Fresh (and I mean fresh) off a gig on The Late Show with David Letterman, An Horse arrived at our humble school for a noon-hour concert. I'm sure the audience was a little thinner than the previous night but they slogged on regardless. The two-piece from Brisbane, Australia cranked up the amps as the female lead played fuzzy electric guitar over her male counterpart banging on the drum set, making more midday noise than any two people usually make after sundown. Songs were catchy enough with the hooks sticking in my head (as hooks are meant to do). Perhaps it was just the aussie accent that made the banter amusing as they lamented playing a noon-hour show directly after a 8+hour drive from New York. Coupled with some equipment issues the group disappointingly geared down and switched off after only a brief set. (Not to discredit them, since I did appreciate the effort, but why make the drive at all for 25 minutes?)
Though their sound may not be utterly novel it seems they are currently riding it on an upward trajectory. All the best to 'em
Friday, March 13, 2009
An Grammatically Incorrect Horse
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Holler. with your Library Voice
The Library Voices collective took to the stage, nearly outnumbering the sparse but enthusiastic crowd at the Ebar. There were a whack of instruments played by the assorted 8 members cramped onto the stage. The females held down the keys/synths/xylophone (alternating with an accordian and melodica), while the males played bass & drums, a couple electric guitars and notably a rented sax (since they recently had ten grand worth of equipment ripped off). It seemed that every member kept a tambo close at hand too. Self-proclaimed "pop as fuck" they layered on the sounds to make joyous and full-bodied pop tunes one after another. Noting the intimacy of the small crowd they slowed things down and played a lovely quieter number about the Book of Love. The entire Hunting Ghosts EP was played, including the R3 fave, Step Off the Map and Float which was excellent. During the final track the obscenely tall bass player picked up a drum and held it in the body slam position above his head while the short-in-stature, long-in-drumstick drummer banged away on the drum whilst standing on an amp. Spectacular!
Up next were the 4-piece outfit known as Hollerado, from (rhymes with) Quebec. They played some gritty rock'n'roll with a couple electric guitar riffs buzzing over deep bass lines and hard-hitting percussion. This was the standard for all but their regular-rotation R3 single, On My Own, which was more slow and steady. Banter was rather amusing as they pointed out the celebrities in attendance that included a member of The Arkells and the dude from the back of the $5 bill (the skater. I know, I was hoping for Sir Wilfred too!). All these people took in a solid rawk show.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Lunch with Gentleman Reg
Gentleman Reg (the band) ironically consisted of two ladies (keys/backing vocals, drums) and a guy on the guitar, plus of course Reg himself on vocals and guitar. I found the music was more rock than the indie-folk I expected, which was fine for the most part. However when they did slow things down to a more stripped-down sound (instrument-wise) it seemed that Reg's excellent voice could take more of the centre-stage and showcase it's delicate side that was sometimes lost amid the music. An enjoyable though not life-altering 45 minute set with notable banter from former UoG student Reg, "I dropped out of school and look what I've become. If you want to be like me, drop out now!"
Down with Tiny Danza at the Street Pharmacy
Though I saw Noah23 in the venue my arrival was too late to catch his act, which was a slight disappointment. However the other opening bands that I didn't recognize more than made up for this missed opportunity. (Besides I'd seen him at Stay Out of the Mall in December)
Some local boys, from nearby Welland Ontario, took the stage under the moniker Street Pharmacy (drug dealer?). No one I was with had heard of the guys before, yet everyone enjoyed their bass-heavy set. With touches of reggae, and dub they played a relaxed but nonetheless entertaining set that most people could groove to. Their small legion of fans had followed them to this show and demanded an encore which the lead singer delivered solo on his guitar while the rest of the band dismantled the stage for the next group.
Next guys up brought up the energy a bit, with their dual MCs laying down some hip hop verses over a full backing band. This 6-piece from Toronto, who apparently named themselves after the commonly mis-sung Tiny Dancer chorus, barely fit on the small stage. One of the white-boy rappers actually sounded a fair bit like JT when he would sing which was a little surprising but easily recognizable. They did a respectable rendition of an N.E.R.D. track but for the most part Tiny Danza stuck to their original material which fared just fine (especially their second last tune).
