Reuben and the Dark - TIFF (Sep 5)

Oddly the security wouldn't let us off the street and into the parking lot while they sound checked for a half hour after they should have been playing. Finally the couple dozen of us entered and as they began playing more were drawn in from the TIFF walking street. The band sounded good, booming their drums with cotton ball tipped sticks, under their conventional indie band instruments. Reuben strummed an acoustic guitar for much of the set but also utilized his strong voice without instrumentation in more than a few cases. They were all mic'ed, including the lone female who also played guitar. Nearing the end of the short set they broke out a couple of the more bombastic tracks and really got things going, swapping in a banjo on Rolling Stone but unfortunately, as they were already running behind, this set that the band came from Calgary to play was limited to well under a half hour.

Rich Aucoin, Maylee Todd - TIFF (Sep 4)

Maylee Todd
Sure I may have originally lined up for the double whammy of Hollerado and Born Ruffians but the 600 nineteen-year-olds and the pop bottle it was to be played in put me off, not to mention I was sorta leaning Rich anyhow. Maylee Todd was partway through her set by the time the third TIFF volunteer finally knew what we were talking about "music? This is a film festival." With her still-shaved head she did her best as a hype woman to the smattering of people involved, even having people dance an imaginary red carpet. The tunes were similar to her Field Trip set though the emphasis seemed to be on the good times rather than the music.

Rich Aucoin
Rich's shows have always been that way (good times over music), though his last album, We're All Dying to Live (2011, really?) proved that doesn't need to be the case. With the competent crew on stage, his brother on bass, Taylor Knox in his 43rd group on drums, and the Rubblebucket-shirt on synths and keys you would expect no less. Fighting the technics he just kept motoring in intro and having us scream Maylee Todd's name in appreciation until he got his audio to play with his video. From there we experienced his signature multimedia experience. Despite the release of Ephemeral, live standards such as Four More Years, Are You Experiencing and more, persist and rightly so. He did finagle most of the crowd, and even some passerbyers to join our tight knit circle for some cheers, some high fives and yelling into the mic. On one tune we formed a circle around him while he went around and made people's day with individual attention before we all raced to the center of the circle to pogo and yell the pre-taught chorus as loud as we could. A new and possibly unscripted element was when a swarm of dudes dressed in white and wearing bowler caps jumped over the stage barrier and began moshing around with each other and Rich himself who either invited them or was a great sport about it. Of course, the will-he or won't-he question is always about the parachute and sure enough he brought it. A huge one! Surely this has grown in recent years (maybe he's been quilting) and fit everyone who wanted to be under it, including Maylee Todd (the yelling must have worked) and her entire dance crew, plus - who is that dude across the chute? - none other than Mr. Jason Collett. As a friend said, "I don't go to church but a Rich Aucoin show always raises my spirits as if it's my religion." Amen.

Emm Gryner (TIFF Lightbox, March 20)

Familiar with Emm Gryner's name I was impressed by the long list of her accomplishments read as her introduction. In turn she was there as an introduction to Neil Young's Heart of Gold concert film. Covering Neil's Hey Hey My My (Into the Black) accompanied by her electric guitarist, Jordan, she held her own on a stellar song. Her high-heeled boots were a little funny but her voice was strong and obviously a departure from the original, but retaining the feel of the song. Unfortunately the song was not featured in the film for direct comparison, however she did return alongside Suzie McNeil for a rendition of the film's title track. The back and forth with Suzie was okay, brought down by a few flubbed lines on both parts, but the mix of acoustic and electric guitar carried them along.