions, even drums (there were 3 drummers) depending on the song. Out of the gates were a few from the recent fully solo release, Darlings, starting with Mexican Aftershow Party, but also mixing in Spirit If's Backed Out on the.. before returning to You In Your Were, Body Butter and Good Sex. Kevin obviously doesn't shy away from taboo material and gave a shout out to his parents in the same set as playing Fucked Up Kid. Seemingly slightly agitated with the sound crew (when isn't Drew fighting something on stage?) he provided an acoustic intro before launching Safety Blitz with the band. Then we got some BSS treats - Lovers Spit with just the piano, trying to get us to sing along to a new version of a song, then a KC Accidental instrumental (not the BSS song but a demo that he remarked had been sent to Hamilton's Sonic Unyon back in the .. 90's) that Spearin needed to be retaught on the fly. They jammed out on Frightening Lives to close down the band's set and leave Kevin to do a fully acoustic rendition of Superconnected which was a great way to finish out.
Spoon
This trio who has been quiet for some time entertained with primarily new music. It was the same chilled-out, synthy stuff that they hawked on their first disc. With fellow BSS members Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin taking it in from the street in the early afternoon they swirled the music out as the rain began to fall later into the set. This is when the old single Go Ego emerged before they finished with a Stills song that lead vocalist explained they felt okay with considering two of their members came from the now defunct project.
Operators
Operators
With the music still being hard to come by the Operators set was attended by those who had likely heard the first single and were taking it on faith that Dan Boeckner would be producing something as worthwhile as his past endeavours. As it turns out, this is a safe bet. Alongside three other musicians, including Sam Brown on drums (including some electronic drums too) and Devojka playing the keys and synths, and the bass player (whose name I missed), Dan inserts his unique howl while occasionally playing guitar and effects from his board - sometimes all three on one track. The music being made is less aggressive than his Handsome Furs output but maintains a likeable familiarity while focusing on the dance, what with all the fun synths provided by the sequined Devojka. "We're more of a night-time band," she quipped, "I don't even want to see those photos you're taking - I probably look like I'm from Ru Paul's drag race." She spoke almost as much as Dan, but the energy from the whole band seemed to be positive as they said they were glad to be back in Canada and at the end of a tour. The most readily available song, True, was a standout before they closed with a tune about going home.
How To Dress Well
How To Dress Well
Based on the appearance of How To Dress Well it might lead one to believe that the set wasn't going to be much. Tom did not evoke the title of the band in his sweats, often ringing his t-shirt up with his hands to reveal his waistband and stomach between singing into one of his two mics, or often both at the same time. His primary took his definitive falsetto while the secondary ran his voice through effects which he used well. It was his earnestness, plus the lush beauty of the music that made the difference. With a drummer, and a pair of British Columbians ("we're a band from North America") - the male playing violin and guitar, the female keys and synths, they really did make the music swirl when the time was right such as on Set It Right and Words I Don't Remember. The banter was also out-there, not saying a whole lot but doing it with affectation. With the attention given by the audience they played Suicide Dream over piano and violin which was slow and haunting but very, very strong. On other tracks, such as Precious Love. it was a fairly obvious exhibition of Tom channelling his inner MJ through his vocals. On the whole it was almost surprising just how engaging and entertaining the set was. I would be more than happy to watch it again, probably in a darkened bar setting which might be more appropriate.
Kevin Drew
Kevin himself said that this was basically Broken Social Scene, including Justin Peroff and Charles Spearin among others but missing a few members too, as the six musicians playing with him came in and out, swapping instruments and positions, even drums (there were 3 drummers) depending on the song. Out of the gates were a few from the recent fully solo release, Darlings, starting with Mexican Aftershow Party, but also mixing in Spirit If's Backed Out on the.. before returning to You In Your Were, Body Butter and Good Sex. Kevin obviously doesn't shy away from taboo material and gave a shout out to his parents in the same set as playing Fucked Up Kid. Seemingly slightly agitated with the sound crew (when isn't Drew fighting something on stage?) he provided an acoustic intro before launching Safety Blitz with the band. Then we got some BSS treats - Lovers Spit with just the piano, trying to get us to sing along to a new version of a song, then a KC Accidental instrumental (not the BSS song but a demo that he remarked had been sent to Hamilton's Sonic Unyon back in the .. 90's) that Spearin needed to be retaught on the fly. They jammed out on Frightening Lives to close down the band's set and leave Kevin to do a fully acoustic rendition of Superconnected which was a great way to finish out.
