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.

Field Trip '14 - Constantines - Fort York (June 8)

A reunion that many had been dreaming about since the beloved Cons announced their indefinite hiatus in 2010. Although it was the first show scheduled they had actually surprised the citizens of Guelph with a tune-up gig Friday night. Well it worked, as the five were in fine form, guitars blazing through a host of their hits. To open they called upon two additional stand up drummers to Draw Us Lines and when they left the hits just kept on coming. Bry had forgotten his solo project, his gruff voice belting out Hotline Operator as the band rocked out and the true fans were obvious in attendance - there to fist pump, holler 'turn it up!' and hold their hands high mirroring the band during Shine a Light. The Cons were joined for a couple joints by Tamara (Weather Station) and Jenn (Jennifer Castle). A personal favourite, I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song, was given the rock treatment and dedicated to PC leader Tim Hudak. Despite being a bunch of guys who have aged, got married, settled down and had kids, it seemed they forgot all of that for the set closer as they completely jammed out like their old selves up there.