Sound of Music - Burlington (June 15/14)

The festival this year had a serious case of Dad-rock which was fitting for it was Father's Day.

Flash Lightnin'
Perhaps the least dad-rocking this young Toronto three-piece has been rawking out for a few years now with the guitar chops to show for it. Arriving partway through I was pleased to catch their eponymous cut although it didn't have quite as much growl as I've seen, and loved, in the past. Despite that it was a solid outing and I had myself scratching my head why I haven't caught them more often in their regular digs at The Dakota Tavern - a perfect place for this scruffy rock'n'roll.

The Stampeders
These guys had good humour and good cheer, playing through some of their own familiar tunes and some classic covers. It wasn't outstanding but it was a solid start.

Fred Penner
My sister and I both stopped at the same time - "that sounds familiar." No doubt it was for it was the soundtrack of our childhood in Fred Penner. From afar he remixed The Cat Came Back into Crabbuckit as a lesson in chords to the kids, wound in another track or two, then brought it all back around.

Ashley MacIsaac
What good timing to catch that one tune from the street. When it was popular, when I was a child, I felt like it was the butt of the joke more often than respected as a song but it really wasn't too bad.

Chilliwack
There are some bands that just keep ticking and then there are others that should know when to call it quits. Some parts of this were cringeworthy, primarily when the singer just could not get near where he needed to on his vocals. Aside from that it was fine but really nothing to make it standout (I only half recognized a couple near the end.)

Trooper
On the way back from the pier the signature Here for a Good Time could be heard ringing out over the water - a fitting way to start a show, of course, but disappointing to miss. Especially as the core of the set seemed to lull along in standard rock. The band did seem to have some swagger (and not just for their age) but it was hard to see with all the people jamming the grounds. Rather than stick it out, plus I may have forgotten about Raise a Little Hell, we up and left in favour of a vegan ice cream sandwich.

Fitz & the Tantrums - Danforth (July 6/14)

Holy Child

The leading lady may have been a child but she seemed nothing but holy with her attempts at provocation, primarily expressed through suggestive dancing and deep crouches. It was distracting from the upbeat synthy derivative pop the other three were pumping so at least it gave us something to ingest. If I wasn't mocking so hard I might have even danced a little more!

Max Frost

Now this band deserved their opening spot. They poured out energy, especially their unstoppable drummer, with rather enjoyable music that had a deep groove accentuated by the guitar solos. Max, the leading man from Austin arrived with his band fully assembled with a relaxed demeanour and face that will sell a few records. However it's his voice, with a definite southern sound in speaking, that will push them over the top if anything. They attempted and hit on a Rick James cover that the female synthesizer danced her way through, as with much of the set. Another interesting touch was that for more than one song Max would play the majority on his acoustic before picking up the electric to drop a few mean licks of a solo - now wearing both guitars around his neck! Keep an ear to the ground.

Fitz & the Tantrums

This show was everything that I was looking for - good sound, good tunes, good vibes and dancing! With a nifty heart that lit in innumerable patterns and further programmable spiralling spotlights (that spelled '6' during 6AM) the stage was set for a fun close to a gorgeous weekend in Toronto. (Perhaps only coincidentally exactly one year removed from their TURF performance.) Hell, even the sound in the Danforth - notoriously spotty - cooperated so we could just get down to damn near every song from their breakthrough album More than Just a Dream. They've got a big sound and hence a big band, including a couple pieces of brass and a hype woman to create it. Michael Fitzpatrick, the band's namesake, was cool throughout in a hot room that only heated up as they dropped hits like Out of My League and The Walker. It's sad to admit but Toronto's rep of anti-dance often rings true but on this eve a fair cut of the mixed demographic crowd let loose. Refreshingly the encore cheering didn't seem forced but was a legitimate outpouring of love and desire to be entertained one more time. They did not disappoint with a rocking rendition of Moneygrabber to squeeze the last ounce of sweat out of us.

Basia Bulat, Destroyer - Massey Hall (July 10/14)

Basia Bulat

With excited energy Basia burst onto the large stage, clad all in white atop her shiny silver clogs and nearly tossed herself onto that very stage in her shimmying and twirling. Fortunately disaster was averted and the night started with a plucky uke tune filled in by her six piece backing band in black. This group included her brother Bobby on drums, Ben Whiteley on bass and guitar, Ian Koiter - another London based musician and Shad collaborator - a second stand up drummer, plus two lovely females filling in the backing vocal touches plus the odd extra instrument. Soon Basia picked up her signature instrument and played that autoharp like she were a rockstar with an electric guitar. Speaking of which, later she swapped her acoustic for an electric and joked about this being her 'goes electric' moment. Though she wasn't joking all night she was obviously giddy just to be there, respecting the space in a number of ways. For one she excused the band for a few solo numbers to fill the air with her hauntingly strong yet soft voice and even referenced Neil Young by given name before launching an unheard song akin to his famous Live at Massey Hall debuts. Everyone returned and the exuberant feeling continued with the leading lady setting aside her guitar to slip into the crowd and take a front row seat, all the while singing into her effect mic, only to make it back in time for the next chords. The set closed on a high note and the musicians lined the stage for a deserved bow as the crowd spritely hopped to their feet. She proved me wrong by returning with just the gals to sing into a single mic together before she left the mic behind altogether and played sans amplification at the stage edge into a dead silent crowd. She was emitting magic into that air. Earlier in the set she warned that we were going to have a hard time getting her to leave the stage and she did seem hesitant to depart, loitering to collect her bouquet and sop up the outpouring of love that we bestowed. Saving her best for the big stage shone clear.

