Sadly, buzz band of a few years back will NOT be making their return to Hillside. According to a Facebook post from the band, they are super excited to play something called Fuji Rock in Niigata, Japan - and it just so happens to be Hillside weekend.
Not that it will make up for the uncontrollable 45 minute dance party, but the band did offer this brief apology. "Sorry Hillsiders, we'll be in Japan that weekend."
*tear*
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Holy F*ck Confirmed...Out
Friday, Hillside, Sunday
Reggae lovers rejoice! Kae-Sun, the very first performer I leaked this year I believe, has finally been added to the official Hillside website line-up for the first time.
Also, a large scoop of musicians have been settled into dates on either end of the Hillside Festival weekend. According to official Hillside correspondence:
Friday:
Coeur de Pirate
Rock Plaza Central
USS
Xavier Rudd
Loreena McKennitt
Divine Brown
Plus Friday will include a special celebratory opening featuring Buffy Sainte-Marie and local Aboriginal Elders (though Buffy is still listed as performing Saturday.
Sunday:
Final Fantasy
Patrick Watson
Great Lake Swimmers
Gentleman Reg
Zaki Ibrahim
David Francey
Gurpeet (The Tabla Guy)
Jah Youssouf & Woodchoppers Association
Issa
Los Misioneros del Norte
The Skydiggers
They also state that though the volunteer program is now full, tickets are still available for Friday and Sunday ($50, $60 respectively).
Monday, June 29, 2009
Hillside Adds
Sam Bradley a soul/folk-rock singer-songwriter, who operates alone with a guitar and hails from Britain, though currently residing in the Columbia of Britain (Vancouver). Looks like he'll be playing Sunday.
The youth bands have been announced too.. and in years past there have definitely been some surprise hits come from this section so I perhaps it won't be much of a surprise if Borderline Clover, The Collectibles or the already-announced Red Rosary impress some people.
Borderline Clover play self-described "freak-folk" out of Hanover, though they are somewhat chill from what I've heard.
The Collectibles are female-fronted, acoustic group from Guelph.
Schedule Updates since this schedule:
Friday: USS
Sunday: Zaki Ibrahim, Skydiggers, Sam Bradley
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Pick-a-Piper Plus (at Wally's)
It was damn near impossible for J'envoie to deliver the set that I'd been told I could expect from them due to technical problems that plagued their set at Wally's Tavern on Saturday night in Guelph. Admittedly I arrived after they'd begun but from all accounts the issues had been there from the beginning. To the band's credit the 4-piece from Hull, Quebec tried to play through and joked while plugging their merch that their CD doesn't stop half way through each track. In their final song they basically abandoned the vocals, which weren't coming through anyway, and played a strong instrumental song with an element of improv that included the bashing of an old school-yard-like bell. If this was a glimpse of what they are capable of then I'm definitely interested in seeing them play a fully functioning show.
Pick-a-Piper, the double-drum-setted band featuring the drummer from Caribou, were the band who had drawn me out to this show.The percussion is the main focus of their songs, and rightly so, as the pounding from the duo in the back (sharing a high hat) carried the set along. Actually at various times it wasn't only the drummers playing, but the two guys up front would pick up sticks to emphasize the beat. Again the vocals were super low in the mix, but the sound was filled out by tambos, keys, guitar, hand drums and even a keyboard iphone app! They didn't play my fave Dené Sled, but the finale (Yellowknife I believe) was hard-hitting, high-energy goodness that saw all four members drumming along, on the same cymbal at one point, and one guy jumping up to drum the ceiling at another! Despite the curmudgeonly old man beside me at the bar who kept muttering "We want a song" I thought they'd delivered a solid set full of songs.
Up to this point the night had been primarily instrumental (in part this was by default since the PA wasn't transmitting vocals well, if at all) and Ace Kinkaid, the fully instrumental Kitchener/Waterloo band kept it this way. Again the focus was on the drummer (only one this time) who lead the four-piece. They had a bit of a prog rock feel with the guitarist manning a giant set of effect pedals. Despite the gutted speaker system they were still LOUD, even when playing the triangle. Though not exactly my thing, they still earned my respect with a set that ended with a good cut called Spanish Ghost.
