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 Sunday Afternoon - Badbadnotgood, Strumbellas+ (July 29/12)

Ah, the Strumbellas! What a shot in the arm they were to kickstart this Sunday afternoon. Entirely barefoot they stomped and yelped through a rollicking set of folk-tinged bangers. Off the top they were slightly subdued but a couple tracks in they hit their stride and the energy became infections and had the crowd swiftly on their feet. A Lake Stage sand storm ensued as we spun and clapped along and even welcomed the tilly-hatted, bespectacled, bearded lead into our midst. Once back onstage alongside his heavy-footed keyboardist they amped it up on The Sheriff and others. They even went so far as to bodycheck each other, sending the singer sprawling into a stack of gear from which he popped back by pushing off an acoustic guitar in the pile...*inhales sharply*... tough to watch. The band however was not at all difficult to take in; in fact it was a joyous experience, just as I'd hoped!

While enjoying an early afternoon dip in the lake the music of Alanna Gurr drifted out to the beach. I was surprised at the amount that I recognized and found it to be quite a nice swimming accompaniment.

Sure there'd been some hype but BADBADNOTGOOD still stole the show with their jazzy take on modern music. These young fellas are doing something that seems so utterly fresh and yet damn polished, it's thrilling to watch. People crowded around as the three confident, yet modest Humber students reimagined popular tracks into fresh-baked goodness. They dropped a number of recognizable riffs and beats into modern mashups that got the crowd (Rich Aucoin included) really into the set. Somehow the drummer played a couple of songs from behind a pig mask while the bass player and keyboardist didn't resort to such gimmicks but just laid it on like peanut butter, smooth and thick. Their take on Feist's Limit To Your Love was a solid way to introduce what they were going to do and once we 'got it' the deep bass lines of Kanye's Flashing Lights were an amazing way to have us all jump in unison. If ever there was an opportunity for a 4pm encore at Hillside this was it (with a stage break next) but sadly the stage manager was too intent on his break and nixed it in the bud. Shit, that was something though.

There's this weird thing with The Wooden Sky where I like the odd song that I hear by them and people around me love them but for whatever reason, whether it is recorded or live, they haven't burst through from 'like' to 'love' for me. This sunny afternoon saw them playing the main stage and I managed to catch the end of the set which again was good but didn't put me over the edge despite playing some good tunes in The Late King Henry and Oh My God. Maybe one day it'll click.

A nifty little workshop out back at the Sun Stage that started out with a cover from The Strumbellas followed up by the Chic Gamine chicks really lovely harmonies. Afie came up next in his wide-brimmed hat for an original featuring great additional violin from the Strumbellas as well as some back-up ooos from a couple ladies of his own (and prompted a couple more from the ladies in the crowd). They went around again and the singer from the Strumbellas sat on the stage's edge for an acoustic picking song. CG did the silence song which was a capella barring the drums.








Finally all of these wonderful artists combined forces on Bahamas' suggestion - and who is the uniting artist that everyone is always game to cover? Tom Petty, of course; You Don't Know How It Feels! This got the ball rolling straight into the oft-covered itself, Blue Moon of Kentucky, before closing out with the Canadian equivalent to Tom Petty in the go-to cover category - Neil Young and in this case, Harvest Moon. That's the spirit.

Ohbijou was rammed and their sets always make me a little sleepy, so to combat that I skipped watching and just listened to them as a backdrop while re-energizing with Feng's Dumplings.

Hillside Sunday Morning - Wooden Sky, Ohbijou, Memoryhouse+ (July 29/12)

Yes it was the Gospel Hour first thing Sunday at Hillside but many people found themselves in the school of The Wooden Sky, perennial workshop favourites, who were blessed with the angelic presence of Ohbijou. A workshop should be fun and interactive and that's exactly what was delivered as both bands collaborated, mixing the cut-off shirted guitars and banjo of The Wooden Sky with the female cello, violin (and trumpet) of Ohbijou. What beaver-loving Canadian doesn't love The Hip? Little Bobcaygeon got things going and rolled onwards with You've Really Got A Hold on Me (Smokey Robinson). The epic height difference between the bands was rather amusing yet their musical styles lined up well enough for a very appropriate '60s feel on Carole King's Will You Love Me Tomorrow. Now the Wooden Sky did indulge in a song of their own - however it was the first time they'd ever played it for an audience so still a proper use of a workshop. Future Hillside bands, please take note - this is how to throw a workshop!

Following that uplifting beginning to the day the true Gospel Hour beckoned just in time to catch a tune
that had most on stage (Be Good Tanyas, Birds of Chicago, Elephant Revival), as well as most in the bursting Island tent, "wade into the water". The hatted ladies in the front of the crowd first started getting into it and then everyone joined in. There were even solos; trumpet, keyboard and a washboard solo. Raise your voice!

Having toured together one would hope that the Great Lake Swimmers and Cold Specks would have enough familiarity with each other's material to collaborate on it. Unfortunately this did not seem to be the case as the few songs from both that were caught during their workshop saw them simply swapping back and for. Cold Specks did perform When the City Lights Dim which saw the GLS crew backing her up.

