The Arkells, Joel Hagan and the Family - Hare & Hounds - Nov 28, 2018

The Arkells
It felt like a warm-up tour for these guys who are playing hockey arenas across their homeland in the new year. By no means is this a bad thing, especially considering this was a few hundred person capacity room at the Hare and Hounds (for a tenner.) They seemed to play a lot of the new stuff which makes sense if you wanna polish it up, but completely omitting the debut, even in encore, seemed like an oversight for those there from the start. Michigan Left was the oldest track from their catalogue all night. Max does have the showman vibe yet still manages to have a few awkward moments within, not necessarily terrible but a little distracting in telling random stories or trying to hush shrieking Canadian female fans. "Represent our country respectfully." He also tried to win us over based on geography with a call for our best English accents on Leather Jacket (uh, English people don't have English "accents") and not pronouncing the city of Birmingham properly doesn't help. Using a bunch of other modern tricks, Max went into the crowd early to sing a song while stood on a stool (say that 5 times fast!) at the back, and the whole band returned later for an "acoustic" (though more like unplugged since they were still electric instruments) version of Book Club that was an unscripted request while the drummer tended to a broken snare with duct tape. There was, of course, some clap- and sing-alongs, as their brand of stadium rock is wont to have, and the crowd happily obliged on these. Now a staple of Foo Fighters shows, the boys asked for anyone who played guitar to stick up their hands. It wasn't exactly a stampede to get on stage but one woman did put her hand up and once she told them she didn't need their stinking guitar picks - she used her fingers - she played the part rather well, literally and figuratively. People's Champ was alright and a sign of where they have gone as a band with the chant-along accessibility and polished soar. They played a solid hour and some before faking the encore "we don't have anywhere to go" and bringing most of opener, Hagen and the Family, back onstage, minus Wonder Woman. They did a fan-voted cover "Theresa May stole it from Abba and we're stealing it back!" (I will put on record that I voted for Whitney.) The rendition was a bit of a hot mess, with Hagan forgetting some of the lyrics and everyone else trying to share mics, but it seemed joyous. After booting those guys back out I thought we might get John Lennon, alas it wasn't meant to be and I don't even recall at the moment the closer that took them minutes past curfew.

Joel Hagan and The Family

This was the only time I've ever queued at the Hare and Hounds at all, let alone down the stairs, out the door, and into the street. There must have been some anticipation for the openers, Joel Hagan and the Family, despite it not even being a fully sold out gig. The glitter on the faces of a large smattering of people stood in front of me was explained when this five-piece, all-male band took the stage with a bedazzled, glam rock singer plus a couple of female backup singers and dancers that were distractingly placed right at the front and ran around fake fawning and performing terribly choreographed dances. The crowd, old/young/male/female alike, ate it up and cheered and clapped along but my black heart remained stoic to this bashing over the head. The music was as you are imagining - upbeat, keyboard-heavy, with obvious electric guitar and bass solos. Joel did have a strong singing voice even if he dressed and spoke like a posh pirate. not too far off Johnny Depp who I channelled Keith Richards, but this seemed exactly like I wrote it - an homage to an homage.

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!

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.

Dead Tired admitted to being the odd one out at this festival, not because they aren't from Hamilton – they are – but because they are playing screaming hardcore. What else would you expect from George Pettit, the former lead vocalist of Alexisonfire? The five of them played their instruments quickly and savagely, except George who did the same with his voice that was definitely screaming but not completely raa-raa. Despite this, the size of the crowd was surprisingly big and they even had a mini pit going with a few teenagers up front.

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.

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.

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.

Hillside Saturday Day - ALX, Imaginary Cities + (July 28/12)

Birds of Chicago/Open Hearts Society workshop
Birds of Chicago were already back to warm more hearts. Technically a Chicago band they have Canadian roots that brought them to Hillside. First though were the Open Hearts Society and their female vocalist plus a new guy on electric guitar. The lady bird was flashy in her orange dress and large hair while her male counterpart played an acoustic. As a throwback to their roots in the 90's alternative band they pulled out a countrified version of.. no not their hit Two Princes but another gem in Little Miss Can't Be Wrong. Fun thing to do in a workshop and a fun thing to see for nostalgia sake.