Spoon
Hailing from Austin, Spoon have been at it for a long while now. With the streets full, but not nearly as jammed as the hometown Arkells the previous night, they played from across their back catalog. Britt Daniel's voice is the signature of the band but the five-piece's strong use of shakers, tambourines and the like were standout in the live setting - even drumming with a maraca! There were a few keyboards set up throughout the stage as their sound morphed from song to song - sometimes Britt would drop his mic after a lyric to run across the stage and take up post at the piano. The bass player also comically crossed the stage one time just to abruptly stop a cymbal. The identifiable groove of I Turn My Camera On was extended in a long intro before they dropped the tune as part of their slightly-less-than-an-hour set. This wasn't a problem though as they returned with a generous four-song encore, opening with the strong Knock Knock Knock from their equally strong recent return release, They Want My Soul. Too bad they didn't pull out more Gimme Fiction (Sister Jack, Monsieur Valentine would have been appreciated) but they did close with some strong bass lines and The Underdog in finale.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Mounties, Rubblebuck, NFG, + - Riot Fest Saturday (Sept 6/14)
Mounties
It seems that people have tired of Hot Hot Heat, or maybe HHH got tired of their own sound, either way Steve Bays seems to have found a new outlet for that unique voice of his. Much is made of this being a Canadian supergroup, so there was Hawksley Workman with his raised kit right up front of the stage, plus Ryan Dahle (Limblifter). But there was also a guy manning the tickle trunk, a literal chest stood on its side marked with Mounties on it and full of shakers 'n things, plus a rover who sometimes shook something or strummed something too. As a relatively recent formation they have only the one release to draw from and opened with album opener, Pretty Respectable. Steve bounded around the stage under his carrot-top-like mop, doing a full lap or two and showily juggling his mic (and once embarrassingly dropping it). When he did have keys to play they were usually rocked one way or the other. Hawksley wanted some time in the spotlight too though and held lead vocals while drumming on a few tunes. As an early afternoon set their time was limited, and by the time they all chimed in on the banter (you can see where the playful creativity comes in with this crew), they were rushed to fit it all in. Of course they hit on this summer's release Tokyo Summer, and the very HHH chorus of If This Dance Catches On. We all got hooked on the teaser release Headphones though so that was the natural closer. And close it did fully - then after Workman had already packed up and walked off the rest of the crew started back into it to the point where Hawksley jumped back onto the drums despite the repeated cut sign from the stage crew and they jammed out for another minute or two.
Rubblebucket
The Brooklyn septet had driven up for the show and were in party mode, as per usual. Led by their close-cropped lead female singer it is the bombastic brass duo who push the sound, not to mention their ostentatious choreographed dance moves. Being on the up and up most of the crowd probably wasn't overly familiar with their music, especially the album that was just dropped, but that didn't stop them from amping it up. Came out of a Lady was a hit at Hillside and same goes with Riot Fest. The mini parachute that they carried through the crowd while playing and singing certainly helps draw attention. Once back onstage the pink (vagina?) flower mascot could have been more playful but was certainly a sight in itself. To close out they did pay for love.
New Found Glory
NFG? Yeah, "no fucking good" - or so the old joke goes. In reality though these guys were a-ok. They have made a living on pure pop punk and show no signs of slowing as the three members up front stalked the entire stage in front of their drummer. This meant the music perhaps wasn't the tightest as they ran around but the energy was certainly there. They did Better Off Dead and then on Hit or Miss the singer stuck the mic into a bunch of fans faces to prove that his voice actually isn't that annoying, relatively speaking. In closing they hit on another old favourite, My Friends Over You which again saw only about half the lyrics sang but this many years into the game I'd be sick of singing the same tune too.
Bad Suns were four young people with a slightly grungy garage edge to their lighter indie rock. Despite not providing much banter the lead singer appeared vibrant while singing over their playing and the backing drum track.
Glassjaw had a very clear, loud sound that wasn't as aggressive as I thought/remembered, for the short time that I watched them The appearance of their skinny, bald, brown bass player stood out for this festival and genre but he sure knew how to play.
It seems that people have tired of Hot Hot Heat, or maybe HHH got tired of their own sound, either way Steve Bays seems to have found a new outlet for that unique voice of his. Much is made of this being a Canadian supergroup, so there was Hawksley Workman with his raised kit right up front of the stage, plus Ryan Dahle (Limblifter). But there was also a guy manning the tickle trunk, a literal chest stood on its side marked with Mounties on it and full of shakers 'n things, plus a rover who sometimes shook something or strummed something too. As a relatively recent formation they have only the one release to draw from and opened with album opener, Pretty Respectable. Steve bounded around the stage under his carrot-top-like mop, doing a full lap or two and showily juggling his mic (and once embarrassingly dropping it). When he did have keys to play they were usually rocked one way or the other. Hawksley wanted some time in the spotlight too though and held lead vocals while drumming on a few tunes. As an early afternoon set their time was limited, and by the time they all chimed in on the banter (you can see where the playful creativity comes in with this crew), they were rushed to fit it all in. Of course they hit on this summer's release Tokyo Summer, and the very HHH chorus of If This Dance Catches On. We all got hooked on the teaser release Headphones though so that was the natural closer. And close it did fully - then after Workman had already packed up and walked off the rest of the crew started back into it to the point where Hawksley jumped back onto the drums despite the repeated cut sign from the stage crew and they jammed out for another minute or two.