I've have long known the name, Down With Webster, despite never hearing or seeing them before this night. Years earlier a friend had seen them at some puny battle of the bands and had rave reviews, even played me a couple tracks (okay that thing about never hearing them before was a slight exaggeration) but I hadn't sought them out for myself. Even with consistently positive reviews from many sources I hadn't the opportunity to check them out. Until now. They rushed the stage (literally - pushing me out of the way as they passed) and cranked the energy in the room up to Full, rarely allowing it to droop below that level. As I'd been warned, the stage antics and apparel sometimes outweighed the songs themselves but you go to a show for entertainment and with D-dub (as the kids like to call 'em) you get it. For a sparse collection of instruments (drum kit, guitar, keys - which would alternate with bass or keytar at times) they sure made a lot of noise (plus I could hear scratching but didn't see a DJ so I assume there was a laptop track playing too). The three people on the mic were bouncing and jumping all over the stage (with their teddy bear and shark backpacks) - disappearing for moments at a time and then reappearing somewhere else unexpectedly. It was tough to keep track of the six of them (I thought there were 7 according to myspace?) as they constantly shuffled. Everything was hooks, or call and response but the crowd (primarily college girls) ate it up. I thought I'd get bored of the full-force hip hop/rock/funk assault, but stuck around to see if the dude with the massive DWW bling chain around his neck was going to knock himself out with the thing, and found myself enjoying the music more and more. The edge came off for a couple tunes nearing the middle of the set when the guitarist took over vocals for awhile and he really impressed - plus his ripping guitar-solos added huge cred to any song in which they were featured. By the final track, Back of My Hand, they were back to crank but with the crowd fully behind them it was exactly what they wanted and it sounded darn good. A two-song encore kept things going (and showcasing the keytar for the first time), and I left finally understanding what the hype about their live shows had been all these years.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Waking the Arkells
Having made the mini-commute up Highway 6 from Hamilton (okay so they're actually on tour..) the five-piece fireballs otherwise known as the Arkells were ready to rock Guelph's eBar. Bursting out of the gate with the album opener, Deadlines, they kept it rolling right into Pullin' Punches and they didn't stop there! Literally playing through a bunch of equipment malfunctions (broken strings, busted mics), and the drummer apparently keeping time despite a high fever - they didn't miss a beat. In fact, I can attest to his ailment as when I bumped into him immediately following the show he was so parched he literally couldn't even speak to order a bucket of water. The vocals were mixed a little low but seemed to be sung strongly. It seems that for a fairly young band their chops are sufficiently sharp as evidence in songs such as John Lennon and Abigail. Actually they played nearly all of their debut LP, Jackson Square, and most every song had an instrumental breakdown in it that gave the band a track-ly chance to showcase their skills; never letting the energy wane. The place was packed and I imagine everyone in there enjoyed the performance as much as I did - especially when they wrapped up with their breakout Oh, the Boss is Coming!
The later set of this double-headlining bill was The Waking Eyes. Admittedly they were just gravy on top of the solid meal of Arkells but we stuck around nonetheless (though this was not the case for a solid portion of attendees). It turned out to be an excellent decision since the 'peggers put on an excellently entertaining show. They couldn't match the Arkells energy but they eclipsed them on variation and diversity. Besides the drummer the rest of the guys seemed to play interchangeable rolls, from trumpet to harmonica to guitar n bass to keys - even swapping lead and backing vocals (every member, including the drummer, was mic-ed for vocals). This led to a wide-range of song-styles, all of which were worthwhile. I guess their mini-radio hit of yesteryear, Watch Your Money, is a thing of the past as they didn't whip it out. The latest single All Empires Fall got a live rendition, as did their upcoming release which was excellent (but I didn't catch the name of). It was a decent set and we all got a kick out of the second song of their two-song encore when they broke out =W=eezer's Undone, the Sweater Song - playing it fantastically, including every word of the lead-in banter.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Hillside from the Inside - 2009
The day started with a traditional welcoming ceremony that consisted of two aboriginal ladies telling us how a tribe would welcome foreign visitors with a song and then proceeding to sing the song while playing small hand drum instruments.
Immediately following this was a band formed in Guelph, made up of four 'Shwa/Whitby boys - the D'urbervilles. They played an energetic set - especially the frontman who seemed to dance/convulse all over the stage. It was altogether too brief as they were forced off the stage after only five or six songs - which included Spin the Bottle, but sadly was too short for Dragnet or Hot Tips.
The reason I focus on the brevity of this set is that the next followed on the main stage, but not for another ten minutes. I thought the point of two stages was seamless transitions for maximum music.
Tony Dekker and the Great Lake Swimmers took the stage eventually and played a handful of new songs interspersed between old favourites. It was these that struck me as standouts - especially Bodies and Mind's Various Stages, and Ongiara's Your Rocky Spine and from the self-titled Moving Pictures, Silent Films. They were as good as ever but it is tough for a band that demands quiet attention to be at their best when in a giant arena full of teenagers who'd just begun to get warmed up with the D'urbervilles. Attention waned and the band ended before their allotted time and were asked to return for another song to fill the gap.