Deep Dark Woods/Wooden Sky workshop
Forest in the Sky was not only made for the fantastic mash-up title but also because the two bands paired quite well. Both the Deep Dark Woods (forest) and The Wooden Sky (sky) were hairy creatures who combined on a Willie Nelson tune, complete with banjo and a country feel despite the keys. I'd skipped DDW the previous night in favour of the Arkells and considering I didn't really recognize or get that into any of the songs, I stand by my decision.

Arkells/Bright Light Social Hour workshop
Since Deep Dark Woods weren't quite doing it and the Arkells had the night before I went over to give them another try. Again Aaron Goldstein (who they introduced as a member of City and Colour as well as the Cowboy Junkies) joined them and again they did the Dylan with The Band cover "because it was so much fun last night!" The vocalists swapped from verse to verse which kept it fresh. All together they performed a Neil Young song and then I Need Your Love, another cover and why not? It is a workshop after all.

Hillside Saturday Late- Rich Aucoin, Elliott Brood (July 28/12)

Elliott Brood

With Elliott Brood I have had some magnificent concert experiences, ahem Vancouver Olympics, small Club Vinyl Guelph, but most recently a sub par show at the Phoenix in Toronto. Prior to their set I'd allowed the most recent memory to cloud my judgement and had decided to branch out and skip their set. However as things at Hillside changed on the fly I was able to come over for the last few tracks and, boy, was I glad that I did. Their music is so upbeat and just asking for people to clap, bang and dance along that when that doesn't happen (looking at you Toronto) an entirely important aspect of the experience is notably missing. At Hillside one needn't worry about whether people will dance though so I found myself swept up in the Elliott Brood swirl that was already underway. Unfortunately I apparently missed the flash-mob that broke out earlier, and didn't have a pot or a pan to bash on but that all would have just been gravy. A good time, not a long time, as I managed to shimmy to a few favourites including Valley Town and a joyous rendition of Miss You Now. The latter finally went off after speedily troubleshooting and replacing a wonky amp right before the final song. Whatta time!

Zeus
The tradeoff in staying til the very end of Elliott Brood was a lack of sightlines from the back corner picnic bench of the Island Tent for Zeus. It's not so much their visual antics as their revved up throwback sound that their show is about anyhow. That meant only catching glimpses of them shredding Marching Through Your Head and The Renegade, while not ideal, wasn't the greatest loss either.

Rich Aucoin
What do you get when you insert Canada's premier party-starter in Rich Aucoin into the biggest party night of Canada's premier festival? You get all of the following, plus so many more intangibles that I'm sure to have forgotten (and probably couldn't even put into words anyhow).

To begin with, the word was out and the tent was utterly crammed with partygoers excitedly bouncing beach balls in anticipation while the tech crew hurriedly set up for the final set of the night. Finally it got underway and it appeared like a shoddily built tower of cards with a video projector on top but somehow we got through the entire intro video without too many blackouts. The video, as always, featured a number of chopped up youtube sensation videos as well uplifting and hilarious thank-yous and shout-outs, including one to yours truly the "official Hillside weatherman" (a nod to a tweet from earlier in the day). This was all done in full darkness, and finally after the extended setup and then the intro vid, when the lights came up and the music started all of that pent up energy exploded into a swaying, frothing sea of humans. What songs did he play? Who played which instrument? These are inconsequential details when the fact of the matter is that it was sheer excitement and fun throughout the altogether too short closing set. Rich himself did some crowd surfing, set off heaps of confetti bombs, climbed one of the tent poles and generally hyped up an already hyper audience. And yes, the signature parachute did make its appearance! Unfortunately it was far too small to physically contain everyone in attendance but it stretched just far enough for me to be on the edge of it, and the childlike joy that it brought permeated the whole tent. As the song goes "we can't leave It all in our heads" and we didn't, as we absolutely went off, leaving it all on the floor and marching off into the night with exuberance!

Arkells +Darcys, +Lights (CNE Aug 29/12)

The Darcys were the warm-up act and were doing a decent job of it. A 5 piece with a side stage drummer and two members who both played the keyboards and the guitar - sometimes on the same song. They had a downbeat prog drum sound on second last song Shaking Down the Old Bones. There were some prog-like elements coming through in the guitar too on the finale. Perhaps it wasn't the ideal venue for a band like this but they showed some musical prowess to a solid amount of people so that's gotta be a win.