Rubblebucket
The Brooklyn septet had driven up for the show and were in party mode, as per usual. Led by their close-cropped lead female singer it is the bombastic brass duo who push the sound, not to mention their ostentatious choreographed dance moves. Being on the up and up most of the crowd probably wasn't overly familiar with their music, especially the album that was just dropped, but that didn't stop them from amping it up. Came out of a Lady was a hit at Hillside and same goes with Riot Fest. The mini parachute that they carried through the crowd while playing and singing certainly helps draw attention. Once back onstage the pink (vagina?) flower mascot could have been more playful but was certainly a sight in itself. To close out they did pay for love.
New Found Glory
NFG? Yeah, "no fucking good" - or so the old joke goes. In reality though these guys were a-ok. They have made a living on pure pop punk and show no signs of slowing as the three members up front stalked the entire stage in front of their drummer. This meant the music perhaps wasn't the tightest as they ran around but the energy was certainly there. They did Better Off Dead and then on Hit or Miss the singer stuck the mic into a bunch of fans faces to prove that his voice actually isn't that annoying, relatively speaking. In closing they hit on another old favourite, My Friends Over You which again saw only about half the lyrics sang but this many years into the game I'd be sick of singing the same tune too.
Bad Suns were four young people with a slightly grungy garage edge to their lighter indie rock. Despite not providing much banter the lead singer appeared vibrant while singing over their playing and the backing drum track.
Glassjaw had a very clear, loud sound that wasn't as aggressive as I thought/remembered, for the short time that I watched them The appearance of their skinny, bald, brown bass player stood out for this festival and genre but he sure knew how to play.
Monday, September 8, 2014
National, City and Colour - Riot Fest Sunday (Sept 7/14)
City and Colour
Dallas spoke about how he nearly turned down this 'punk festival' but then thought better of it 'punk is doing what you wanna do' and so here he was shutting the whole thing down Sunday night. As per usual as soon as he strolled out to a great R&B Soul II Soul song with his four-piece backing band, including key/pedal steel player, all that could be seen from the crowd were thousands of tiny glowing screens. Unfortunately he didn't rip into people which is usually the most fun of his show. In fact there wasn't too much banter as the set started quite lighter - especially after that intro song only for them to launch into a super slow opening track. The start of the set was more C&C of yesteryear than the rock-leaning version that has been seen of late. One of the first half highlights was the Grand Optimist as in the darkness the smoke show really worked in the spotlights. He also took Coming Home down in tempo, not that it bothered the drunk girl trying to sing and wave along at album speed. That song, as with many others, proved some great electric guitar work especially from his band members. The Girl bordered on country before they began bringing the rock back around in the latter half. A cover of Thrush Hermit's The Day We Hit the Coast, voluntarily assisted by "the hippie from Moneen," stuck with that trend as Green declared it one of his favourite Canadian songs by one of his favourite Canadian bands. Their final song was a long, meandering tune that didn't exactly elicit encore enthusiasm but it was a foregone conclusion with 15 minutes remaining. The disappointment in the encore wasn't simply that it did not contain a lightly speculated but highly unlikely Alexisonfire reunion (Jordan Hastings, drummer, at least, was on hand with Say Yes) but also that it consisted of only one song. Not only that but Dallas admitted it was probably not the popular choice, instead that it was his favourite and played Two Coins. Is that punk rock or poor showmanship?
The National
Warning, what you're about to read can't be unread.
Recently I heard Matt Berninger describe his lyric writing style as sitting down with music provided by his band and just working words to it until he came up with a song. I think this has ruined The National for me. Yes they make some epic indie tunes but just knowing the lyrics are the actual nonsense that they seem irks me now - I was much happier thinking there was some deeper obscure meaning. Sorry if this has the same effect on you.
That being said I went to check their set as day turned to night which was beneficial for their large projection screen not unlike the Flaming Lips from the night before. This displayed distorted live feeds from cameras set in all sorts of places around the stage showing the seven-piece, including a two-piece brass section. The setlist was a decent selection, drawing early on a lot of Trouble Will Find Me material which is well received like opener Don't Swallow the Cap, as well as I Should Live in Salt, Sea of Love (with harmonica), and I Need My Girl. For the last in that list the guitarist, while wearing a guitar around his shoulders held another by the butt end and tapped the end against the stage to make that reverberating sound. Matt seemed to lose it for a minute as he closed out Graceless and was knocking the microphone heartily off of his own head. They did touch on some older material including Ada, Bloodbuzz, plus the brash brass on Fake Empire, along with double raised guitars at its end. Speaking of ending, Mr.November is a gimme in the set and saw Matt enter the crowd and seemingly lose mic connection as the latter half of the song was taken over by his backing band and the crowd crooning along. After that, the final song, was Terrible Love which had him really stretching the cord as he came deep into the crowd - right up to me and I hadn't really pushed in, crowd surfing for a bit of it too. Oh Matt, up to your old shenanigans again.