For my first-ever endeavour into Wally's Tavern I'd have to say I enjoyed myself, though that was more based on the persistence of the bands to play through and not reflective of the bar itself. The bands even out-competed the stellar people-watching for my attention!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Barbers, Theives & Players
Having begrudgingly pulled myself away from the Lorrie Matheson show at the Attic I arrived at the eBar in Guelph in time to catch most of Del Barber's opening set. Boy, am I glad I did as he was a treat. Without any prior knowledge of Del or his music I walked in to a young man seated on a chair with an acoustic guitar and a mature folk-singer's voice beyond the age on his face... Throughout his very enjoyable folk-bordering-on-country set Del proved that he is a very capable musician, picking and pounding his guitar while his excellent voice sailed throughout the quickly populating bar. Armed with an excellent cover of Neil Young's Harvest Moon and a handful of amusing anecdotes he thoroughly entertained.
I had heard the second band in the sense that the singer and man at the forefront is also the singer of the alt-country group Cuff the Duke, from Oshawa. Wayne Petti's voice immediately recalls Cuff the Duke classics for me and as much as they may try to differentiate from his primary project it was difficult for me to hear much difference. Granted Wayne Petti and the Thieves (oh I get it, Petty Theives.. ha) do their best at playing melodic rock, but with that voice it still brings up stetson-hat associations. They managed to steer clear of any strong country feel until the first half of a song near the end of the set, however they wiped that away with one of their many crashing instrumental breakdowns. With Wayne wailing on the electric guitar, and his two bandmates watching him (they haven't played together long - 3rd show in fact) they would bring a whole lot of noise and a touch of feedback to the endings of many tunes. Though it's not too markedly different than Cuff the Duke it can only be counted as a positive thing that Wayne is putting his excellent voice to good use wherever he can.
Finally it was time for the show that has become a fan favourite here in Guelph. In dapper dress the Sunparlour Players opened with recently released album Wave North opening track North. The manner in which this song is sung is earnestly, which most accurately describes the feeling put into the lyrics while singing this song both live and on album. From there the three-piece band continued their sit down set, though it was sit-down with energy! - beginning with mostly music from the CD for which this show was honouring the release. Included were tracks such as Nuclear, O'Captain, and Point Pelee is the Place to Be, some of which prominently featuring the banjo, and one even saw a xylophone being bowed. The lead single Battle of '77, which included the accordion, got a very strong reception though perhaps the biggest response was deservedly for the track If the Creeks Don't Rise. However I do have a bit of a grievance with a handful of folks in attendance. As much as I am glad that they were enjoying excellent music, I was twice as annoyed by their antics in order to show that enjoyment. Drunkenly spilling, loudly talking, carelessly bumping, disgustingly pashing, stupidly yelling - these people were detrimental to the entire crowd who wanted to see the band equally as much, but managed to enjoy the show in a way that also respected the other patrons. Nevertheless the show continued with the lead 'player', Andrew Penner, standing up from his chair midway through. He got the place jumping even higher by mixing in a handful of older songs including John Had a Bell and Whistle. By the time it came to the finale the crowd was putty in their hands and we stomped and sang along to the appropriately chosen Wave North closer Build It Up. Can't wait for the Hillside set! It was a solid closing to a solid night in which all five bands I saw delivered.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Yukon Dawn and Calgary Gold
A solid night of live music in Guelph began in the not-as-sweaty-as-can-be Attic (literally a house attic). With free-freezies to keep us cool, Yukon Dawn, a folk project from Noah 23 (who usually acts as Guelph's emcee extraordinaire), attempted to keep things pretty chill as well. Noah got things started to a sparse but merry crowd... with only his slightly out of tune acoustic guitar, the colour of the insides of a blood-orange. However it was his voice that was the instrument of note for this show. To begin with his voice is not what you would think of as a natural singing voice, but that is part of what makes it unique, and the differing styles he employs furthers this uniqueness. Not only would he vary his pitch and volume, but Noah changed up his cadence, even occasionally spitting lyrics at his usual rap-speed, added some gravel and generally kept things interesting with these variations. It was a loose set of strummed guitar ditties that alternated between originals and covers including Silver Jets, (Guelph's own) Stu Gunn, Smog and even Springsteen. As I have only had the opportunity to hear him live (never recorded) I've was happy to finally be afforded the opportunity to take in his lyrics at this folk pace. They were clever and explain in part why he is given such respect in the hip hop world. To finish off the fairly brief (25min or so) set, Yukon Dawn performed an abbreviated version of the Pixies' Gouge Away. As a creative foray into the folk world I don't think that Noah is doing himself, or his listeners, any harm.
