Stars (Edge Studios - Sept 12/12)

As Amy stepped out of the Jetta driven by Evan she joked that there had been a problem with the limo. Torq must have already been inside as they assembled on the studio stage with an unfamiliar acoustic guitarist. "Rather than stand here looking at each other for 7 minutes why don't we play them a song?" Torq mused once the door opened between musicians and fans, to the lovely, windy Toronto evening. This treat was a double acoustic version of their beautiful Your Ex Lover Is Dead. This song typifies the heart-wrenching lyrics and male-female interplay between Amy and Torq's fantastic voices that Stars have built themselves upon.

Following this song, with only two minutes until on-air, Torq threw out some suggestions for Amy and the new guitarist to riff on and Amy settled on Time After Time, which everyone - even Bookie - joined in on for the chorus after she sang the one verse anyone knew. Following Torq's playful version of the Sleep Country Canada jingle it was show time. Amy took the spotlight first, leading vocals on new song Backlines. Torq joined in and it was quite nice before he got to be the showcase on The North's title track. It was over all too soon but ever the performers they made those few minutes special.

Bloc Party (Edge Studios, Sept 11/12)

A windy waterfront had the Edge studio rolling door down up until the Bloc Party. Up went the door and on went the show - just a two man teaser with a seated acoustic guitar and Kele Okereke's signature vocals. He really put a lot into the first song, Truth, which has a very nice chorus plainly heard in this stripped down arrangement. Following the radio "thanks - once again, Bloc Party!" they played another solid new song from Four in Day Four. Personally I was hoping for a special throwback to Silent Alarm, especially This Modern Love, but it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't angular, it wasn't upbeat yet it was still enjoyable.

Wintersleep (Edge Studios Sept 10/12)

Paul Murphy, the Wintersleep singer was out chatting with the loosely assembled group of fans on the rock in front of the Edge studios until he was called away for soundcheck (half of  Nothing is Anything). Twenty minutes later the rock crowd had assembled in front of the studio where the core five-piece edition cranked out a full version of Nothing is Anything live on the air. The three guitars soared on this forthcoming single and led them straight into current chart burner, In Came the Flood. The singer had swapped acoustic for tambo on this and the crashing ending was fantastic. Likable on-air personality Bookie seemed into it and the crowd was too so we got a bonus off-air rendition of the "anti-climatic" Dead Letter & the Infinite Yes with some stellar backing vocals from Jon Samuel, the keyboardist/guitar player. Short and sweet set - a lovely primer for their upcoming full show in October. 

Hey Rosetta (Edge 102, June 27, 2011)

Being a Live @ The Edge event my expectations were tempered but the crowd of fifty or so down at Sugar Beach received a worthwhile performance. Without much ado, besides an on-air introduction Tim began strumming his guitar and the other five that round out Hey Rosetta broke in. It was a fully acoustic set that was unique from that aspect but reduced the extremes that HR work so well, from quiet to crashing. Young Glass and Welcome included cello and drums, the latter being brushed for the most part, with the rocking drum solo replaced by mambo to fit the small, acoustic feel. Tim's excellent voice stood out clearly from this backdrop. As an added bonus for those of us who trekked down after work they did a third tune off air, Bandages, with a pared down set of instruments. Although it felt more like a teaser than a show it was still well worth its while.