Hillside 2010 Weekend Passes and Tickets

Hillside tickets are on-sale Saturday (that's tomorrow) at 10am. I've heard of people who arrived at 8am to the office last year and were the last to get weekend passes. With more ticket outlets (but obviously no additional tickets due to the capacity of the island) I would advise being there even earlier than that if you're headed down.

There's always the option of attempting the online option too - word on the street is those all went in 20 minutes last year (and many refreshes later) so don't sleep too late!

Lastly, the list of confirmed performers has grown on the Hillside website but doesn't contain anyone not having been previously rumoured as far as I can see (besides the addition of Hayley Sales). Among the newly confirmed: Bent By Elephants, The Beauties, Royal Wood and Zeus. I reckon there's still a handful of artists to come.

Good Luck.

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Radio 3 Reveals (many) Hillside Artists

Hillside Festival Updates, care of Vish Khanna/Radio3. See the sidebar-> or link above for full listing, and below for highlights.

- Gord Downie and the Country Miracles (featuring Julie Doiron)
I remember an interview with Hillside's artistic director when he lamented that The Tragically Hip could never play Hillside because it would cease to be Hillside and would become the Tragically Hip show. Since this is the closest you're ever going to get, I'd say enjoy it!

- Shad
Oh my goodness, this guy is gonna bring it. Seen him play countless times at the Vinyl/Starlight but that's because he just kills every time with his intelligent, hilarious flow and fun live charisma.

- The Hidden Cameras
Though not from Guelph these guys are beloved here, often playing church shows and things. Their songs are uber pop, but not poppy, in the best way.

- The Acorn
These Ottawa boys compose amazing, full-sounding albums. Extra excited to see them for the first time!

- Zeus and Jason Collett
Jason Collett had made his name through hard work and great songwriting over the past few years, with members of Zeus serving as his backing band. Now Zeus have emerged as a force all their own.

- Basia Bulat
Look for this London, Ontario songstress to steal the show. She has sold out places in Guelph with practically zero advertising, likely because people know she can make such darn lovely music, and oh, that beautiful voice.

- Corb Lund
I'm not much for country ordinarily but have always made an exception for Corb Lund. Missed every chance I've had to see him play, but this year I'll make a point of it.

- Japandroids
For two guys they make a helluva lotta noise. Sweet, sweet noise.

- Young Rival
Formerly The Ride Theory this band plays the eBar this week and return for Hillside in a few months.

- Yukon Blonde
Another renamed band (formerly Alphababy) who are getting some buzz since the reemergence.

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Kazoo Fest: A 'Rich' Party with Diamond Rings (PS: I Love You)

Let's say the party planning committee convened for a brainstorming session.. do you think they could come up with something as over-the-top as Rich Aucoin brought to the Jimmy Jazz in Guelph last Friday?

Gathering the crowd together in a little-league style huddle there was a hip-hip-hooray cheer, complete with balloons and confetti, to get the party started. Immediately following this, the pre-programmed dance beat kicked in so people could shake it. While youtube sensation video clips shone on the wall, he cut up their audio, including the "ow ow ow ow ow" grape-stomper, to form the beat. When it wasn't viral videos, the music kept time with an skewed-colour version of the animated 'Grinch' movie circa 1966. It was difficult to pay attention to any of that however, as Rich did his best to whip the crowd up by running amongst us when not manning his keyboard or effect-mic. He jumped and clapped and started sing-alongs to the lyrics splashed over top of the videos and generally encouraged a raucous party. People were only too happy to partake in this mixed-media bash -- Rich Aucoin for party planning president!

The energy may have been down for the next band, but the noise level was WAY up - and they were only twice as big as the solo Rich Aucoin set. PS I Love You amped things up through a slew of electric guitar effect pedals and hard-hitting drumming. Nearing the end of the set they brought out John O'Regan (Diamond Rings/D'Urbervilles) to guest sing, but mostly just groove.

Diamond Rings were next and so John's dancing continued, but now in a more interpretive style to the prepared Macbook Pro beats. O'Regan also played some keys and sang but it was his movement that entertained me the most. However after a few of his tracks, and one music-filled night (see Bruce Peninsula review) I called it a night, to wade home through the drunken university students puking and falling over. (Them, not me!)

