I made Coles notes for myself to fully write this one up.. but now that a month has passed it doesn't look like the full write up will ever surface. So here is a glimpse into what I was planning. It refers to the Attic (in Guelph) show featuring Matthias Kom (of the Burning Hell) and the Weird Weather, and Lisa Bozikovic.
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Lisa playing the keyboard with same guy sitting on guitar and matthias on drums
matthias opens with "part of your world" before getting into some originals and some covers. Long story about dermatologist mid-song. Captures attn over simply uke. Gets Jenny O for cover of Wax Mannequin and story about being in yukon. Has the first girl, lisa, join him to sing backup on Burning Hell's song (lie, la,la,la,lie). Closes with Kiss the Girl including keyboard set to totally fit the sound of the song.
Weird weather saw Kom back on drums - only brushes b/c at the attic. nick (?) playing guitar - at one point so fast you literally couldn't see his hand. another player too.. keys? overall not that particularly intriguing set.
Comment on the night of Matthias (involved in all three sets, and the most captivating for a self-proclaimed agoraphobe!)
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Monday, September 28, 2009
Oh Matthias! (Matthias Kom, Weird Weather)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mopp Up the Mess
Jenny Omnichord the Guelph sweetheart played an intimate omnichord show in the Attic, Guelph Thursday night. It was nice to finally see how this instrument actually works, and let me tell you it works just fine. (The last couple times I've seen her were far removed at Hillside and Stay Out of the Mall, and of course she doesn't include the omnichord in Burning Hell sets.) There are a surprising number of things that can be done with this little wonder instrument, as was showcased while playing songs dedicated to Otis' father (present), her own father (a duet actually with Ray Mitchell) and closing out with a song for Otis, her 8-month old son who was also in attendance. A song inspired by the true story about making the long haul to Kingston, to regain OHIP coverage, with what was believed to be a broken foot only to find out x-rays could not be taken since she was, surprise, pregnant. It was a nice, short set.
Raggmopp fans began to fill the Attic a short time later for a set that I was unprepared for...
I can't decide if it was a personal friendship with the two Guelph-native band members, or 20 ounces of booze, but either way I must have been missing something. As this was my first RaggMopp show, and admittedly not knowing much of their history, I will call this one as I saw it through fresh eyes.
As promised it was a fully acoustic set, with Tim playing a standup bass while Scott Nightingale played a guitar. I'd found Scott's solo set at the Family Thrift Store closing slightly grating, but by the end of the night Scott was comparable to Gandhi in my eyes when sat beside Tim. It would be nice to say "It started well enough" but in fact it didn't - since even before the second song things had begun to unravel into spurts of banter mixed with purposely bashing hands ("I can't feel my hands"-Tim) as well as head ("...blank..."-Tim) off of the low attic ceiling. When Scott (and many friends in the crowd) could coax Tim into actually playing a song, they were often filled with asinine lyrics about horse and donkey meat (and those weren't even in the same song!)
The lowlights are too many to recall, but a notable one was upon Tim's return from the washroom a full roll of TP was whipped into the crowd as a gag (at this point it should be noted that the crowd were cross-legged people literally less than a meter away). As Raggmopp got deeper into their bottle of Jager (inexplicably referred to by the band as a "foot") the attic descended deeper into chaos, with audience members talking and shouting to the band, who would scream obscenities in reply. It was bordering on obnoxious, and I was considering leaving but boy am I glad I didn't. As Tim was emboldened by audience laughter (sometimes with him, other times not) his rants picked up (attempts at humour.. I think?) and their green bottle crept closer to empty. By the end everyone was urging them to finish a song - any song - just to get the set over with. Maria would have been a perfect note to leave on, but unwisely they forged on, playing another song in which the now visibly swaying stand-up bass player toppled completely, instrument and all, with a crash to the floor. With Tim exiting the attic after that, Scott tried to close the set with a quiet, solo, acoustic song which was actually sounding great and calm after the mayhem that had been swirling all night. However this serene ending was not to be, as Tim - proving to be the Mopp to Scott's Ragg - stormed up the attic stairs, tripping on the top step and falling full out into the crowd with a crash of beer bottles. Up in a flash, just long enough to topple into a speaker, with the not-quite empty green bottle of booze which also teetered and fell upon him. Wobbling to his feet he exclaimed "This attic smells like jager!" and with the (literal) support of two friends he stood with his bass and the set thankfully came to a finale.
As an uninitiated Raggmopp attendee, I can only imagine that this show was not exactly their normal antics, and I will try not to judge them entirely based upon it. It was definitely a spectacle, sadly more for the public display of intoxication than for their music or musings.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Jesse & the Waterphone
Jesse Stewart wowed the crowd in the Attic on Thursday, by playing a little known instrument called a waterphone. Start by picturing the MLB World Series trophy, now remove everything within the flagpoles and replace with a tall, hollow cylinder that acts both as a handle as well as the only entrance/exit for the water which partially fills the classic-spaceship shaped hollow stainless steel base. Does the image in your head look anything like this? If you're intrigued by the way that this instrument looks, you'd be dumbfounded by the ways that Jesse has discovered to play it...
The waterphone is traditionally played by running a bow along the outside of the tines (the flagpoles, with the flags removed) which historically has produced eerie soundtracks to movies such as The Poltergeist and The Matrix. However Jesse has been developing a style all his own, something he has dubbed "waterphonics." Basically this is playing the waterphone in any other way you can imagine.