Lorrie Matheson, along with his head of curly hair (apparently due to a long running contest), are touring from Calgary where he admits he has been a bit of a recluse - focusing on writing and recording music, but in doing so neglecting playing live. This showed only briefly, as he was forced to re-record some loops for his very first song - but after that things were on track. Those loops consisted of a bunch of picking and scratching at the guitar strings to make some relatively unorthodox noises, over which he then started playing the guitar normally, singing (with a regular and reverb mic) and adding a dash of harmonica. I was preparing for an eclectic set based on this, but after the first song the looping and experimental stuff was kept to a minimum - and this allowed the audience to focus on the songwriting, which was in his best interest. Lorrie has penned some excellent songs, especially those written from others' perspectives, such as the low-income blue-collared workers in his home province of Alberta in Falling Down Sober. Another great example he claimed was pieced together from clips of an overheard conversation between a lone-drunk and a barkeep. This he turned into I May Not Find the Answer in this Beautiful Bottle, but when I Get to the Bottom, I Hope to Forget the Question which also included the lyrical gem "I know the first five drinks, well, they weren’t free, but goddamn, they sure make me feel that way." All of this was sung with a strong voice over sure guitar plucking. The set was solid and I had to pry myself out of there in order to meet people on time for the Sunparlour Players show happening immediately following. (Okay I was still 15 minutes late because I wanted to see as much of Lorrie as possible).
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Torch Burns Bright for (and in) the Royal City
What, you may ask, are those people doing in the photograph above? The answer is simple my friends, they are paying tribute to Royal City, the band, in the Royal City, Guelph. In response to the release of a fine collection of Royal City B-sides and rarities a night was arranged to honour the indie rock band that stole many hearts (and even a Juno-nomination) during their brief existence (loosely 1999-2004). Included in the tribute evening were a laundry list of artists who knew RC, befriended RC, were influenced by RC, and were even members of RC back in the day (though as one performer pointed out, most of the band disappointingly were unable to attend).
For full disclosure I will tell you now that I was unaware of Royal City while they were still together, but have recently heard many rumblings and picked up the Royal City 1999-2004 disc. When I saw the likes of Guelph's current indie-elite honouring Guelph's past indie-elite I couldn't pass up the opportunity. And I'm glad that I didn't...
Opening with what he joked were the two shortest RC songs he could find, Gavin Gardiner of the Wooden Sky got the night rolling with a couple of simple acoustic guitar renditions.
Gavin handed over the torch, still burning, (get it?) to Magali Meagher of the Phonemes along with her accompaniment that included former Royal City member, Nathan Lawr on drums, as well as D'urb - Kyle Donnelly and a lovely singer Stephanie whose origins are unknown to me. They were the first band to imitate the 'sit down' style that RC employed by pulling out chairs for the set of a few tracks with both acoustic and electric guitar.
Nathan Lawr remained onstage but switched from drums to acoustic guitar to play one quiet, but very lovely song, after retelling stories of Vish Khanna (host, Neutron Stars) during their days of touring together. Evan Gordon contributed an excellent electric guitar solo that fit well.
Next up were the atrociously named Cry, Cry Papsmear who busted out a prerecorded electro version of I Want To Go (lazily referred to by most as Honolulu) to which they danced the robot the entire time (pictured above) and eventually got us all singing along.
The energy level which was raised by the previous performers was one-upped by the gang of Noah 23 rapping, Scott-o-bot of RaggMopp holding it down on the guitar, and a drummer whose name I didn't catch. This was a very creative performance with Noah laying down the Bad Luck lyrics in rhyme, as well as freestyling about Royal City. A highlight of the night for sure!
A highly anticipated brotherly duo of Evan and Geordie Gordon (The Magic, Barmitzvah Brothers) played a couple of Royal City songs, which Evan should have been comfortable with considering he was at one time a member of the band. He sang first with guitar in hand, while Geordie played an inherited, broken keyboard set to imitate an organ, over a drum machine track. Geordie took over vocals for the second track and they played on despite issues with said keyboard. I'm sure they made dad (James Gordon, musician), who was in attendance, very proud.
Greg Denton played a banjo and Arthur McInnes a guitar for a rendition of My Brother is a Meat Man.