Another Guelph band arrived on the Island stage - The Magic - fronted by the Barmitzah Brother himself, Geordie, decked out in a huge white boa, tight pants and shades. He crooned and squealed into the mic while his backing female vocalist accompanied him, and the guitar-player from the D'urbervilles played in front of the drummer. Door-to-Door was decent but I realized how repetitive the lyrics get, and it was a bit early in the day for the hint of electro that was involved. So I wasn't too disappointed that I had to bow out at this point to begin my first volunteering shift.
From the info booth in the middle of the concourse I had a decent view of the massive crowd that was assembled for K'naan - the buzz band of the day, probably due to the onslaught of press he's been getting before the drop of his new album. I'd say he lived up to the billing - playing a bunch of tracks from his former release that included In the Beginning and Soobax, as well as the new single ABC's. I found that this track lacked only slightly due to the absence of Chub Rock, though K'naan did have another rapper along with him. There was also an interesting full rendition of Coldplay's Viva la Vida. A spoken word element of the set was interesting as he preached a bit about love, have the crowd shout out the word "love" on his command whenever it would fall into his talk. Overall the dusty foot philospher didn't disappoint.
Jay Malinowski (singer of Bedouin) played on the mainstage next, apparently accompanied by Rich Terfry aka Buck 65. The details are sketchy for me since I my vantage point from the info booth wasn't the greatest, and in part since it was just the two of them on acoustic guitars or conga drums, playing unreleased music.
The Bell Orchestre uniquely placed the drumset to the side of the stage rather than the back and surrounded it with a varied assortment of instruments that they used to build up their intricate compositions. It was neat to see how things would come together, and Throw It On a Fire was awesome. Perhaps it is just me (and my lack of instrument-playing abilities) but without lyrics a set can become tiring, and during this hour-long one I snuck away to grab some lunch provided for the volunteers (and some amazing Salsateria nachos!)
Re-energized and ready to go just in time for the dancestorm that is Thunderheist. Having seen what they could do at the island stage of hillside outside last summer I was ready for an onslaught of high-energy dance tunes and I got what I came for. Isis was having the time of her life, running around the stage belting out lyrics in between high-fiving fans and telling everyone things that she "hearts so hard." There were even two female backup-dancers that came out and did just that for a couple songs. The half-hour set was jammed full. Even the DJ, Graham, got up and danced for a bit, and later went out for a bodysurf. Right on schedule, Jerk It, closed the set and for it Isis helped a handful of fans onto stage to dance while security ran out to keep things under control but were decent enough to allow it to continue. A full-fledged dance party complete with confetti and flailing limbs ensued. Fun.
Bedouin Soundclash had to follow that up, but left a solid time-gap for things to cool down first before bursting into Until We Burn. Having the mainstage and the hour set that comes along with it they played through all the hits and more. Walls Fall Down was there along with St. Andrews. 12:59 Lullaby saw just Jay and his guitar give it a new treatment. When the Night Feels My Song (the song-title that the awful emcee had butchered during their intro) was the standout track of the set for me (maybe because I skipped out of my shift for a few minutes to watch it from the floor). Overall though, I was slightly disappointed that Jay often trailed off from singing the vocals which are the unique part which make the band. I did find the two-piece brass section enjoyable though.
That 1 Guy once again brought his 1 instrument for a Hillside spectacle. It was this year's answer to last year's Xavier Rudd performance. I won't get into it here as it is impossible to explain in words and I'm sure others have made a more full-fledged attempt in the past than I'm willing to hazard. My general sentiment was that the sound was mostly a novelty because of how it was made and not because it was particularly good music, barring the exception of the unfortunately titled Butt Machine which I thought was a catchy song.
Canada's bearded rocking wonder, Sam Roberts, the first of the co-headliners was up next. (Also the first band all day to begin noticeably late but he played beyond his timeslot so all is forgiven) I had to watch the start of the set from the concourse but it was obvious that Sam was excited to be there and we were in for one of Sam's notorious high-energy sets. Being distracted by all the requests for beer mugs I was getting at the Info Booth, the first half of the set list is a bit sketchy but they played mostly cuts from the recent, excellent record Love at the End of the World plus a bunch of throwbacks to better-known tracks from the Chemical City and a couple (maybe not as many as I would have liked) from his smash breakout, We Were Born In a Flame. When I was finally able to get on the floor to see him up-close I was rocking out just as were the boys of the band, as they produced hit after hit. Glancing at the clock I correctly predicted Brother Down assuming it would be the final song of the night from them, and it was definitely good enough to be, but instead of finishing on that high note they proceeded to play what seemed like a fifteen minute self-indulgent prog rock track from Chemical City that caused my enthusiasm to wane as my concentration wandered. It actually took away from my enjoyment of the set, just as it had the last time I'd seen Sam Roberts, though that was understandably during the Chemical City tour. Honestly the light show was the best of the day and the guitar work was impressive in its own right.