Oh the Arkells are coming. All around Ontario this summer the Arkells were pumping out party anthems and having fun with their crowds. No different this time around they rocked out jams new and old. So new, in fact, they debuted one fittingly about Labour Day and in a very Joel Plaskett-like style rhymed about the QEW which they affectionately referred to as the Queen Lizzy. They also put another song to rest - hopefully forever.. Calling it the send-off from the summer they faded from Abigail into an introduction as the final time that the song should ever be heard and yes-they-did cover Call Me Maybe. Hilariously however, verses and all (who knew there were any verses?). Yet again Dan Griffin, or should I say Agent Zero, joined them as they literally "turned the lights down low". For On Paper Max couldn't ignore the sign reading "My name's Laura - you can't ignore it" and flashed it on stage before rounding out the set with Whistleblower.

The encore would have been a predictable three songs that again included Hall & Oates and John Lennon except they had a guest in Lights sing alone for a tune. Bit of a preview as they recently announced a tour with her coming right up. Hopefully they keep the collaboration going as it worked like a charm.

Hillside Friday - Arkells, Kathleen Edwards, + (July 27/12)

A pleasant surprise at the first workshop of the night was when the female trio of Belle Starr incorporated a form of tap dancing as percussion in their set. How cool is that?!

Swapping out for New Country Rehab they were predictably country and then gave way to Kathleen Edwards. She played a love song for Hamilton, seeing as we were straight up the highway from there. There'd been whispers of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) sightings that didn't make much sense considering their apparent split. Regardless he didn't show but Kathleen played a few of her own songs here in the Island Tent in warm up for her main stage set later in the evening.

Stepping away from the Belle Starr fancy stepping there was a Guelph showcase going on at the Lake Stage. All of Bry Webb, Esther Grey, Mike Brooks (in all white) and a bunch of others were on stage doing a Dylan cover with a slide guitar and cello too upon arrival. Esther jumped offstage for another tune and I slipped back away as well.

My expectations of Maylee Todd were not what transpired. There was a slow groove sound coming from the stage, bordering on reggae, that really wasn't translating to me. She had a bongo and drum, a couple of keyboards in addition to bass/drum/guitars but I just couldn't get into it and strolled off.

I was glad that I did too as I got to catch a chunk of Bombay Bicycle Club who I'd heard of but not being Canadian I had little exposure to them to this point. What I heard was enjoyable peppy indie rock from across the pond. The all-male five piece included keys and a sort of electronic drum machine. Later in the set a girl came out to join them and she returned on the finale that ominously asked "Where's the lightning?" which thankfully never came weather-wise. There was an additional standalone drummer for this tune and the female vocalist returned and all of this culminated in a thunderous, crashing ending. Won-over.

Caught just a minute of the gruff Crooked Brothers over at the Lake Stage. There were a plethora of mics on stage for this workshop with the Magnificent 7's and they helped to capture the multitude of voices used in the call and response of "This city should rise to heaven".

Following this workshop was another that had potential but with Joel Plaskett not in attendance due to illness, and Chad VanGaalen barely contributing in a main way it fell rather flat. The Birds of Chicago did take their first step to winning over Hillside as they would throughout the weekend but Geoff Berner was frankly terrible with his accordion song about the police. I expected Chad to counter with Freedom for a Policeman but he just made a bunch of noise and handed the reigns back over. Following this I couldn't hold out anymore and gave up on the whole thing in favour of Kathleen Edwards' main stage set.

Kathleen Edwards seemed to be in great spirits as she played a bunch off her latest, and in my opinion, most compelling, album Voyageur. Moving through the album there was Empty Threat and Chameleon/Comedion which both featured some solid electric guitar work from Jim Bryson and backing vocals from Julie Fader. She played a mix of acoustic and electric guitar, and a mix of songs from the title track of Asking for Flowers to Going to Hell, Change the Sheets, and Sidecar. Jim swapped out for keys at times and Kathleen even played the violin for a song. Ms. Edwards seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself throughout as they moved from a Jim/Kathleen duet to songs that were intended to make us dance. She even dropped a bunch of "motherf**rs" in her banter which at first seemed slightly potty coming from her but was said in such a positive way that she could hardly be faulted. Having finally see her play I was impressed with what I saw.