Dallas spoke about how he nearly turned down this 'punk festival' but then thought better of it 'punk is doing what you wanna do' and so here he was shutting the whole thing down Sunday night. As per usual as soon as he strolled out to a great R&B Soul II Soul song with his four-piece backing band, including key/pedal steel player, all that could be seen from the crowd were thousands of tiny glowing screens. Unfortunately he didn't rip into people which is usually the most fun of his show. In fact there wasn't too much banter as the set started quite lighter - especially after that intro song only for them to launch into a super slow opening track. The start of the set was more C&C of yesteryear than the rock-leaning version that has been seen of late. One of the first half highlights was the Grand Optimist as in the darkness the smoke show really worked in the spotlights. He also took Coming Home down in tempo, not that it bothered the drunk girl trying to sing and wave along at album speed. That song, as with many others, proved some great electric guitar work especially from his band members. The Girl bordered on country before they began bringing the rock back around in the latter half. A cover of Thrush Hermit's The Day We Hit the Coast, voluntarily assisted by "the hippie from Moneen," stuck with that trend as Green declared it one of his favourite Canadian songs by one of his favourite Canadian bands. Their final song was a long, meandering tune that didn't exactly elicit encore enthusiasm but it was a foregone conclusion with 15 minutes remaining. The disappointment in the encore wasn't simply that it did not contain a lightly speculated but highly unlikely Alexisonfire reunion (Jordan Hastings, drummer, at least, was on hand with Say Yes) but also that it consisted of only one song. Not only that but Dallas admitted it was probably not the popular choice, instead that it was his favourite and played Two Coins. Is that punk rock or poor showmanship?
The National
Warning, what you're about to read can't be unread.
Recently I heard Matt Berninger describe his lyric writing style as sitting down with music provided by his band and just working words to it until he came up with a song. I think this has ruined The National for me. Yes they make some epic indie tunes but just knowing the lyrics are the actual nonsense that they seem irks me now - I was much happier thinking there was some deeper obscure meaning. Sorry if this has the same effect on you.
That being said I went to check their set as day turned to night which was beneficial for their large projection screen not unlike the Flaming Lips from the night before. This displayed distorted live feeds from cameras set in all sorts of places around the stage showing the seven-piece, including a two-piece brass section. The setlist was a decent selection, drawing early on a lot of Trouble Will Find Me material which is well received like opener Don't Swallow the Cap, as well as I Should Live in Salt, Sea of Love (with harmonica), and I Need My Girl. For the last in that list the guitarist, while wearing a guitar around his shoulders held another by the butt end and tapped the end against the stage to make that reverberating sound. Matt seemed to lose it for a minute as he closed out Graceless and was knocking the microphone heartily off of his own head. They did touch on some older material including Ada, Bloodbuzz, plus the brash brass on Fake Empire, along with double raised guitars at its end. Speaking of ending, Mr.November is a gimme in the set and saw Matt enter the crowd and seemingly lose mic connection as the latter half of the song was taken over by his backing band and the crowd crooning along. After that, the final song, was Terrible Love which had him really stretching the cord as he came deep into the crowd - right up to me and I hadn't really pushed in, crowd surfing for a bit of it too. Oh Matt, up to your old shenanigans again.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Death From Above 1979 - Secret Show - Queen Street Toronto (September 3, 2014)
If you're going to fit in while waiting a few hours for a DFA79 concert you'd better bring a carton of cigarettes. Twitter blazed with news of a pop-up shop this morning which immediately sparked secret show rumours which didn't take long after it opened at 10am to be confirmed. The shop itself had a collection of prints, tees and tats (real, for free) for each of the new tunes but disappointingly not the album itself meaning the day(s, tomorrow too) wouldn't have been anything without the gig. Ducking out of work early was a key strategy for fans as even at 5:30pm there was already a short line since the crew had turned it out until 6. Tardily after that they allowed wristbanded patrons first access before slowly letting a trickle of unbanded fans from the line, myself among them, around 6:30. The downer was the set didn't start til 9 which is where the butts come in handy.
Cold War
Right On, Frankenstein!
Virgins
Turn It Up
Trainwreck 1979
Crystal Ball
Going Steady
Little Girl
(Shutting down discussion)
Government Trash
White Is Red
Romantic Rights
Always On
The Physical World
9pm-9:50pm
Finally 9pm rolled around and the smoke rolled out - more on that later - and anticipation grew for the duo who would finally show their hometown a little special love. Worries of a new-material-only, in-store-special show were dispelled from the start as they dug right into Cold War. As always Sebastien Grainger held down the vocals while simultaneously giving his clear drum kit his all in white overalls. In contrast Jesse Keeler donned all black, with a hog belt buckle behind his transparent bass which emanated the thick bass lines all night as they performed much of The Physical World. With Right On, Frankenstein! they introduced us and carried on with Virgins before resorting back to Turn It Up which did just that - the pit finally broke out from the few restless souls who had been pent up in this lot for three hours. The keyboard and electronic drum patch were both on stage but neither was noticeably utilized as they stuck to rocking their bass and drum standards.