Though Jenny Omnichord admitted to being too young to have been very aware of Royal City, just by being so involved in the Guelph scene she's come to know them well. Her three-song set of Royal City covers played, as always, on her trusty omnichords (she's got two now!). Since The Nations Will Sing we figured we might as well too and sang along - "Buuuurning Torch".
Drawing last, Andy Magoffin of the Two-Minute Miracles, came out alone with his guitar and his "City of Guelph" work shirt. Sticking to Royal City covers he did a total of three songs in a very soft manner and included the quaintly-titled Blood and Feces. He made a quip about RC lyrics in general, gaining the right considering they recorded much of their material in his own studio. Although his performance was quite lovely, it was definitely a quiet finale to a sporadically-explosive evening of covers and tributes to Royal City.
Vish, host and organizer, admitted it was his first tribute show which probably led to the 'random artist ordering' which seemed to be a mistake, especially in the end. As nice as the tribute was, I found myself craving closure. Sticking around after the final artist I half-expected a handful of performers to come up for one last song as an ensemble - something we could sing along to and hum "C.I.T.Y, Royal City" as we headed out into the night. Alas it was not to be, but the memories of Royal City were reignited and these performances burn on.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Hillside: No Women Allowed
Seems that mostly disappointing news is coming outta the Hillside lineup lately.. the western Canadian band, Women, who were formerly listed here as well as on the Hillside site as performers, will no longer be playing the festival. Disappointing, though really when there are 50+ other acts I'm sure someone will fill the void. Perhaps Sam is still working on another last minute 'headliner'? (Personally I see Metric as a good fit - former hillside performers with a new album who are doing the festival circuit. However nothing has surfaced to support this thought)
I'm off to the Royal City tribute! Watch this space for a review of that.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
First Impressions of Alexis, Bidini, Billy, Dancehall, Dirty, and Hayden
Billy Talent III - One thing about this Ben Kowalewicz rock group is that they are unwavering in their sound. BTIII sounds much like BTI (and BTII for that matter) but since they charged out of the gate at such high quality they left themselves less room for improvement. This is not a criticism, in fact I am still a fan of the new music despite my tastes changing since that original album (was that back in high school? sheesh). In subtle ways they've polished their chops and honed their songwriting, and the lyrics have consistently told a strong story - from Standing in the Rain to the new The Dead Can't Testify. If the crowd (that I read about) at Edgefest is any testiment to Billy Talent remaining relevant, they have no need to reinvent their sound, this is just fine.
Alexisonfire Old Crows, Young Cardinals - Disclaimer: This is based on one quick listen through my sh*tty laptop speakers. That said, the previous albums had improved from one to the next in my opinion though some fans of hardcore music would disagree with me, but I liked the increased melody and decreased "Ra Raaa". In fact, Crisis even came in at the top of my year-end list when it was released back in '06. I'd heard the vocal dynamic had changed even further on this album, and though it will take a more thorough listen to distinguish all of this my first impressions are that something has changed. In no means does it sound bad, but I wasn't taken by any of tunes in the first go-round. They've earned my benefit of the doubt so I'm going to spend some time with this in the days to come. (Update: First track in through headphones this time and I'm already enjoying it more)
Dancehall Free For All 9-5 - This young sextet burst out of the Guelph high school scene a few years back with a brass section, pop sensibility and unbridled enthusiasm - wowing crowds in order to earn a Hillside up & comer spot which allowed them to win over even more. The first EP was short and sweet and managed to capture most of that live energy. On the second album things haven't let up a whole lot, though the songwriting has seemed to mature just as quickly as 18 year olds do. Again they are brief (9 tracks, clocking in under 27 minutes) but the tunes are still catchy, and fleshed out musically now that they have had some time and experience under their belts. Perhaps it is toned down slightly in terms of poppiness, but there is much more lying underneath to make up for it.
Hayden The Place Where We Lived - This one is really cursory since I listened to it once, while traveling and wasn't paying particularly close attention. However nothing grabbed my ear throughout, not even in a haunting or lovely way as Hayden is capable of. I've read this is a breakup album that is more pop than most of Hayden's previous work, and so far it isn't stacking up to even his latest release of just last year In Field and Town. He is a grower though, hopefully this one can grow on me too.