A brief break ensued as Stars set up their trademark rose-covered set (which according to insider information nearly didn't happen due to a lack of available roses because of the proximity to Valentine's Day). The final act of the day played a wonderfully dramatic set, full of emotion as it was their final show after nearly 16 months of straight touring since the release of Up in Our Bedroom After the War. (Apparently they are taking a break now to work on the next record, as well as side projects. So look for some Memphis (Torq), Amy Millan, and Dead Child Stars (Torq again) music in the coming year or so). I'm sure I've written about their shows before and with their extensive catalog it is hard to get into set list (Reunion, Going Going Gone and many Bedroom cuts; The Night Starts Here, Take Me to the Riot, Bitches in Tokyo, Genova Heights) and then gripe about songs that weren't played, since it takes away from the show (however Calendar Girl was a notable omission, probably due to the lack of a violinist and the new 14 Forever from the recently released Sad Robots EP which I was excited to hear played live wasn't played either.) However the fan-favourite Ageless Beauty was beautiful (and ageless.. is that too far?) As always Torq and Amy really played it up dramatically, especially on the phenomenal Elevator Love Letter, and the equally exquisite Your Ex-Lover is Dead but that is part of the romance that is a Stars show. Though perhaps it isn't as much of a 'show' just for the audience as I first believed, since after the set I wandered backstage and nearly got caught in the miriad of tour-ending, truly expressive hugs between most of the band and their crew, marking the end of their 16-month journey.
Another successful Hillside that blew away some February blahs while at the same time built up more anticipation for the summer edition.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
2008 Top Ten Albums
Good Year to all,
This is the first time in a few years that I've gotten my list out before the new year (and before the end of the new year as has been habit recently). Anyhow here it is - with the qualifier that these albums are not judged on artistic or technical merit - but simply my personal likability of the music that I heard this year. Often times I gravitate toward the jangly indie rock that gets me bopping since I find I can listen to that over and over, singing along, without getting sick of it. Anyhow to add to the stack of blogger's stacks of personal faves -- here you have it!
1 born ruffians - Red, Yellow and Blue
2 hey rosetta! - Into Your Lungs
3 the dodos - Visiter
4 tokyo police club - Elephant Shell
5 wolf parade - On Mount Zoomer
6 bon iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7 vampire weekend - Vampire Weekend
8 girl talk - Feed the Animals
9 tv on the radio - Dear Science
10 los campesinos - Hold On Now, Youngster
postscript: Having graduated last year I use music less as a procrastination tool - and spend less time in front of a computer - therefore my new music intake has decreased in the sense of listening to full albums. However the magic of streaming radio - especially Radio3 - has introduced me to many, many new artists, all of which happen to be Canadian. This has undoubtedly affected the list.
ps II: The ordering is as of today - though today's was completely revamped since the beta version I drafted up a few weeks back, so it is more of a suggestion of how much play each album got this year into my ears.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Forgot Again - Top Albums 2007
This is a couple years running now.. early December rolls around and the blogosphere lights up with top whatever lists of albums for the year. I read some and it gets me thinking about my own and then I look back to the previous year and realize that i forgot to post it. So perpetually a year in arrears here is my 2007 list. I'll have you know I attempted to start my 2008 list over the weekend and came up with a quick 8 that will be on there, and some more thought may have to be given to who will round out the list and what order they will fall in.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Stars Inside
If the word on the street is true then the somewhat hefty $60 for Hillside Inside will finally be worth it. A second-hand source has indicated that Stars will be the headliners for this year's second annual Hillside festival to be held inside, in the winter. This seems entirely plausible considering Stars history with the regular Hillside Festival, and Torq's apparent affection for it (having participated as a member of his side project Memphis and a member of Broken Social Scene this past summer as well). Expect an announcement sometime after Stars' string of Toronto dates Dec 11-13.