First single Trainwreck 1979 played as well live as it has been over the local Indie88 airwaves which meant that people were already yelling along, probably louder than Jesse's low mic but maybe not as strong as the occasional screech of (unintentional) feedback. One of the initial strongest new tracks, Crystal Ball, aptly followed before a Woman/Machine break. If Going Steady got the moshing started again then Little Girl set it off - small but energetic! It was not all that surprising that following this there was a warning that they were getting shut down. Earlier Jesse had thanked the neighbours as he remarked that he used to live a couple doors down and would have been peeved had this been happening.. and then the two shrugged and muttered "what's the point if we don't.." before launching back into the second leaked tune, Government Trash. As if in penance they gave us a "slow jam," asking if we'd like to pair off and then played White Is Red which did cool the warm, end-of-summer night a degree. That reprieve would not last long as they tore up the night again with Romantic Rights. Without warning at the close of Always On the two departed.
Sure we'd had more than the perfunctory five songs but if you're going to haul out a stage, crew, lights, security (and by this point a fire truck had arrived), not to mention hundreds of rabid fans at the last minute, you're not going to stop at that. Our "DFA" chants spurred the pair back on stage where they reported that it hadn't been that they were getting shut down but.. they'd set the fire alarm off in the apartment next door! With nary another word they closed out the gig just as they close out the new record, with the deliberate beat of the title track, The Physical World. Seb waved and walked while Jesse set the feedback through his pedal and also turned to go. The crowd just cheered on a welcome return and reintroduction from these massively missed locals.
Cold War
Right On, Frankenstein!
Virgins
Turn It Up
Trainwreck 1979
Crystal Ball
Going Steady
Little Girl
(Shutting down discussion)
Government Trash
White Is Red
Romantic Rights
Always On
The Physical World
9pm-9:50pm
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Dan Mangan, Elliott Brood - Riverfest (Sat Aug 23)
Jadea Kelly had very nice vocals for laying in the grass near the tent.
Elliott Brood
As the black-clad Young Galaxy had joked earlier they had lost the coin toss with Elliott Brood to see who got to wear white so the trifecta came onstage (early due to a botched intro by the awful MC) blanc top to bottom. Rather than get right into it they opened slower but next got into the favourites with Oh, Alberta (but no If I Get Old). As this was a folk fest you think people would be getting down but perhaps put off by the couple new tracks from the forthcoming record it wasn't all-encompassing buy-in, though the folks from Windsor seemed to enjoy it, earning a special shout-out ironically before Northern Air. When they decided to The Valley Town the folks were coming around and reinstating the old tradition of passing out pans and wooden spoons the lucky bunch got to bang along to the set-ender Write It All Down for You.
Dan Mangan
Always a pleasure to see you Dan but this time around there was a sense of anticipation - I know you're done the album so give us a listen already! Blacksmith, the newly christened five-piece backing band including violin and horn, did their part as Dan sang into each of his two mics opening with Oh Fortune and 'classic' Road Regrets. Then we had it, a first glimpse of the much-anticipated new record via a song entitled Mouthpiece. Whereas after the last record came out things like "departure" and "giant leap forward" were batted around this song seems like a fitting follow-up to the grand sound of Oh, Fortune as it was musically thick, featuring a healthy dollop of violin, and self-proclaimed "the wordiest song yet." Later in the set was another new song that sang something like 'forget real life and dwell' and was less Postwar Blues and more Leaves, Trees, Forest (both of which were played this show.) On Blues the instrumental lead-in, despite a couple technical difficulties, built and built until it was a recognizable swell the song tore up although not quite to the degree that it has before in its unbridled live incarnation. Following this onslaught Blacksmith temporarily excused themselves so Dan could win over any remaining crowd talkers with beautiful Basket. Upon their return they played Starts with Them.. before the second new track and Leaves along with its extended outro. This outro carried on and on until you could make out Robots which was the natural singalong that it is. I suspected this would be the finale, as has been the case so many times before, but an emboldened Dan blew through the 2 minute warning and began Rows of Houses. Who was going to stop him? It was another impressive song and something that would have been lacking had they cut it. Nobody on stage seemed too concerned about running over as Dan left Blacksmith behind to take their time and finish the song properly. Totally worth a hand slap.