Bidiniband The Land Is Wild- The effort from former Rheostatic Dave Bidini. Not sure he's going to carve out enough of a name for himself with this effort to lose the Rheo precursor but this is an entirely listenable disc. The eight-minute How Zeke Roberts Died caught my attention with its story. Song Ain't Any Good is somewhat true in its statement musically, but is interesting enough to stand out. I'll give it a couple more spins to see if there are any more keepers.
The Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca - That Stillness is the Move song is flippin great. There are a couple more tunes I like from this album, but after that one being the leadoff that I'd heard I had high high hopes and it couldn't quite live up. Ah well, I'll take one great song anyday, the other decent ones are a bonus.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monumental NxNE Coverage!
Starting out with kudos to the Candy-Coated Killahz. No, not for surprisingly blowing me away with their set (cuz they absolutely did not) but because their garb resembled the leotarded ones in those awful Koodos commercials. Granted I only caught one song of their free performance Sunday evening at the Younge&Dundas stage (though it was supposedly their 'hit'), so I suppose this review is slightly unfair.
More reviews after the jump..
Sorry I lied.. Of all the hundreds of bands to catch at North by Northeast my weekend-long father's day activities prevented me from attending any of them. Didn't even get to stick around for the GZA show which was apparently show-stabbing. Oops, too soon?
Some honest-to-goodness Guelph show reviews (and some Hillside album reviews too) returning to the blog this week I promise! Once I attend and listen to them that is.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunlight Music Festival
Every festival has to start somewhere and develop (besides the Pemberton Festival I guess). Well, I just stumbled across a new non-profit music festival in Guelph. The Sunshine Music inaugural Festival will take place at Riverside Park (the same humble beginnings as another Guelph festival) on August 15, and as the name suggests it will be solar-powered. A modest line-up has been announced with a promise of many more to come.
James Gordon, Canned Goods, Ian Reid, Nicole Aube, Pascal, Blind Sided Poets, Nabi Loney
I've noticed an Ashley MacIsaac concert listing for Riverside Park on August 15th too.
One In, One Out
All the way from Brisbane, Australia - ladies and gentlemen it's
The Grates! Bringing their perky, pop music all the way from down-under to up-over. Hillside will show them much hospitality I'm sure.
Sadly The Waking Eyes who played a fine show with the Arkells in Guelph a few months back are no longer on the Hillside performer list. (And not to harp on it.. but Holy Fuck are still absent too.. and looks like places where it was listed online have been removed - Not a good sign.)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Polaris Plus
I've spent about 3 minutes with the Polaris Long List - gone through it once. In doing so I also grabbed a bunch I think, at first glance, will/should make the short list.
My 2 cents below..
Vernacular's Shortlist
#!Arkells - Jackson Square
- Solid through and through, but probably not eclectic enough to win it.
#*Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate
- I haven't even heard this full album, just the couple tracks on the internet but I'm enamoured with her already.
!Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
- If this prize was for best live show, they would likely win. This album works because it reminds me of the concert.
!Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
- Another solid effort by GLS.
!Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs
-My favourite album of last summer I'd have to say. And a couple of my fave concerts of the year too. Has a shot at winning.
#!Joel Plaskett - Three!
- Epic in length, yet Joel remains modest and crafts a wonderful set of songs that surprisingly don't bore or tire the listener, without much filler.
#Timber Timbre - Timber Timbre
- The eventual winner. Not my absolute favourite though it is fantastic, however reviewers everywhere have fallen ass over kilter for this album. (Plus they love the solo male artist with a band moniker).
#-Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane!
- Former short lister with another solid effort.
#Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
- My first time actually getting into Patrick Watson - finally I can see what the hype is about. A former winner who won't take the prize simply because of that.
!#Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
- I'm a sucker for Wolf Parade, and this album is nearly as good as the first. Reflecting on it for a second, they probably won't make the shortlist, but they'd make mine.
Legend
* haven't heard it in entirety
! love it
- like it
# top 10 shortlist
? can't remember if I've heard it
Long List
#!Arkells - Jackson Square
?Jill Barber - Chances
?Beast - Beast
?Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows
*Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
-Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain Is A Mouth
#*Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate
*Leonard Cohen - Live In London
-D-Sisive - Let The Children Die
*Elephant Stone - The Seven Seas
!Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
?Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life
!Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
-Handsome Furs - Face Control
*Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
!Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs
-Japandroids - Post-Nothing
-Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
-K'NAAN - Troubadour
-K-OS - YES!
