Fontaines DC - Institute Nov 25, '19

Fontaines were.. rather disappointing, I have to say. Hardly any words were spoken - he might have said 'thank you' after the final song and he did grumble something about we they do encores before it but literally those were the only words (and I couldn't understand them anyway). The first half was all the shitty songs from their only album (starting with Hurricane Laughter, followed by Chequeless Reckless) which are basically one-riff on repeat and 1 line repeated over and over until line 2 which gets repeated and then back to line 1. They stood stock still except the singer who acted like a bored little boy, pacing in small circles and looking at his nails and stomping his mic stand. That was literally the "show". They did add an unreleased song in Televised Mind which was interesting for its novelty, at least.

The second half was only saved 'cuz it was better music, songs that had more than one chord each, but the on-stage was the exact fucking same. Zero interaction with us, or with each other, except when the singer cut not one but two songs from their already brief set. Following the previously mentioned new tune they were presumably going to play another new track (seeing as they played all 11 Dogrel songs) but it got axed. Then the guitar tech had already tuned them up for a track but the singer called an audible and then told us this was their last song meaning he cut another one right at the end. The whole thing came in well under an hour which if you're headlining a massively sold out gig in a decently big hall you've got to give us something more. Musically it was fine - the sound wasn't that great in this venue though. Stand-outs like Too Real, Boys in the Better Land, and closer, Big, got the crowd going and rightfully so, but to me it shouldn't have taken much given the anticipation to get people into it and yet the crowd seemed rather reserved for much of the night (from my vantage point just off the edge of the sometimes-pit.) One standout track was the slightly more nuanced Television Screen that at least showed the guys had a different gear.

I can see if they had opened for Idles and just straight rocked for 30 minutes and only played the good stuff that it would have been a great "surprise" but as headliners I'll give 'em a bit of a "fuck off". At the End of the Road festival this summer they also got a pass from me 'cuz they were in a massive fucking tent in the middle of the day and I was stuck at the back trying not to be anti-social. I just assumed that if I was up front that it would have been great but, alas, now I know my answer - No.

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Warm Drag opened and while I only caught the final song and a half (having previewed them before arrival) I think I got the gist of it. Playing music akin to The Kills the male worked a synthesizer over a drum machine while the woman sang and shrieked into the mic. Not entirely bad it wasn't anything for me to get excited about.

Pup, Sløtface, Fresh - Academy 2 Nov 23, '19

It's no secret that I love Pup. Tracking them down whenever they come near and so I was first in line when they finally announced a proper gig in Brum. Stefan acknowledged this early on - no shit, the last (and only?) time they headlined was in the basement of The Rainbow. Anyhow that was the past and this was now and as always they were here to rev it up and so they did by launching into Morbid Stuff with as much abandon as ever. The Kids were incredibly stoked for the set as they shouted along to every lyric, even those from this year's Morbid Stuff through which the band understandably did a deep dive (considering they toured the hell out of the last two albums already). With a captive audience, Babcock took full advantage to espouse on politics, encouraging us to vote even if it sometimes seems fruitless ("we're Canadian and we adopted your shitty system so we understand" Steve added), and eliciting a Seven Nation Army "Jeremy Corbyn" chant. They also encouraged donations to their European charity Sea Watch. On other topics, Stefan admitted he likes being a shit-disturber and repeated his slagging off their first album despite receiving negative feedback for doing the same thing the previous night. He did say that there were a few tunes they still liked, presumably Dark Days and Reservoir considering their inclusion in the set. But back to the music, despite Stefan's sick throat they didn't hold back and threw in a few from The Dream is Over as well, highlighed by Familiar Patterns. Now road-worn they can really rip a set without looking too weary for the effort. This included ventures out into the constant mosh pit by Stefan and Steve while the crowd literally carried them, physically and with "backing" vocals throughout. By the time it came around to sign off, Stefan was still being purposely unlikeable and clearly voiced the band's stance on encores, even going so far as to suggest that other bands should stop doing them and encouraging us to chant "No More Songs" at future gigs. All that to say they didn't leave the stage before playing their "encore" of the still-incredible one-two punch of If this Tour Doesn't Kill You directly into DVP. If anyone in the crowd had any breath left in their lungs beforehand it was all spent by the end of this sweaty, raucous set from this band that three albums and innumerable in give no appearance of coasting in any regard yet.

Sløtface have been on my radar for a few years now and so I was really excited to catch them again. And they brought it, despite not having yet unleashed their second album. Everyone involved did their part though it is their pint-sized frontwoman who sets the scene. The crowd was appreciative to start and got more and more into it, with moshing and the like. Finally I couldn't take it anymore after one of the new singles Telepathetic rolled into Nancy Drew as I ran in to join them for the closing of the set. A perfect set-up for Pup.