Elliott Brood
As the black-clad Young Galaxy had joked earlier they had lost the coin toss with Elliott Brood to see who got to wear white so the trifecta came onstage (early due to a botched intro by the awful MC) blanc top to bottom. Rather than get right into it they opened slower but next got into the favourites with Oh, Alberta (but no If I Get Old). As this was a folk fest you think people would be getting down but perhaps put off by the couple new tracks from the forthcoming record it wasn't all-encompassing buy-in, though the folks from Windsor seemed to enjoy it, earning a special shout-out ironically before Northern Air. When they decided to The Valley Town the folks were coming around and reinstating the old tradition of passing out pans and wooden spoons the lucky bunch got to bang along to the set-ender Write It All Down for You.
Dan Mangan
Always a pleasure to see you Dan but this time around there was a sense of anticipation - I know you're done the album so give us a listen already! Blacksmith, the newly christened five-piece backing band including violin and horn, did their part as Dan sang into each of his two mics opening with Oh Fortune and 'classic' Road Regrets. Then we had it, a first glimpse of the much-anticipated new record via a song entitled Mouthpiece. Whereas after the last record came out things like "departure" and "giant leap forward" were batted around this song seems like a fitting follow-up to the grand sound of Oh, Fortune as it was musically thick, featuring a healthy dollop of violin, and self-proclaimed "the wordiest song yet." Later in the set was another new song that sang something like 'forget real life and dwell' and was less Postwar Blues and more Leaves, Trees, Forest (both of which were played this show.) On Blues the instrumental lead-in, despite a couple technical difficulties, built and built until it was a recognizable swell the song tore up although not quite to the degree that it has before in its unbridled live incarnation. Following this onslaught Blacksmith temporarily excused themselves so Dan could win over any remaining crowd talkers with beautiful Basket. Upon their return they played Starts with Them.. before the second new track and Leaves along with its extended outro. This outro carried on and on until you could make out Robots which was the natural singalong that it is. I suspected this would be the finale, as has been the case so many times before, but an emboldened Dan blew through the 2 minute warning and began Rows of Houses. Who was going to stop him? It was another impressive song and something that would have been lacking had they cut it. Nobody on stage seemed too concerned about running over as Dan left Blacksmith behind to take their time and finish the song properly. Totally worth a hand slap.
Young Galaxy (Final set with bassist) - Riverfest Elora (Sat Aug 23)
Young Galaxy
This was the set that I have been waiting for from Young Galaxy. Since I've known them they have made beautiful synthy records and then cranked their live shows to drum-blowing 11's and attempted to overpower with noise. What gives? Well this Saturday afternoon, as the weather attempted a turn to the sun, I finally got what I was after. And it was just in time too, as they would reveal, but not until prior to the last song, that this would be their parting show with their bassist, Stephen Kemp, after some eight years of faithful allegiance. If I hadn't seen this I would have thought he was the one to pin the loudness on!
Beginning with Peripheral Visionaries their visibly pregnant front lady, Catharine McCandless, sang it out with her emotive posturing and alongside her lead male counterpart, Stephen Ramsay, they carried into other favourites Cover Your Tracks and Pretty Boy. Without knowing what was on the go I noticed that Kemp was rather charismatic and flashing smiles with bandmates. Exchanging broad grins with their female drummer, Andrea Silver, he also had a bit of a showdown with Ramsay and was flashing smiles all around. Not only did they all seem to be playing for the moment but the setlist was also great such as In Fire, New Summer and a certain set highlight, the clapalong on Fall for You. When they did make the announcement the emotions got the best of a few of them as a couple of tears were shed, extending the intro until Catharine could compose herself to sing the lyrics. During the appropriately-titled closer We Have Everything Stephen and Stephen got together again and in the process displaced the guitarist's sunglasses which he promptly tossed to the stage. That was nothing though, as visibly overwhelmed while the last note hung in the amp he lightly tossed his guitar and turned to exit the stage before crashed. The feedback hung, as did the instant nostalgia, in this expectation-defying lovely summer set and fitting goodbye.
This was the set that I have been waiting for from Young Galaxy. Since I've known them they have made beautiful synthy records and then cranked their live shows to drum-blowing 11's and attempted to overpower with noise. What gives? Well this Saturday afternoon, as the weather attempted a turn to the sun, I finally got what I was after. And it was just in time too, as they would reveal, but not until prior to the last song, that this would be their parting show with their bassist, Stephen Kemp, after some eight years of faithful allegiance. If I hadn't seen this I would have thought he was the one to pin the loudness on!
