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.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mopp Up the Mess
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Movement in the Lion Den
The Paint Movement used the following tried and true framework for most of their songs in order to win me over with their set at the Ebar Wednesday night. The song openings would be sparse enough, as each member started up, then they'd work in a couple verses before a refrain which would be repeated as the song grew in intensity and everything became louder. By the three-quarter mark things would be soaring along before crashing to an instrumental breakdown ending. It was reminiscent of another Band I wish not to have to mention in aSSociation with Paint Movement yet again. But it is true, the five-piece rocked as hard (and as loud) as a multi-piece collective. Even with the female section limited to one tassle-booted lady in a dress, and the brass to just a sax, with usually only one wailing guitar, rounded out by a drummer and bassist, the sound was full and rich (perhaps filled out with touches of xylophone, keyboard and foot-stomped tambo). My expectations of a jazzy set were not quite met, though during the instrumental breakdowns there were elements of improvisations no doubt, but it worked nonetheless.
The set was far from perfect, whether that be due to lackluster banter, the super loud soundsystem, slight instrumental miscues, or massive amounts of feedback, but it was definitely entertaining enough to warrant me catching them again after they complete their first-ever real tour (out west over the next two weeks). I imagine after that stretch of shows they'll come back much more polished and will be that much better.
The hometown pride of Bass Lions (see what I did there?) took the stage next. Having recently been listening to (and enjoying) their disc, I was slightly disappointed by the stage performance. Could have been that their song which first caught my attention, Ransom the Sunset was given a different sound and didn't live up to the version I've become accustomed to, which put them behind the 8 ball in my head from early in the set. The double drum set, which I thought was causing the offbeat timing (til they played a song with one set that was still offbeat) added to the volume of the cranked up soundsystem, which may have been trying to compensate for the sparse crowd, but in effect muffled the lead and female-backup vocals, spoiling songs. They earned some points for a decent version of Funeral Shed and carried on with Good God Jesus which ended excellently. Most impressive was the song where they showcased their namesake, the bass guitar, to great effect. As an encore they broke out what they referred to as "party band" which had no vocals since the singer was on the second drum set, but added a guitarist from the crowd and closed up the set with some fun.
(Special thanks to Tanis from the Sound Salvation Army for tickets to the show)
Another Hillside Headliner?
Hillside Artistic director in an interview on May 27 stated that he is still in discussion with a handful of bands with the possibility of adding them to the Hillside 2009 lineup. One of which he deemed a veritable headliner (and confirmed it is NOT the Tragically Hip haha).
I'll see what I can do about getting the scoop on this in the days to come.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
An Earful of Hillside
An excellent introduction to the artists scheduled to play at Hillside can be found in this CBC Radio 3 playlist (Free; No log-in required, skippable, streaming).
Since the original posting of this playlist I have hand-picked a track from each of the additional artists to have been added to the Hillside Festival bill (and that's a whole bunch!).
Of the ~57 acts announced so far a remarkable 41 of them are represented on this playlist. Enjoy! And remember that this is just a jumping off point, as clicking through the current-playing song will bring you to the artist's New Music Canada page where you can sample more of their music.
PS: Feel free to rate it! (Located just under the player controls)
Bringing Amy Back?
Amy Millan has played the Hillside Festival in her Stars incarnation (as recently as Hillside Inside Feb 2009), as well as solo. Set to release more solo work in the near future perhaps she'll make an appearance? Can't confirm-->She's already scheduled for the Wolfe Island Festival. Maybe she'll hitch a ride to Hillside with Gentleman Reg (who is confirmed for Hillside) after they play the Harbourfront Center on the Saturday of Hillside? One can hope.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Runs in the Robitaille Family
Jackie Robitaille's parents have blessed her with a glorious set of pipes. Having never heard her before, I dropped by the Red Brick Cafe last Friday based mostly on the quality of the shows put on by her brother, Pat Robitaille. Well if I wasn't astounded by the sheer power and range of this young lady's singing voice, with reminders of Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, and Pat himself (especially in the long-held notes). Over simple piano melodies (and the occasional light keyboard/synth sample) she sang primarily originals in both english and french, that were stunning in this quaint cafe. A notable cover was Fix You which by all accounts far surpassed anything Coldplay has ever done with it. Her brother produced her short EP and seems to have set her on a path for a musical career at least as successful as his.