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Kazoo: Hell's Peninsula

Under the glow of lamps Katie Stelmanis took to the piano to begin what promised to be an excellent evening show. Playing solo she knew her way around the keys, having opted for the grand instead of a keyboard due to theft, though in this church setting it seemed the more appropriate choice anyhow. Tilting her bench back and forth towards the pair of mics (normal and echo) she sang gorgeous songs with her impressive voice that had a Joanna Newsom Ys feel. I'll be sure to watch out for her new incarnation as Private Life in the near future.

More on Katie later with Bruce Peninsula, but first the Flowers of Hell.

A transatlantic orchestral band, numbering 16 at times tonight had half that number holding down various instruments including an upright bass, violin, saw(!) - all bowed - electric guitars, drums, a trumpet, flute, bass, piano and an organ (unfortunately keyboard produced and not the church's organ which has been rumoured and would have been phenomenal). As you can imagine there were times when these folks (7 males, and a female on the upright) made a great deal of noise, with strumming hands moving faster than my eyes could keep up with. However it was the way that they built each piece up from its ethereal beginnings to a crescendo that truly entertained. Primarily instrumental they did include an odd vocoder/spoken word conversation, as well as a cover sung entirely in Czech. Twas a fitting setting to see a band of this style play, and play well.

The three members of Bruce Peninsula took to the stage... wait three members?! But wait, what are those angelic voices floating behind me? From the upper section of the church, the Choir of Bruce sung to the heavens. After scampering to the stage for the next song the four lovely females, bookended by the equally handsome gentlemen broke into Steamroller and we were off. I could tell you about their instruments, and mention how they have a member whose primary responsibility is to shake things, but with this band it is all about the vocals. The way they intermingle their voices, stretching from folk to gospel, is simply extraordinary (oxymoron?). Though the Loudon Wainwright III cover, Swimming Song was awesome, their new track about the 'itty bitty baby' that was essentially a round must have been the highlight for me. Bruce Peninsula have too much fun on stage, dancing, joking, and laughing for the crowd not to be drawn into their joy. And boy was I joyful when the final medley turned into my Mountain Is A Mouth fave, Crabapples as the finale. The crowd around me must have been equally as pleased as it was greeted with a standing ovation. This brought the entire crew back on stage, with the addition of Katie Stelmanis, for an encore which left us all Satisfiiied!

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Pepper's Problems, New D'urbs (eBar)

Clad in pure white, besides his ironic mustache, Gregory Pepper took to the stage for a hometown-supported show at the eBar with his 'Problems' decked out in black (I smell a set-up..). Once Built a Boatwas out of the way, the four-piece, including Kate and Michael on guitar, took off with their quick and quirky songs. All the tempo changes, sliding from hard-hitting to sweeping and melodic in a beat, kept you on your toes (see One Man Show). They were entertaining through and through, even playing off technical woes as just more of 'his problems'. A couple standouts, identified by their morbid lyrics, were If You Try and R3 single, Knives and Guns. Gregory Pepper and His Problems are onto something, adding yet another dynamic to the Guelph music scene.

It has been awhile since The D'urbervilles played Guelph (seemingly ever other week a couple years ago) so I was interested to see what, presumably, new material would be like. It came storming out with a rather rocking sound, less synth/keyboard than before perhaps, and they didn't let up. The set of primarily new music was fairly straight-forward, and featured a couple rather catchy tunes despite the muddy sound (and low vocals). They didn't bother much with the quickly dwindling audience, though I blame the late set-time on the opening night of the 5-day Kazoo fest for the mass exodus. Those who stuck around got a taste of an upcoming album, plus a couple familiar tidbits such as The Receiver and (Hot Hot) Hot Tips.

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Young & Old Man, Bell(e) Voice

Old Man Leudecke took his place, seated on the eBar stage, donning his cap, eye-glasses, suit and a banjo. From this position, with his left leg tapping out the songs the entire night he entertained a capacity crowd for a solid set. His quick strum/picking of the banjo proved quite effective in keeping people entertained, especially with such a simple one-man band (though he did swap to acoustic guitar for a two-track interlude mid-set).
Not being particularly familiar with his deeper catalogue, I still enjoyed it all in spite of the annoying drunk-talkers obstructing my view for much of the show. To plug his most recent release he got the song The Rear Guard out of the way early, which incidentally includes the basis lyrics for the album's title My Hands are on Fire. Another fan-favourite was I Quit My Job, while his song that first attracted my attention Proof of Love closed down the set. An enthusiastic crowd, even after a full hour show and nearing 1am cheered him on until Vish invited him back for another go round that ended with the joyful Joy of Cooking. A delightful closing from a lovely entertainer with charming stories, both spoken and in song form.