Beginning with Peripheral Visionaries their visibly pregnant front lady, Catharine McCandless, sang it out with her emotive posturing and alongside her lead male counterpart, Stephen Ramsay, they carried into other favourites Cover Your Tracks and Pretty Boy. Without knowing what was on the go I noticed that Kemp was rather charismatic and flashing smiles with bandmates. Exchanging broad grins with their female drummer, Andrea Silver, he also had a bit of a showdown with Ramsay and was flashing smiles all around. Not only did they all seem to be playing for the moment but the setlist was also great such as In Fire, New Summer and a certain set highlight, the clapalong on Fall for You. When they did make the announcement the emotions got the best of a few of them as a couple of tears were shed, extending the intro until Catharine could compose herself to sing the lyrics. During the appropriately-titled closer We Have Everything Stephen and Stephen got together again and in the process displaced the guitarist's sunglasses which he promptly tossed to the stage. That was nothing though, as visibly overwhelmed while the last note hung in the amp he lightly tossed his guitar and turned to exit the stage before crashed. The feedback hung, as did the instant nostalgia, in this expectation-defying lovely summer set and fitting goodbye.
Arkells, Bahamas, Strumbellas, Kim Churchill, Charles Bradley - Riverfest Friday - (Aug 22/14)
Strumbellas
Running up to the stage, for lineups had delayed our entrance since the strum of the first notes, we managed to dance and hoedown for the final four songs or so. With the heat it was shocking that all members were still wearing shirts, including Dave's emblazoned with his face reading 'Straight outta Toronto!' The aforementioned heat from the sun blazing down on the band didn't keep them from leading a fun show including a Sailing singalong led by Simon and Dave pitting the audience against one another. Would have been nice to dance and not just listen to the whole set but with the likes of Sheriff and Home Sweet Home it was a great start to the weekend fest. Bahamas
Afie seems to feed off the adoration which is great when he gets it, but without it he can come across as downright sour. Being a late addition to a lawnchair festival doesn't assure you of a loving crowd and the reality was that many people were chatty even while standing near the main stage. With his fellow guitarist and just one female backing vocalist this time, plus his drummer - all of whom outwardly appeared nearly as miserable as Afie himself - their hushed music wasn't meant to and did not overpower the inattentiveness. It's almost understandable that the band playing an album called Bahamas is Afie would be a little perturbed and they did play a number of cuts from the very recently released disc mid set, so even fans wouldn't be overly familiar with the new material yet. The music is well-written and played well live, special recognition to the lovely lady's vocals, but even the more well-known older tunes played off the top and in finale hardly enraptured the crowd who seemed more focused on smoking cigarettes than appreciating fine guitar work.
Kim Churchill
A beloved Hillside name, having drawn a massive crowd on this year's main stage, he has built his reputation on being a one-man band. Yet not a gimmicky busker with cymbals between his knees but a multi-talented musician performing full and dynamic sets all by himself. With that said it was slightly disappointing when he admitted he'd left his gear behind and chose to perform what he termed a "busking set" playing just the acoustic guitar, plugged harmonica and a borrowed kick drum. Even with this minimalist set he was able to win over the moderately sized tent stage crowd by focusing on his songwriting. He played a song he also broke out at Hillside which deals with his grandfather's funeral - a song that was meant to be a celebration in opposition to the morose affair he was subjected to as a lad. This young man has true talent and it was appreciated throughout.
Arkells
Although there was some excitement for night-closer Charles Bradley there seemed to be at least a few others who joined me in thinking that the Arkells were Friday's true headliner. With the greatness of the recently released High Noon I was excited to hear the new material live from a band who obviously have a lot of energy at the moment. They didn't make me wait any longer as the set opened as the album does with Fake Money followed by Come To Light, the latter being one of a large handful of new standouts. These Hamilton boys are crowd-pleasers though and quickly gave some former singles to keep everyone happy - Boss is Coming and Kiss Cam, among others. Despite having just flown home from London and their European tour the night before they were far from phoning it in as they included the late-night Hillside backstory of Never Thought This Would Happen, introduced a keyboard solo against their keyboardist's wishes and even completed an ALS ice bucket challenge by dumping onto their drummer who stood on the ground in front of the stage. Cynical Bastards went over well, especially with the local area referencing lyrics, and Leather Jacket was another that I wished to see live and it came true, with the biggest bummer being that they couldn't fit in 11:11. As a finale they went with Whistleblower so we could all pump along to the chorus. Impressive enough that I just may try and catch them again when they headline their hometown Supercrawl this fall.
Kim Churchill
A beloved Hillside name, having drawn a massive crowd on this year's main stage, he has built his reputation on being a one-man band. Yet not a gimmicky busker with cymbals between his knees but a multi-talented musician performing full and dynamic sets all by himself. With that said it was slightly disappointing when he admitted he'd left his gear behind and chose to perform what he termed a "busking set" playing just the acoustic guitar, plugged harmonica and a borrowed kick drum. Even with this minimalist set he was able to win over the moderately sized tent stage crowd by focusing on his songwriting. He played a song he also broke out at Hillside which deals with his grandfather's funeral - a song that was meant to be a celebration in opposition to the morose affair he was subjected to as a lad. This young man has true talent and it was appreciated throughout.