Unfortunately while Kathleen was entertaining me Young Empires were putting on a party over in the Island Tent. I only managed to catch their final song, White Doves, used for the Olympics, but what I did catch was fun. The 4-piece included some big bass and samples and had everyone in the tent up and dancing about, banging beach balls around and having a time.

The Arkells always seem to put on a heckuva show and this was no exception. Some exceptional elements were their Hall and Oates cover of You Make My Dreams. During Oh, the Boss is Coming! they installed a quick shout out to the former Guelph band, The Constantines, with a chorus of Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright!). Naturally part-time/former Arkell, Dan Griffin, joined them on stage beginning with On Paper having performed earlier in the evening with his backing band The Regrets. Another special guest was Kathleen Edwards who had just vacated the stage so the Arkells could close it down. She appeared gleeful to be out on stage singing along with Max on Agent Zero - in fact she was still dancing and beaming even when she returned side stage. They closed out with Whistle Blower but of course were cheered back out for Deadlines (and a blip of This Little Light) before calling people (Aaron Goldstein, Kathleen and Dan again) out on stage for a rendition of a Bob Dylan with The Band song. The only way to wrap was a little John Lennon (their song, not the man - note the italics and not the bold) and this sent everyone home happy at the conclusion of Hillside night one.

Sound Of Music: Arkells, Born Ruffians (Burlington, June 14/12)

The Arkells

The exact amount of hours they had driven home from their tour in the US to be at this show wasn't exactly known but the fact that The Arkells really, really wanted to be there was abundantly clear. Between most songs they'd shout out to Hamilton, which was basically visible across the lake, beyond the bridge as night fell on this headlining Thursday night set. Adopting Burlington as essentially their home for the Sound of Music show they also have plenty of hometown references in their songs (beyond their name which stems from the Hamiltonian street they lived on when forming). Especially Where U Goin which calls out to some Ontario highways (403, 401, 402 you're on the run) as well as Toronto, Detroit, chemical valley and McMaster's Branson Hall. Then there's the name of their debut, Jackson Square, too. And for Book Club everyone screamed "You can drive me back to Hamilton."

I'd seen the Arkells all over the place in '09 and a couple of times during the 2010 Olympics but nothing since then. Those shows were great but in the interim it appears as if the band has only gotten better. Death of the frontman? I'd beg to differ and use Max Kermin as evidence. He is the ultimate showman as he commands the crowd with confidence, singing strongly and allowing us to sing along at almost any opportunity he can. The musicians can reproduce the album to a T if they desire though they definitely take some artistic license throughout the show to add flair to a compelling show. (Like when they added in a few line cover of a recent popular song that eludes me at the moment during Pullin' Punches before a very rocking ending.) The keyboardist was perhaps the most alluring besides Max as he really gave it his all, relishing the spotlight with his harmonica solo on No Champagne Socialist and otherwise just whooping it up. At one point he had his foot on his first set of keys and banged away on the upper set.

Max made  a surprise appearance during last year's Tokyo Police Club show at Sound of Music and this year the guest was former Arkell, Dan Griffin, returning to sing and play on Agent Zero and then sticking around for much of the rest of the set. This included set closer Deadlines (that somehow had a cell-phone illuminated, This Little Light of Mine interlude) and a sweet encore of one of their best new songs, Book Club, and one of their best old songs, John Lennon. These guys are performers - and what a great "hometown" show it was!

Born Ruffians

These guys have definitely come a long was from their (super enjoyably) frenetic first EP. Luke Lalonde's vocals are incredible and Mitch's, well Mitch seems to offset those well with his extra-gruff yells. Regardless it was an entertaining show that saw them playing songs from all over their discography. They did include one brand new one, 6-5000, which seems to play to their strength as it comes to a near stop with a number of breakdowns. The trio was rounded out with a fourth member on guitar and keys and altogether it made for an enjoyable performance.

Of Gentleman and Cowards

This is a group of young guys who have some solid guitar work though they are using it to play some pretty uninspired rock at the moment. Hopefully once they gain some confidence in playing they'll branch out and write some music to stand out from the crowd. They were genuinely grateful to be playing the mainstage even if they were the first band of the night. Keep on keepin' on boys.