*La patère rose - La patère rose
?Land Of Talk - Some Are Lakes
*Lhasa - Lhasa
-Malajube - Labyrinthes
-Metric - Fantasies
*One Hundred Dollars - Forest Of Tears
-Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
#!Joel Plaskett - Three
*Snailhouse - Lies On The Prize
-Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project
*Rae Spoon - superioryouareinferior
-The Stills - Oceans Will Rise
-Think About Life - Family
!#Timber Timbre - Timber Timbre
#-Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
*Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
!#Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
!#Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
?Women - Women
*Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada C/W Houndstooth Europa
Friday, June 12, 2009
Bahamas - the Pink Strat guitar
Bahamas is essentially a solo project of Afie Jurvanen from Toronto, who has backed up an impressive list of Canadian musicians including Hayden, Feist and the Stills with his guitar and piano. On the album, Pink Strat, there are appearances by friends including Leslie Feist, members of Zeus and the Great Lake Swimmers, while Robbie Lackritz was also intricately linked with the recording process (and presumably was the drummer for the Rolling Tundra Revue). Speaking of that show, I remember enjoying the set well enough despite never hearing any Bahamas beforehand, but definitely not being blown away. The album leaves me with a similar sentiment. In fact, regarding the show I slotted it in as "unoffensive, though also unenthralling, rock music" which I would say is also a fairly accurate description of the album, though I would now be hesitant to label it rock music, but rather find folk more accurate (the live show was mostly electric guitar, while the album is primarily acoustic).
Starting the whole thing off is Lonely Love which is a catchy and (relatively) upbeat song.. opening with simply vocals over an acoustic guitar, before some electric guitar comes in partway through. The following song sings "Thanking the Lord for blessing you with Hockey Teeth" which is an amusing, and very Canadian sentiment written over a short, downbeat guitar ditty. Southern Drawl does open with a sourthern feel, while For Good Reason is a stripped-down tune featuring some simple guitar picking and bare drumming.. it gets kind of boring and leads into You're Bored, I'm Old. Though it is slightly depressing on the lyrical side, the music is more perky than many songs in the midst of this album. Same goes for Sunshine Blues - a meeting of opposites that leans more towards the sunshine in a short, simply catchy and nice way. The rhymes in Already Yours work well over the steady beat. The next tune is filled out with piano, but has repeated and depressing lyrics - What's Worse? Before you know it, the good times have already rolled by in 95 seconds on Let the Good Times Roll which continues the lyrical theme of looking for (and not finding) love. On Try, Tried, Trying there is a great morphing chorus, with a tweak of the lyrics each time over sparse electric guitar. Til The Morning is sleepy but takes you to the final song.
The album takes on a simple format, and rather stripped down sound to accompany the looking-for-love-lyrics (who was it that said "99% of songs are love songs, and 99% of love songs are crap?"). Well this album definitely isn't crap, and is book-ended by some excellent cuts. As mentioned before, Lonely Love starts Pink Strat in style, but previously skipped is the great closing track Whole, Wide World. A new twist on the old parent-tells-child-about-love story, Afie speaks on the topic of searching for "the one" in a catchy manner that includes finger snap percussion. There's something to be said for an outstanding closing track, as it encourages one to play the album once more. Too bad there aren't more repeatable gems on this one.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
H-side Dates and More (Updated)
Although many bands come for the entire weekend, and play a show and a workshop, some musicians have been confirmed only for certain days - so if you're planning things out or deciding which tickets to buy (Fri and Sun remain) here's a list.
Friday:Rock Plaza Central, Loreena McKennitt, Xavier Rudd, Update: Divine Brown, Los Misioneros del Norte.
Likely Ben Grossman
Saturday: Hey Rosetta, Buffy Sainte Marie, Grupo Fantasma.
Likely Timber Timbre, Arkells, USS, Green Go
Sunday: Final Fantasy, Great Lake Swimmers, David Francey, Jah Youssouf & Woodchoppers Association, Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle.
Likely: Gentleman Reg, Ohbijou, Lindi Ortega
More Musicians!
Melissa McClelland Toronto songstress, confirmed via the official site.
Other probable adds:
Ambre McLean Band from Guelph.
Notre Dame de Grass bluegrass from La Belle Province.
Ben Grossman experimental, ambient from Toronto.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The Tallboys
As a follow-up to the news that the Guelph Jazz Fest will be presenting a band at the Hillside Festival this year, here is some background information about The Tallboys.