Arkells
Although there was some excitement for night-closer Charles Bradley there seemed to be at least a few others who joined me in thinking that the Arkells were Friday's true headliner. With the greatness of the recently released High Noon I was excited to hear the new material live from a band who obviously have a lot of energy at the moment. They didn't make me wait any longer as the set opened as the album does with Fake Money followed by Come To Light, the latter being one of a large handful of new standouts. These Hamilton boys are crowd-pleasers though and quickly gave some former singles to keep everyone happy - Boss is Coming and Kiss Cam, among others. Despite having just flown home from London and their European tour the night before they were far from phoning it in as they included the late-night Hillside backstory of Never Thought This Would Happen, introduced a keyboard solo against their keyboardist's wishes and even completed an ALS ice bucket challenge by dumping onto their drummer who stood on the ground in front of the stage. Cynical Bastards went over well, especially with the local area referencing lyrics, and Leather Jacket was another that I wished to see live and it came true, with the biggest bummer being that they couldn't fit in 11:11. As a finale they went with Whistleblower so we could all pump along to the chorus. Impressive enough that I just may try and catch them again when they headline their hometown Supercrawl this fall.
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
They truly are extraordinary and I was really digging their groovy instrumental work until the band's namesake came and ruined it all. In a bright red, bejeweled jumpsuit he came out and crooned and although his vocals were respectable the rest of it was laughable. With the whoops and shouts, the twirls and moves it seemed like a shoddy James Brown impersonation that I could hardly take serious. He touched on his rags to riches, homeless to headliner story which I suspect is one of the biggest reasons for his popularity. When he went offstage after a few tunes the band kept going and again it was the best of times but sure enough Mr.Bradley had to ruin that by returning from his costume change - all black, still sequined - and that was around the time that I called it a night. His booming voice echoed down the gorge all the way back to the campsite for some time to come but I regretted nothing.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Constantines, Dan Deacon - Opening for Arcade Fire - (Aug 29/14)
Constantines
Just like at Field Trip the set started with the plodding drum beat of Draw Us Lines which emerges into a shout along that starts a show nicely for band and audience alike. Against the black backdrop covering the Arcade Fire stage setup, the recently reunited five piece looked tiny on the huge stage, an impression magnified by the still mostly empty seats of the cavernous amphitheatre. It did not affect their audio output however as they crunched out songs from across their decade plus history. Hotline Operator had fans drumming the backs of the empty seats in front of them and beaming, while Bry Webb dropped to his knees aggressively strumming his guitar. Nighttime, Anytime got a few people shouting along from the back and Hateful Song swapped out the keys for an additional dose of guitar awesomeness as the spotlights came on. Unfortunately the set may not have won many over but at this point in their career that is probably not what they are going for anyway. Bry appeared very humbled to have been asked by their friends in the Arcade Fire, for they had played together previously before AF's world domination began, citing their last gig together in a church basement in small town Ontario. He mentioned how the live Arcade Fire cover of their song Young Lions while playing the ACC in the spring of this year had caused his phone to 'explode' (he wasn't in attendance) and then threw it back out to them before playing it. This band has obviously not missed a beat as they had me clapping and hollering in appreciation all by myself from the cheap seats.
Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon did a set of his electronic music as a prelude to the Arcade Fire performance. With just himself and a board he managed to whip up a few hot tracks. There was a whole lot of talking and directions coming from him though, which may have been lost on us as we hung around in the back row - attempts at dance-offs it seemed. Overall the party starting may be better suited to a smaller crowd of more devout followers.
Just like at Field Trip the set started with the plodding drum beat of Draw Us Lines which emerges into a shout along that starts a show nicely for band and audience alike. Against the black backdrop covering the Arcade Fire stage setup, the recently reunited five piece looked tiny on the huge stage, an impression magnified by the still mostly empty seats of the cavernous amphitheatre. It did not affect their audio output however as they crunched out songs from across their decade plus history. Hotline Operator had fans drumming the backs of the empty seats in front of them and beaming, while Bry Webb dropped to his knees aggressively strumming his guitar. Nighttime, Anytime got a few people shouting along from the back and Hateful Song swapped out the keys for an additional dose of guitar awesomeness as the spotlights came on. Unfortunately the set may not have won many over but at this point in their career that is probably not what they are going for anyway. Bry appeared very humbled to have been asked by their friends in the Arcade Fire, for they had played together previously before AF's world domination began, citing their last gig together in a church basement in small town Ontario. He mentioned how the live Arcade Fire cover of their song Young Lions while playing the ACC in the spring of this year had caused his phone to 'explode' (he wasn't in attendance) and then threw it back out to them before playing it. This band has obviously not missed a beat as they had me clapping and hollering in appreciation all by myself from the cheap seats.
Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon did a set of his electronic music as a prelude to the Arcade Fire performance. With just himself and a board he managed to whip up a few hot tracks. There was a whole lot of talking and directions coming from him though, which may have been lost on us as we hung around in the back row - attempts at dance-offs it seemed. Overall the party starting may be better suited to a smaller crowd of more devout followers.
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