Juno Concert Series with Arkells, Beauties, The Order of Good Cheer (Horseshoe Tavern, March 3)

If it was an Arkells show that you'd signed up for that wasn't at all what you got, however in many ways this was more special, and undeniably more unique. This evening at the Horseshoe was a chance to pay reverence to Canadian musicians of yesteryear, or even yestermonth - as tributes reigned supreme and surprise guests arrived in bundles.

Rock me gently, rock me slowly
Up first was the Toronto band The Order of Good Cheer, including an all-white donning Serena Ryder's husband. It was no surprise when she arrived on song two for some guest vocals and stuck around for much of this fully enjoyable set rooted firmly in rock and roll. Tom Darcy also grabbed a mic for a couple songs including Rock Me Gently. Contemporary covers from Jason Collett's mouth were Weakerthans Sun in an Empty Room and Metric's Gold Guns Girls. Kevin Drew of BSS fame played a non-eyewear related Corey Hart song. The highlight came as Billy Talent's main man, Ben Kowalaweicz, tore apart a song and band I'd never even heard before. Surfing on Heroine by the Forgotten Rebels was undeniably punk with a very tangible surfer feel. Excellent way to close the set off.

It may have been for a mere one song, solo, but any chance to witness Ron Sexsmith play is a fortunate chance.

This ain't nothing new to me - well it's just like going home
The six members of the Beauties went straight into Juno territory with Guess Who's Guns Guns Guns (Godspeed Mother Nature) before inviting renowned Toronto musician Ian Blurton out to rip some guitar strings, slag the audience and sing from beyond the beard Weeping Widow. Man of the moment Afie Jurvasen aka Bahamas, replaced Ian on the guest mic next and then gave way to local member of parliament, Andrew Cash. Cash's vocals were fine but the song choice was one I was unaware of and even with Maya Davis of Ladies of the Canyon also guesting, it was a bit of a yawn. The lull continued for me as members of the respected (but boring IMHO) Skydiggers came out. The set was rescued by one of the greatest Canadian songs ever written (my personal bias now bleeds apparent) Hasn't Hit Me Yet originally by Blue Rodeo of course, sung this time partially by NQ Arbuckle's Neville, but primarily by the Horseshoe sellout crowd. Kevin Drew returned for a song about the last night in the city that sounded right up his alley and apparently is one he's been performing with the Beauties for years anyway. Another Skydiggers song closed out the middle frame.

Can I Get a Witness??
Originally I'd thought the billing was as an Arkells set, and having missed their much adored last tour I was hoping for at least a partial set but it wasn't to be. What came in its place was nothing to be disappointed about however. From the top their enthusiasm for the night, for the songs they'd be singing and the artists they'd be sharing the stage with was infectious. A contemporary classic began in BSS' Cause = Time, given justice by Born Ruffian vocalist Luke Lalonde's vocals. From the same approximate era they dug into an Extraordinary Joel Plaskett tune crooned by Emm Gryner as well as Max Herman. By Divine Right were represented next before a slew of guests arrived on stage. Among them were Cuff the Duke's Wayne Petti, LOTC Maya Davis again (she made her presence felt much of the night) a touring member of City and Colour, and the violin flourish of the Great Lake Swimmers' female player. Why such a large contingency? Attempting to give the second Neil Young song of the night a proper sound requires it, and Harvest Moon succeeded because of it. Wayne stuck around for a marvelous Future Hangs from his main band. My personal highlight came in the form of OLP's 4am that featured Jeremy Taggart, as well as Dave Monks and Graham Wright from Tokyo Police Club. That compact disc, Clumsy, was the soundtrack to my generation's musical awakening, as evidenced by the ensuing singalong. Mr. Popular (Drew) returned to complete the trifecta alongside Maya for The Dears You and I Are a Gang of Losers. Probably the closest thing we'd get to an Arkells song was when they alone ripped out Young Offenders by the Cons from who they've obviously picked up the torch in many ways.

Cuz when the feeling's right...
This is all too much really. The display of talent - not only physically on display but also in the songs written by Juno contenders throughout the ages - was simply awesome. How do you wrap this up? Go with the insanely popular crowd pleasers. First get Gord Sinclair and Paul Langois on stage to perform early years Hip classic, Grace Too. Boy did that go off! Untoppable? Try bringing the house down by bringing the Beauties back out for none other than Bryan Adams' Run To You.

Canadian music was rightfully put on display this evening, and it shone bright.