Arriving partway through the set from Fresh I got a good dose of what I expected based upon their recorded stuff - decent indie rocking music with a melodic female voice atop it all. They didn't blow me away but I wouldn't shy away from them in the future either.

Pup Setlist

Morbid Stuff

Kids

My Life Is Over and I Couldn't Be Happier

Back Against the Wall

Free at Last

See You at Your Funeral

Sleep in the Heat

Dark Days

Scorpion Hill

Closure

Familiar Patterns

Reservoir

If This Tour Doesn't Kill You, I Will

DVP

Weakend Friends - Baby G (Toronto) Nov 12, '19

Weakened Friends
It was a frigid Toronto winter evening outside but the lucky and the brave were inside the Baby G. Consisting of Sonia singing and guitar, Annie on bass and backup vocals, plus fill in drummer (Zack?) these were the Weakened Friends. Super grateful for the small gathering who had come to see them they delighted with a perfect set of punk rock. Relating with us by Sonia having grown up in an unnamed Toronto suburb ("you know where Canada's Wonderland is?") the band is now based in Portland, Maine but holds a special spot for Toronto. Having just played a warm up gig for Pup in Halifax (where those Haligonians bought up all the vinyl!) I'd have thought the city taste makers would be all over this trio but they are obviously sleeping. That's alright, I'll be the one saying "I saw them play on a Tuesday at the Baby G and it was superb.

Baby Band
Baby Band the band, playing at Baby G the bar, are still teething. Literally giggling over with enthusiasm they can't quite make up for the lack of polish. The songs were straightforward enough yet it seemed that each of the four of them was stumbling on the regular. The backup vocalist ought to stick to the fringes and the whole crew really needs to hit the rehearsal studio hard before pushing out into the real world. There are some novel ideas here, the Sad! Gay! Broke! chant intro for one song seemed to resonate with some in the room, including the headliners, but the whole set could use some work.

Owen Pallet - Longboat (Great) Hall, Toronto Nov 9, '19

Camille Elle from Army Girls took to the stage first with a couple of electric guitars for herself. At first it didn't seem all that inspired singer-songwriter but after she introduced herself and admitted to some of her anxieties leading up to the show the crowd got behind her and things improved. The start of the upswing was when she played an Army Girls song that had some more oomph, followed by a self described "It Gets Better" song addressed to her teenage-self that further endeared us to her. From there it was smooth sailing as she got stronger with her stage presence, vocals, and just the overall flow to the set.

Owen came to the stage in a long, see through black robe of sorts. While tuning up he introduced himself and warned anyone who has attended the previous night (added due to popular demand) that it would be a near identical repeat "but I'll play it better." In his charming manner he explained that it was a cohesive set, best run uninterrupted and kindly asked us to hold any clapping until he gave us the go-ahead. With a guitar strapped on his back and a violin hung from his mic stand he began as a projection faded in from black behind him. It was a new, lighter take on an In Conflict track to start us off. From there he followed with mostly new songs through the main set, much of the instrumentation coming from the guitar, although his signature violin still featured well. Overall it was a more soothing sound than his earlier frenetic Final Fantasy music, still building songs layer upon layer via his looping pedals as there were no other musicians, yet it showed a lot more restraint. The base layer of the songs was often from the guitar before adding the violin and finally that beautiful, delicate voice of his. The visuals, by a woman named Trudy, continued in their very slow panning through abandoned towns, fields, valleys, and coasts. It was all lovely though it may have been better suited for a sit-down show due to the pace and the fact that it was predominantly new material.


Later on, he did include a couple of released songs, primarily from In Conflict including an album highlight The Passions, some as originally recorded while others got a new take. Finally he broke and was washed over with applause before playing one last song - I believe this was the moment of a personal favourite, Lewis Takes Off His Shirt. Taking a small pause backstage I really wasn't sure what to expect from this evening, whether that was it, but alas he returned for a few more which helped to make up for the indulgent first half. But first he had a chat with the audience and took questions, including "when is It out?" to which Owen gave the unclear response "It. Funny thing is, it's been finished for nearly two years. I listen to it sometimes; it's really good." Another was "when are you playing Toronto again?" which was met with mock outrage "I haven't even finished this set!" There was also banter about how he lives five minutes from the Great Hall and that he actually walked over, though the question about an afterparty at his was met with a laugh "Afterparty? There will be copious amounts of herbal tea." In terms of music he introduced I Am Not Afraid as "my favourite song that I've ever written; I'm just happy I finally learned how to play it." To close it all off was the song that has had many renditions and is a live show stalwart, This is the Dream of Win and Regine, which reminded me of the amazing way Pallett's violin loops and voice can draw me in and take me on a musical wave all while stood in a darkened club. Thanks Owen, looking forward to It.