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).

Alvvays - Arts & Crafts NXNE Pop-up Shop (June 13/13)

Alvvays have been on my radar since the Two Hours Traffic shakeup saw Alec O'Hanley leave to join Molly Rankin in this endeavor. Also on my radar, though for a much shorter time period, was the Arts & Crafts photograph installation for NXNE. The latter would prove interesting for what it was, while the former turned out not to be worth the wait.

The gallery included B&W close-ups of members of nearly all the current label’s roster, many of which blown up to larger-than-life proportions. The Snowblink pic was particularly interesting as it showed half of each members face, one in profile, the other half-covered by the first. In the back room was a collage of candid (and not so-) photos that chronicled the lifespan of Broken Social Scene, which in itself branches throughout much of the other bands featured elsewhere. A neat glimpse into the down-to-earth social lives of the artists whose art so many of us have come to idealize.

Back in the front room the band was behind schedule – a NXNE no-no. The reason was a terrible soundcheck by a seemingly unpractised, or perhaps just inept, sound technician and despite the delay there was a noticeable buzz that persisted for the entire set. At first it seemed this was what was bothering Alec as he dully played his guitar with a frown on his face and attempted to rearrange amps and mics between songs in a futile attempt to clear the air. From what I’ve heard from - and about - Molly Rankin I was expecting her vocals to save the day but was dismally disappointed. At no point did she enunciate or even put anything that could be construed as emotion into her performance. With uninterested members, monotone vocals and rather bland songs there were not many redeeming qualities. The parade of hand-holding adults who streamed by the Queen Street window provided the best distraction of the set!