Jesse & the Everything Else
After his unique waterphone performance the night before, Jesse was back at it, this time with a full range of percussion instruments at Ed Video. He did open with a bit of waterphone, and then intricately played the edge of a regular drum cymbal with a bow. There was a drumset piece done bongo-style with his hands (actually there were some bongos involved with the drumset itself). Then a drumming set with a variety of sticks. He is just so creative and has the ability to morph a sound on and on, drawing in the listener and creating unique arrangements - all with just his hands and feet. After an amusing story about the coffin-shaped vibraphone being sent to his door unannounced from his father, he incorporated this oversized-xylophone (with the motor disengaged) into the next piece. It was all rather impressive, the different beats he could create and the way in which this was done. For example, while playing the kick-drum, cymbals with his other foot, a shaker and/or a drumstick in one hand, he'd snap the other drumstick down on the edge of a drum so it would waver and reverberate like a diving board after a dive.
Not only is Jesse an excellent musician, but he comes across as completely down-to-earth, humble and friendly. He answered questions about his instruments and set, as well as inviting everyone to come up and try their hand at any of his instruments after the show, while he greeted us with an authentic smile and willingness to chat. Everyone I spoke with about the show afterward was blown away with his ingenuity, and excited by the spectacle they'd witnessed.
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.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Hillside Performer List announced!
No wonder the Hillside artists were popping up everywhere - the Hillside website has announced an official performer list.
A few new highlights I'm particularly excited about Patrick Watson, Woodhands, the Arkells and Bruce Peninsula.
Holy F*ck! Slew of Hillside Updates
Performers have been coming fast and furious - so much so that I can barely keep up and seem to be updating the blog constantly. (Maybe I should just switch to twitter?)
Anyway on with the news!
Holy F*ck the titans who ravaged the island tent a few years back are making a triumphant return!
Gentleman Reg that lovable white-haired, indie pop artist with a lovely voice is likely to play Friday.
Timber Timbre the recent Arts & Crafts signee will bring his sparse yet beautiful songs.
Emma-Lee and her soul, folk pop-songs is set to be at the Festival too.
USS and whatever that inane acronym stands for, are scheduled to play more upbeat than most other performers this year.
FRED who I've never heard of before, probably because they hail from Cork, Ireland, will be bringing it transatlantic style.
Donovan Woods another solo folk artist is on the bill.
In addition to those above which come from fairly reliable sources, there are a few more "likely's":
Attack in Black those Welland boys who burst onto the scene with a rock album with folk roots, and have since moved further towards the folk side with good results.
Women the all-male band from Calgary, will entertain Hillside patrons with their brand of indie rock.
C.R. Avery has a unique mix of blues, classical and even elements of hip hop. Should be an interesting set regardless.
Issa is a female who plays with a piano.
Of course the schedule is not set, but the tickets are moving, with only Friday and Sunday remaining. Check the side-bar official website for an easy-to-read list of unofficial Hillside Festival 2009 performers.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Jesse Stewart Still On
Despite the Guelph River Run's Centre flooding trying to rain on the Jesse Stewart shows this week, alternate arrangements have been made and the shows will go on! The Attic show (14 Northumberland St.) continues as planned Thursday (8pm tonight!), while Friday night's show location has been moved to Ed Video (40 baker street) with tickets going for $10(pwyc) and an 8pm start time. (RRC tickets will likely be refunded and NOT honoured at Ed Video).
Hillside's Library Dance Hall (Updated)
Correction to today's earlier post... there are in fact Hillside leaks.