This three-piece includes phenomenal percussionist Jesse Stewart, as well as cello and guitar virtuosos, Kevin Breit and Matt Brubeck respectively. These accomplished musicians have come together for amazing improvised sets at venues such as this past fall's Guelph Jazz Festival. I've been told the Tallboys are a sight to see (and not just because they all tower well over six-feet in height either).
Friday, June 05, 2009
NxEW
If you're a fan of music in Canada you've probably had difficulty at times scrolling from sea to shining sea in order to be a part of the scenes that lay scattered across our great land. That was of course before the emergence of NxEW (you guessed it, North by East West). This "geographically impossible blog for a geographically impossible country" is something like the BSS of blogs; that is to say it is a collective of bloggers who each claim to be involved in their local scene and all contribute to the same source in order to shine multiple spotlights on Canadian music. It is a daunting task and my thanks to Justin Beach (Editor/Producer of NxEW) for taking it on and allowing me to join as a contributor.
Not to worry - Vernacular will endure, but some select posts from here may worm their way onto NxEW as well. All in all it should be a win-win for the who's who. (huh?)
I ain't Joshin'
*Groan* That title is awful, so I won't torture you with any more of my pathetic attempts at witticism (more aptly described as "failed puns" or bobbled word play). I'll simply tell you that local Guelph musician
Josh Gabriel will be playing his harmonica, and acoustic guitar to create some folk rock at Hillside that I'm sure the folks will enjoy. (Couldn't resist)
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Guest Fest
For the previous few years, Hillside has invited Pop Montreal (a 5-day grassroots music/film/art fest spread through Montreal in the fall, in addition to many other things) to showcase a few of the bands they are proud of. This has been a highly successful collaboration that have brought such acts as Miracle Fortress, Think About Life and Plants and Animals, in the past (amongst others). This year they've maintained the quality level by including:
Clues who I know are worth checking out (ex-Unicorns, ex-Arcade Fire members), as well as
Witchies who are bound to be good while playing 'melodramatic pop music'.
It seems in a similar fashion they've teamed up with the popular Guelph Jazz Festival as well and they will be presenting:
The Tallboys
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Add the Sun(parlour Players)
Still no sign of Holy Eff, despite some activity on the performer page such as the addition of Guelph local folk singer-songwriter Josh Gabriel.
--Update--
The Sunparlour Players will play music from their great new album Wave North at Hillside.
Also, after pointing out yesterday that the Library Voices weren't on the official list, they have now been added.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Holy F! Where'd they go!?
Probably reading too much into the Hillside Performer list right now but...
Holy F*ck have been removed from the list which could break a lot of hearts if they're no longer playing.
Another removal: Pilot Speed (formerly Pilate) is gone from the list.
However to at least partially make up for those, Canadian R&B singer Divine Brown is now added.
Also local Guelphites and remixers-extraordinaire Green Go are on it now too.
--Update-- Silver Starling (formerly Mothers Fathers) from Montreal, with ties to Stars, Arcade Fire and others, have also been added to the list.
Amber McLean who is playing Manhattan's soon is set to play Hillside - I'm assuming she's jazzy.
Of course the performer list comes with the caveat that it is the *performers confirmed to date* and it is naturally *subject to change* and all that. I'm praying that when correcting "Holy Rosary" to "Red Rosary" they accidentally deleted "Holy F*ck" which was directly below it.
Library Voices who state they are playing the fest have never been on the performer list. Also early leak, Kae Sun, hasn't seen the official list yet either. So there's definitely room for change.
Monday, June 01, 2009
We Have Visual!
As a bit of a bonus to my wonderfully witty, and atrociously alliterated, rad reviews, I've teamed up with Jon Kit of JonKitNoH.com to offer visual representations of the shows, in case my writing doesn't quite convey the thousand or so words in each picture.
For a taste, you can visit some previous posts that have been updated with pics - and keep an eye out for more photos in posts to come! Enjoy.
Shout Out Out Out Out's reintegration show, Starlight, Waterloo
Alexisonfire's frosh week show at the Turret, Laurier campus, Waterloo
Ruby Coast and Will Currie - the awesome double bill - Starlight, Waterloo
Shad at the Starlight, Waterloo
(Pictured: Dallas Green of City & Colour - Inaugural Hillside Inside 2008)
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