Destroyer

What would a Destroyer show be like? Even more curious, what would a solo Destroyer set consist of? It was about all that can be done with a man on a big stage with an acoustic guitar. His voice was controlled and bold, his picking quick and polished, the evidence of a man who has been plying his trade for a long time. A relative newcomer to his work I recognized a number of songs from Rubies and Kaput but they obviously were stripped down versions, especially compared to the involved instrumentation of the latter. At the completion of each song he would raise his guitar and flip that mop of curly hair down in front of him in a bow to the delight of his fans, while fairweather observers and newcomers seemed to yearn for more, with more than the odd person leaving partway through to grab a beer. To me the attempted standing ovation seemed completely unnecessary but I've been losing the over-ovation fight in Toronto for years and in a venue such as Massey there's no point in even trying.

Shad - Front & John (July 12/'14)

With the sun beaming down on the hot pavement at Front and John, DJ Tlo and Ian Koiter performed a Flying Colours intro while rapper extraordinaire, Shad, waited visible side stage. When he did hit it the crowd warmly received him for though it wasn't all that well advertised he does have a devout following. He didn't disappoint throwing down racks like Yes!, Me, Myself & I, and I Get It. All smiles, as usual, he played his established role of good-time emcee while we threw our hands in time to old favourites like Rock To It and Old Prince (holla!) For flair he performed a recently added cut to the repertoire, Draft Day, and a sharp new one that goes smoothly from the NBC peacock to Jack Donaghy and an EGOT - brilliant! Rapper Eternia was welcomed to the stage and absolutely ripped through her verse on Love Means, making it a great collab. Being a corporate sponsored street festival there was no encore but everyone was happy and hot by the 3/4 hour of entertainment.

Field Trip '14 - Badbadnotgood - Fort York (June 8)

The kid is a natural MC and it doesn't detract that he's behind the drum kit. Being a three-piece instrumental melding jazz into modern music and having a helluva fun time doing it there is no front man, so to speak, but that didn't stop the crowd from cheering and clapping along. People ate up the Flying Lotus cover; bringing two members of River Tiber to the stage while the addition of the sax cannot be understated. With concentration and skill beyond their years they pulsed out jams that wound everyone up so that by the end there was a literal mosh pit. It took its time coming as after a five minute warning they cut movements and songs to get to the goods but it was still a build. In the end their lion mascot crowdsurfed over a jubilant audience as they brought it down then ripped it apart over and over (and five minutes over). Do Torontonians realize how fortunate they are to have such a talented new breed of musicians playing their festivals?

Field Trip '14 - Maylee Todd - Fort York (June 7)

Kicking off a full festival day means playing to a nearly empty field. Thus was the case with MT on Saturday of Field Trip as well, too bad the thousands of ticket holders didn't know what they were missing. Sporting a sprout of blond hair and a transparent outfit she started things off. Her music is experimental electro pop and it definitely has its hooks. Joined by a couple of singers and a couple of dancers too, as has been seen at previous shows, the dancing was still a little amateur, not necessarily completely in sync, but does add an element to the live show.

Field Trip '14 - Constantines - Fort York (June 8)

A reunion that many had been dreaming about since the beloved Cons announced their indefinite hiatus in 2010. Although it was the first show scheduled they had actually surprised the citizens of Guelph with a tune-up gig Friday night. Well it worked, as the five were in fine form, guitars blazing through a host of their hits. To open they called upon two additional stand up drummers to Draw Us Lines and when they left the hits just kept on coming. Bry had forgotten his solo project, his gruff voice belting out Hotline Operator as the band rocked out and the true fans were obvious in attendance - there to fist pump, holler 'turn it up!' and hold their hands high mirroring the band during Shine a Light. The Cons were joined for a couple joints by Tamara (Weather Station) and Jenn (Jennifer Castle). A personal favourite, I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song, was given the rock treatment and dedicated to PC leader Tim Hudak. Despite being a bunch of guys who have aged, got married, settled down and had kids, it seemed they forgot all of that for the set closer as they completely jammed out like their old selves up there.