The Acorn Falls on Hillside '10

The sky is falling! No wait, it's The Acorn dropping double drum sets and dueling guitars on an expectant Hillside audience. Bringing Ottawa-indie from their recently released No Ghost they represented it well live, tossing in some beloved Glory Hope Mountain tracks like Crooked Legs for good measure too.

Secondary drumming with plenty of drum-edge tapping was really getting it done, and the one-armed hardcore tambo-shakin' while simultaneously keeping the drum and cymbal beat was spiffy. (All the while donning rubber boots in true Hillside/Wellington Brewery fashion.) Misplaced, a sparsely arranged but lovely tune held its own live, eliciting a slow clap/sing-along. Slightly more upbeat were Cobbled from Dust and Restoration but it was the title-track "single" No Ghost that finally had people shuffling along to the melodies. Returning to a tried and tested classic in Flood Pt.1 for the finale was a commendable choice, as was adding the phenomenal mid-song two-way guitar breakdown.

As the new album is still growing on me I wasn't fully blown away by this No Ghost-heavy set but it was enjoyable nonetheless, and their return to the stage for a workshop with The Wooden Sky the next day upped their cred further.