Notably Dance Hall Free For All that Guelph band that took Hillside by storm a couple years back after winning the high school battle of the bands to earn a spot on a Hillside stage. Did they ever earn it! People are still talking about that show.. and now that they have a new album, they're back.
Another spectacular live pop collective, Saskatchewan's Library Voices will have to take it up a notch (outside voices anyone?) for this year's festival.
--Update-- One more performer to play Hillside; The BidiniBand featuring David Bidini founder of the Rheostatics. Enough said.
Hillside Sampler
No new leaks today.. but something equally if not more enjoyable. A tasty tidbit of Hillside 2009 music!
Here you will find my CBC Radio 3 playlist (amazing, free, streaming Canadian indie radio) featuring a choice selection from each of the Canadian Hillside artists available on CBC-R3 (which is most). As new artists are announced the playlist will be updated too. As an added bonus, clicking the currently-playing artist brings you to their New Music Canada page where you can learn more about them, as well as stream more of their songs on-demand. Your tax dollars at work - amazing ain't it?
Second item on the agenda - tickets for Hillside Saturday have already sold out. What this says to you, if you haven't yet secured your tickets, is get on it as I can only imagine Sunday and Friday will soon be sold out as well.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
A Hillside Treasa (Treasure )
Treasa Levasseur is rumoured to be playing the Hillside Festival. She plays a soul, blues, roots mix.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Hey Hey Hillside!!
The Newfoundland rock darlings and quite phenomenal live band
Hey Rosetta!
are playing Hillside. Perhaps my favourite live band going right now.. if it's anything like their last show at the Casbah we're all in for a treat.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sense of Class
Classified's crew rolled into apparently hip-hop starved Waterloo last night, selling out the show and forcing me to fortunately grab an extra ticket on the street. Being their first time ever in the K-dub there was a real sense of excitement within the Starlight.
As Class is a champion of the Canadian hip-hop scene..., it was fitting that he invited the local duo of Justis and Mantis to open the show (along with their DJ Tangiers). Though they have noticeably improved since the last time I caught them (opening for Shad in the same space) their set was still noticeably amateur, and Mantis (who I preferred) didn't have enough mic-time for my liking.
From this point on it was the gang of Nova Scotian artists, and with them did we ever get scoshed! In fact, artists all the following artists will be rated on their level of intoxication.
Spec K was up first and did a decent job of opening the show (after an intro from DJ I.V.). After the openers he seemed much more legit, and receives intoxicating mention by doing a single about weed.
After a short throwback set by DJ I.V., a guitar-wielding artist - Chad Hatcher - took to the stage for some chilled out tunes that seem to go hand-in-hand with the mary-jane. So he gets props for catering to those that were already baked. Even for me (who was not) his singing, rather than rapping, was a welcome change, and it was interesting to hear his lisp practically disappear while singing.
Mic Boyd, Class' brother, was up next and in a similar vein to his bro he spit a few raps - keeping it short citing a ragged throat due to touring and toking. Yet that didn't stop him from being awarded an actual joint in my review, considering he smoked one right there on stage.
The next performer seemed to prefer beer as his intoxicant - and I'll hand him all three beers that he chugged onstage as a rating. J-Bru brought it from the beginning with single Help, I Been Robbed before a slight slow-down as he appeased many in the crowd who had requested his song Rain about his deceased best friend.. After that it was the aforementioned beer chugging and more hard hitting songs.