Solo Guelph female. Impressive bluesy voice. Sparse electric guitar. All of these three word sentences are quite basic first impressions that I find synonymous with the following three words. Patty Bell Smith. That voice of hers is tremendously powerful though the music itself is not a style that really captivates me. (I found myself listening while studying the nearly 300 separate graphic-novel-esque drawings on the eBar wall.)

Opening up the night was a diamond in the rough (not saying the rest were rough, just an unanticipated find). Pat Lepoidevin, the young man from N.B., composed songs for us with his looping pedals and a mix of violin, ukulele and guitar (often on the same song). His voice was dynamic; the backing percussion was subtle; the looping was not-so-subtle but well done indeed. I won't make the obvious reference to the other fiddle-looping dynamo because this was somewhat different, and not yet as polished but still plenty of promise. Case and point - for the final song Pat laid down the first loop and left it running, then bolted through the crowd and down the stairs. We were left murmuring, only to have him reappear a minute later to cheers, carrying an instrument he'd forgotten in the car. He then proceeded with the final track, George the Polar Bear, "a children's song performed for adults", during which he entered the crowd to walk around for a chorus singalong that left everyone smiling. This having been his first visit to Guelph, he remarked on his enjoyment of the city and I sincerely hope that will be enough to bring him back. I know I'll be back to see him again if he does!

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THT @ The Keg

Having professed to "lurving" Guelph while chatting after their PEI-night Olympic show, Two Hours Traffic backed it up by playing a free show at the Keg (Brass Taps) at the UoG. I was happy to see that not everyone was there only for the cheap drinks (that was only a secondary reason for me!) as they took to the stage and a slew of THT fans loyally trotted to the front to dance along (myself included). It took a while to win over the casual fans, especially with a new-album heavy set-list off the top (Territory, Lost Boys, Drop Alcohol), but in due time people were converted. Picking up steam they cruised through with gems such as Heroes of the Sidewalk and Backseat Sweetheart. Despite the lack of anywhere to go between sets they deserted the stage only to return soon thereafter with a couple song encore, inviting a fan to back up on tambo, and end off the night with the much beloved Stuck for the Summer.

Dead Letter Chorus opened from Australia. Despite some solid reviews that I'd heard before, and since, I wasn't blown away, though admittedly I was seated off to the side enjoying the aforementioned cheap drinks for the entire set (still something is to be said that they didn't budge me from that position).

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Brooding Over It

Twas a strong but small crowd amassed for the concert at Vinyl (March 25). Local songstress, Patty Bell Smith was unfortunately lost in the din of the dank club, and her excellent vocals were practically drown out by the time they reached me hanging out near the band at the back. Once the fringe-rock trio of Elliott Brood took to the tiny stage everyone clamoured forward, perhaps in anticipation of hand-outs to come. It was a customary Brood set with the drummer pounding away, seated guitarist and those unlikely vocals emanating from that unassuming looking fellow - not to knock their live performance in any way since it is notoriously stellar. Having seen them just recently at a riled up Olympic show in Vancouver there weren't many surprises throughout the night. As per usual they built up their songs, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, so much so that some members decided to join the performers on-stage, much to their chagrin (as they explained later that a past experience of audience participation had resulted in busted instruments). To make up for it they handed out instruments that were meant to be banged about, in the form of dollar store pots and pans, for the final few songs. All songs were equally well done, with the only stand-outs being due to my personal preference. However I was pleasantly pleased by the one surprise of the night, which was when they went beyond their 10pm curfew to play an encore rendition of Miss You Now.

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BeardyMan

BeardyMan (UK) has the Hillside Festival on his myspace/website, and if this is correct (looks legit) it's going to be ridiculous. Listen to some of his stuff, as I am now for the first time, and you'll see why!

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