Memoryhouse and Imaginary Cities both make some very pretty music but there was no synergy here. Even worse than the track for track stylings of most poor workshops they simply split the timeslot in half with Memoryhouse checking in first used a drum board to play a few tunes including a cover. The male member understandable stayed seated to play his acoustic guitar as he'd have worked up a sweat moving around in that heavy sweater in the July heat. The drummer's percussion was subdued by his soft tipped sticks and also employed a shaker. Taking over Imaginary Cities played three songs of their own, nice but not even reaching heights from their full set on Saturday, leaving not much new to remark.

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!

Hillside Sunday Eve - Cold Specks, Joel Plaskett+ (July 29/12)

I Predict a Graceful Expulsion is a beautiful record based primarily on the lovely voice of the young Al Spx. Performing under the Cold Specks moniker she put that voice on display as she opened a Capella, but for much of the rest of the set was backed by a couple of competent Englishmen and a Winnipegger (electric guitar, keyboard and drum, plus her own electric). There had been some well-deserved buzz about this artist and this was reflected in the tent turnout. Unfortunately for any fans not yet indoctrinated to the church of Specks it must not have been quite as captivating and resulted in an audible buzz of conversation overtop of some of the quieter songs (a pity). Naturally drawing much of her material from the debut album she did it justice and even included a few non-album cuts as well. With about two minutes to spare at the end of the set Al delivered an astounding unaccompanied old standard that just about floored me. Raw talent was on display.

A surprisingly small crowd greeted Memoryhouse considering they are locals AND they had a positive review on Pitchfork. Perhaps that's the snapback from not touring locally or being overtly involved in the Guelph scene? Regardless the two primary members persisted, Denise on keys and obviously lead vocals, and Evan seated with his acoustic, accompanied by a live drummer. Akin to Beach House, the music (especially that from the early EPs) is more suited to headphones in a lonely bedroom than being played live, especially at a festival. Not varying much from their workshop earlier in the day they played a couple of the same songs, even the same obscure cover that is a sonic departure for them, and didn't really make a connection either way with the audience.

Half Moon Run were slightly better dressed than the schmucks they looked like last time around, they wore simple jeans and tees while engaging the crowd. Their show works in part because of its dynamism as they are constantly swapping instruments in and out and between each other on nearly every song. The group featured as many as three drummers during their set this Hillside. Even the sound varies, including a supreme R&B groove on one of the newer songs that really hit the spot. Reception was solid and it's great to see this band continue on their upward trajectory.

Having seen Great Lake Swimmers a number of times, even on this very stage, it wasn't that high on the objective list to spend another few sleepy songs in the grass. That being said Your Rocky Spine is a stellar tune, especially keying on the lyrics, and it's always a treat to catch that, even in passing.

Having built and built their reputation from exceptional performances in their workshops over the weekend it was finally time for the Birds of Chicago to showcase their wares all on their own. Playing to a tent full of mostly new converts this part primarily American (Chicago) band, with ties to Canada, put on a show living up to the bar that they had set for themselves. From the few songs that I did catch it seemed that they were putting a lot into it and getting a lot back from the crowd, even on their non-English language track. It wouldn't be a surprise to see this band returning in the coming years as audience and band alike seemed to thoroughly enjoy the interaction.

The Slakadeliqs came in with some hype behind their recent release having garnered all sorts of accolades for its genre busting sounds despite consisting of a fairly standard four piece configuration, drum, acoustic, electric and bass. The crowd was fairly meager being up against some strong names on the other stages but they did their best to amp it up in the Island Tent regardless. There's a definite groove to their music that carries them along.

As disappointing as it was for Joel Plaskett to miss a couple of workshops earlier in the weekend (imagine the songwriting ability coupled with Tony Dekker and Bry Webb??) it was worth it as the extra couple of days of rest allowed Joel to come out very strong for the main stage weekend ending set. Not only was his definitive voice there and strong but he was his engaging self, putting on a show like the showman he is, including a moonwalk-like slide to cover the stage. Opening with classic Down at the Khyber he mixed old with new, slow (particularly Heartless, Heartless, Heartless) while putting some emphasis on the surprisingly strong recent release, Scrappy Happiness, considering the self-imposed song per week time constraints put on the writing and recording. Lightning Bolt seemed particularly appropriate not only because of the threatening thunderstorm but also the lyric "I was sick but now I'm cured". Following a set that met and exceeded Joel Plaskett set requirements he settled in and had some fun with us. There was the singsong of "Rain, rain go away", a little April Wine, and then some doo-a-ditty into Work Out Fine. This last one saw him dancing himself to the ground only to catch a glimpse and be mesmerized by the moon for a minute or so (from his back, on the stage). A consummate professional he knew how to close a set with the the Joel Plaskett song in many people's minds - Nowhere with You - and finally his eccentric live rendition of Exraordinary. Encore! Encore! And so he did, persisting with Harbour Boys with just our clapping as he dealt with a broken string only to come back strong and rock out the ending. Putting a nice cap on the evening, the weekend and another fabulous Hillside was Come on Teacher, complete with a Hillside referencing freestyle. Oh Joel.

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.