Finally the time had come for Class to hit the stage. After a fair amount of hype from DJ I.V. and J-Bru the man that everyone had come to see, Luke Boyd, finally emerged. With the entire crew backing him, plus his other younger brother on guitar, and a guy on drums, Classified gave the Waterloo crowd the show they'd been craving. There was a solid mix of tunes from his extensive back catalog such as High School Behaviour, hit Hard to Be Hip Hop, as well as tracks from his latest release Self Explanatory including Get Out the Way, and the introductory tune (though not played first) Up All Night. The set was loose, and saw every rapper step up to the mic, notably Chad Hatcher for the first song he ever collaborated with Class on. To add another dimension to the set Class showed how he actually makes his own beats by making a live re-enactment of his instructional tune Beatin It while actually setting up the beat. Keeping with the rating system, this set had everyone off their head - having lit up countless joints on stage which prompted the crowd to follow suit, I think even I was high from the hotbox, though it may have just been from the performance. To top it all off they rocked through an abbreviated version of popular The Maritimes and shut the whole thing down with the anthem-sampling Oh...Canada which brought the whole place down. Makes you wonder when Class, or any other rappers/hip-hop artists, will next return to the nickel-one-nine to satiate our thirst for it. This show was great and should tide over for a short time - but hopefully we showed Class as good a time as he showed us, to convince him to return asap.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Oh, Bijou, Doiron, GLS (et plus) at Hillside
Exciting announcements...
Ohbijou's gloriously lovely songs will sparkle in the Hillside sun this July 24-26.
Julie Doiron is also bringing her equally lovely self to Hillside.
The Great Lake Swimmers, on the heels of the release of another solid effort The Lost Channels will showcase Tony Dekker's wonderful songwriting and guitar plucking. They are no strangers to Hillside, having played Hillside Inside just this past February. (Also have shared a stage with the aforementioned Ohbijou.)
Lindi Ortega from Toronto is slotted to play her acoustic pop on Sunday the 26th.
Skydiggers will be playing their roots-rock at the fest, after 20 years together!
Sam Turton brings his mix of rootsy blues.
Workshop info.. David Woodhead will be running Olifiddle workshops.
Rock! Hillside! Central!
With a new album (title too long to bother typing) Rock Plaza Central are back - and will be back to take Hillside by storm once again. After their epic and well-received breakout Are We Not Horses? Rock Plaza Central rocked the Island stage with a bunch of artists (and one of the member's young daughters). It was great, and this show promises to be just the same.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Man(gan) and Robots
After only 1.5 listens this Dan Mangan Roboteering EP is already impressing me. Not only is that first track and single Robots incredibly catchy, it also has a useful message ("Robots need love too!"). The second song, a duet with Veda Hille, is also stunningly beautiful for something so bare. And the closing eight-minute partially spoken word track grabs listeners too.
Mangan's about to break out - watch out for the full length!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Bike (for three) to Hillside (?)
Speaking of interesting collaborations/projects that could make a live appearance at the Hillside Festival.. how about Buck 65's new project with the "budding Belgian [female] electronicist Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê" who often makes music under the title "Greetings From Tuskan". Apparently the two have never met in person but there's been some internet activity vaguely connecting this project with the Hillside Festival so we'll have to wait and see if Hillside if the place they first unite!
Watch for more information regarding the collaboration called Bike For Three featuring that recognizable Buck 65 flow.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Hillside Happiness Project (Projection Only*)
Right from the get-go let me qualify this post - unlike my other Hillside Festival leaks, which stem from information found on the great inter-web, this one comes from my brain alone.
Could there be any better situation to experience Charles Spearin's (Broken Social Scene) Happiness Project than at the Hillside Festival this summer? Take a glance at what this project is all about (via the link) and let me know if you disagree.
From line-ups past we know the the Hillside Festival has an affinity for Arts & Crafts bands so this just seems to be a perfect fit.
Sam, (Hillside Artistic director) you're probably way ahead of me on this, but if not, maybe it'd be worth a thought?
Friday, May 01, 2009
Rural (Ontarion?) Advantage at Hillside!
Woo, another excellent Canadian band to add to the Hillside lineup. This time it's the Rural Alberta Advantage from, you guessed it, Alberta. Bringing their folky, indie-rock to Ontario come the last weekend in July. (and no, they're not country.)
Tickets on sale Tomorrow, Sat. May 2.