He displayed these techniques in what was an incredible set, that built from the beginning with very quiet, haunting echoes from within the instrument that made the occupants of the small space lean in, and then developed into sweeping and brushing before culminating in tapping and snapping.
Sometimes the waterphone would sit upright in his lap, then in the midst of playing he would hold it by the handle, tilting to allow the water to slosh to one side which altered the echoing sounds. Then it would be held sideways to expose the stainless steel underbelly which could be tapped upon, and sometimes it was carefully tipped upside-down (to avoid wet feet) where the full base was available for playing.
By the end he had tapped it, smacked it, rubbed it, snapped upon it, strummed it, brushed it, swept it, picked it, and just about any other percussive hand motion you can make, Jesse had used to great effect. Then he did all of the same things with chopstick-like drumsticks, sticks with bouncy balls attached to the ends, regular sticks, and sticks adorned with balls of cloth (and probably more which I can't even recall). Maintaining the piece the entire time he never paused, even when switching sticks and ad-libbing by playing upon the wood-paneled wall. It was quite an awe-inspiring performance and it was only the first half of a set.
After a short break from the warm attic, Jesse returned to play the instrument more traditionally with sometimes one, and other times two, bows. Despite the slightly unpredictable nature of the instrument he was able to make it work with lovely results, managing to avoid making the traditionally haunting instrument sound too creepy. An incredibly creative way that he played was by threading both bows through two sets of tines each, like a Kerplunk stick. Jesse proved himself to be a wizard on an instrument that very few others have even attempted to master, and it made for a unique and amazing show.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Gibson et Mecanique
Beginning the show with a list of excuses as to why things may not go well, such as 3 of the 5 band members being absent, and a lack of playing together or practicing for a month, proved to be wholly unnecessary. Musee Mecanique entertained the gathering of people at the Attic with a stripped down set of slow, steady songs. Primarily focused on the acoustic guitar and lead vocals (which were swapped partway through) they played a handful of pretty songs that were spiced up at times with keys, a touch of melodica and a few strikes of the xylophone. Laura Gibson joined the duo as a backup singer for a quicker finger-plucking number nearer to the end. As it turned out they had nothing to be worried about.
The same two members also played the role of backing band for the next act. Each of them mixed up the sound by coupling the playing of two very different instruments simultaneously. For example, while Micah strummed a bass and kicked a drum, Sean would tap on both a keyboard and a xylophone. On the next track it would be Sean starting with an accordion and switching to a lay-down violinesque instrument played with a bow, and Micah would man the melodica and then reverberate around the room by playing a saw (also with a bow). All of this instrumentation simply lent support to the spotlight of the show which was Laura Gibson's lovely voice. Coming across very well in the small space, she sang like JayMay's quieter moments, with hints of Jenn Grant too. Not only were the vocals beautiful but the lyrics she'd penned were also quite great. Laura told a few stories in between songs, including how they had learned a Leonard Cohen song by request in one night, and they went on to play it. This song definitely sounded different than the rest of the set but was still rather enjoyable in its own way. For the finale, Laura stepped out amongst the attic full of people sitting with rapt attention and played a gorgeous acoustic song unaccompanied. It concluded with a sing-along of "This is not the end" and judging by the show, this is by no means the end of Laura Gibson as she has a very promising future.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Jon Rae's Lucky Pinecones III
Tucked into a cozy, wood-paneled attic the cross-legged crowd sat attentively as Lucky Fonz III began to play. A solo Dutch artist, he sang simple, though well-crafted, songs through a slight accent over the strumming of his acoustic guitar. He broke out the Wurlitzer electronic organ a couple times too. Between tunes, as he fumbled with his set list trying to pick the perfect song, he chatted with the crowd in the very intimate setting. This became tense at times due to Lucky's blunt nature, but provided hilarity as well. For instance, when he asked for crowd participation and received a yelp from the audience he jokingly accused us of being hipsters- too indifferent to participate. In the end he did get us to whistle along, which sounded very lovely in the small space, as did the whole set.
Overflowing from the cubby-space were Brent Randall and his moustache, er, Pinecones. As he manned the keys of his 4 out of 10 (his rating) keyboard, Brent sang lead on songs that leaned toward indie folk pop rock (whatever that means, there was a deal of variation). Along with the charismatic guitarist they ran through a couple call & response-esque tunes, including a couple nifty guitar solos. By now the room was beyond capacity and overflowing onto the stairs, even with everyone standing (and many leaning due to the sloped ceilings.) The stoic bass player obscured my view of the therefore descriptionless drummer. Altogether though, they effectively brought up the energy of the room in anticipation of Jon Rae Fletcher.
Along with a few band members (no sign of album-artist Kathryn Calder) Jon Rae debuted some songs from his recent River-less release - Oh Maria. The title-namesake track was especially enjoyable, as Jon impressed all with his son-of-a-preacher-man voice. Though I expected things to be slightly more subdued without the River backing him, there was still plenty of gusto in the new material; including hints of gospel, blues and folk. In his shirt and tie (he'd removed those hallmark glasses) he commanded attention and received it from the throng of people crammed in the attic to see him. Nearing the end of the set the soundman added some lap steel to the mix on a couple tracks. Despite already promising an encore, Jon played his final song and during the aforementioned encore his band left him to carry on his own- first with a guitar and during the final tune he simply crooned while we nearly clapped the roof down (literally). It was a brilliant and uplifting performance to cap an excellent (and my first official) house show.
I may never attend a main floor concert again!