Hopefully my volunteer application goes through or else I'll have to cough up the dough and be a paying supporter again this year since Stars in Guelph is something I don't want to miss!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Good-bye-Spy
Ruby Coast took the stage first as it was the hometown heroes' special night. They played their jangly indie rock to a fairly thick and boisterous crowd. Youthfulness showed, not in an excessively energetic way, nor in a completely inept technical manner but it was present. On a few tracks I thought I could close my eyes and just as easily it could be Tokyo Police Club on stage banging out a new tune. A couple highlights were More than Television, and I Live with Monsters though I feel like they've only ever written 8 songs and all of them were played last night. Besides the d-bag that kept hopping on stage to totally obscure most of the band with his pudgy face it was a solid show. (7)
In their final show (at least for awhile they say) Spymachine 16 didn't change things too much from their regular shows. The six-piece sung ensemble over the prominent keys, ripping through most of their hits including I Lost my Edge Last Night and On Struggles for Change and Hope. The ebar was hosting a solid crowd to witness their last spectacle and most of the patrons were bopping around to their infectiously upbeat indie rock. It was a loose show that saw the girl on keys with the pointless stage banter hop up for some crowd surfing, causing her fellow band members to laugh through their lyrics. The dbag returned again much to my chagrin - even daring to interrupt the "lead" singer's song intro by grabbing the mic and flapping his oversized lips. After a round of thank-you's and goodbyes - both to the audience and to other members they closed out their last tune and fell into a round of hugs all around. A swell cap to a seemingly fun but somewhat shortlived band's life - part of me hope's that the evil Jerkmachine 61 will resurface in the future, if only to force Spymachine out of hiding to vanquish their arch-enemy. (6.5)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Elliott Brood & the 'Buckles
NQ Arbuckle came out of the gates well, and I was into their sound despite the twang. They even marked the Remembrance Day occasion by singing a song with the lyrics lifted from a poem written about fighting in the trenches in WWI. After the fourth song or so I began to grow a little weary of their sound - perhaps the amount of country I can take in a night had been used up by that point. They continued with a bit of ramblin' country-ish tunes that had a few excessive breakdowns, and sure did wear down my appreciation for them.
Elliott Brood opened with a mostly instrumental - with the banging drums that would be a prominent feature of their set all night. For a three-piece they really create a large sound on their assortment of folky instruments including ukes, banjos, acoustic guitars, tambos and harmonicas. With that distinct Brood voice (I can't really describe it - just listen to a song) they chugged through a thorough set of new and used songs from their collection. The R3-popularized tunes that I knew well such as Without Again and The Bridge stood out and were excellent. Other notable selections were Second Son, and President's Dead - but the biggest standout of the evening was a romping rendition of the Elliott Brood classis "Oh Alberta!" which ends hilariously. For their final song (of a 90+ minute set) they busted out a huge sack full of percussion instruments for the crowd to play along that included pots, spoons, tambourines and all sorts of other dollar-priced goodies. This made this tune a lot of fun and the fun continued into the encore which consisted of the new album "Mountain Meadows" opening track, followed up by another great tune (that I'd forgotten about til they started it) Miss You Now. Despite the show's length I was rather entertained and continually pleasantly surprised as they broke out song after song that would reenergize the crowd.
Shout Out the Starlight
Shout Out Out Out Out were back and this time all members were healthy and ready to rock the starlight (unlike the last show there the night after "the kid" drummer had dislocated his shoulder). Complete with the dual-drumset, and high kicks they busted out a fairly typical SO4 set (which is anything but typical for other bands).
The band has notably dropped from four bass guitars to maximum two at times, while putting more emphasis on the keys, and sampler. Most of the setlist consisted of as-of-yet unreleased material from their forthcoming new album that the other drummer told us before the show was complete but had to be mixed. This is probably why the show didn't blow me away - since I was unfamiliar with much of the material, though they do have a fairly standard sound that this album will easily meld into. It was interesting that there is a small portion of a new song that is sung without the vocoder - which I don't think occurred on the previous disks at all. The few old faves were tossed in such as Forever Indebted and Dude You Feel Electrical. As is becoming the norm they closed with recently-released single "In The End It's Your Friends" that also closed last Starlight, and Hillside Inside. However they bungled the big tempo shift that they'd built up for so long when the singer came in without enough warning to the rest of the band to follow his lead. It was a shame to miss an opportunity like that because by this point in the night the club had built to a fever-pitch and if perfectly executed this could have made the floor go crashing down under the sag of all the jumping bodies. Next time Shout out out, next time.
Stereo Image opened and were two guys yelling into their mics to some prerecorded backbeats. Someone aptly described them as a very poor quality Junior Boys.
