Both humbled and incredibly happy to be closing Hillside Festival's main stage Stars put on a patently romantic set to spread a last dose of love through the crowd before we all had to return to reality. They came out under a Five Ghosts poster, a departure from the flower-strewn stage that has been their signature for some years now. Despite a fifteen-minute late sound check the sound was blatantly awful off the start with mics being off completely among other problems, but these were cleared up by the end of opener We Don't Want Your Body so the performance could become the focal point.
While pointing a spotlight back on us Torq proclaimed Hillside to be his favourite festival, a claim that is backed by his history of playing it as Memphis (2007), Hillside Inside with Stars (2009) and of course Stars opening for the Arcade Fire on this very stage in 2005. Amy was in great form in a sparkling dress and Cranley rocked some (hilariously) epic rock power-stances with his bass guitar. Most of the set was tit-for-tat Five Ghosts track for the usual suspects of older songs. A version of Going, Going, Gone had slower elements from the Nightsongs original, but brought more to life like the Sad Robots version. When Amy began singing over Chris' simple piano it really set the mood for a beautiful rendition of Midnight Coward.
With quiet hours looming over us the band stood poised for their final song and Amy said "You know what's coming" only to break into a less-than-stellar new song that signified to me that they'd be back. And they were, with the best Stars encore of the seven or eight times I've seen them. A touching rendition of the ultimate Stars lost-love duet, Your Ex-Lover is Dead was followed by a plea for One More Night. Sadly there were no more nights as another year of the Hillside Festival, dripping in all of the emotions supplied by an excellent Stars set, came to a gorgeous close.
[Set included Ageless Beauty, Take Me to the Riot, Elevator Love Letter and from The Five Ghosts Fixed, I Died So I Could Haunt You, Wasted Daylight, and The Passenger but unfortunately not Dead Hearts.]
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Stars over the Hillside (Sunday 2010)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Hillside Sunday 2010
Woo-eee. That was something else! Another Hillside down, and one exhausted blogger here. So many greats that it's gonna take some time to get through it all but I'll press onward. Sunday brought out the likes of Shad - as solid as usual, Holy Fuck causing a dance fracas, Hayley Sales blowing us away with that voice and finally having the finale slot go to Stars who did not waste the opportunity (best encore from them I've seen).
Tonnes of photos, videos and of course reviews to come real soon. For now, good-night, and good-year to another incredibly amazing Hillside weekend.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Stars Unveil Five Ghosts at the Starlight, Waterloo
Stars have allowed the unique opportunity of reviewing their show at the Starlight in Waterloo May 6th, while simultaneously reviewing their as-yet unreleased new album The Five Ghosts.
The beloved pop stars, Stars, took to the stage - Chris facing the band on keys, Pat decked out in his signature white shades (and two tufts of hair on an otherwise shaved head), Evan in his fedora, Amy and her large, bright guitar and Torq sporting a white hoodie. A floral stage persists for this tour, as it began with the last album's tour, however the roses have become white flowers (and are not nearly as plentiful). The opening track, Dead Hearts, was the favourite new song played at their Olympic gig, and was vying for that title once again, being an Amy-led duet with an instantly nostalgic chorus of "They were kids that I once knew." In fact the first handful of tracks featured Amy prominently singing, and playing her white guitar too. The album was shaping up to be a return to form, by that I mean Nightsongs/pre-Heart form. Short poppy songs over many synths that saw Cranley manning the keys much more often than slapping the bass. This opening section of the album came to a close with the new single Fixed before a shift in style with a song introduced by Torq as being about celebrity. The chorus was weird, confusing even, with not only its content and title We Don't Want Your Body, but also the fact that it sounded SO pop - in the dirty, top-40 sense of the word.
There was a slight lull in the middle, with a rather boring (live anyway) Amy-only vocals song Never Been Good with Change that seemed to drag on. This tune was followed up by The Passenger, an "oo oo ooo" refrain overtop of laser beam noises that also missed the mark as far as I was concerned.
Yet the show was resurrected by a poignant track, Torq's Last Song Ever Written. Despite the name being perfectly suited for a closing song, there was still one more plus the finale; Winter Bones a duet that finally saw Cranley leave the keys again and brought back the romantic pop feel that worked so well on their Set Yourself on Fire masterpiece.
During the intermission I reflected on the album - a more poppy and synthesized affair than we've heard from Stars in some time. A departure from the strong, album-focused, guitar songs (relatively) heard on the previous In Our Bedroom After the War. The obviously biased crowd seemed to enjoy it well enough, though my initial impression is that it will produce a handful of favourite songs rather than album-of-the-year accolades upon repeated listens.
In fact the second set, chosen by the fans via online voting, reflected much love for the more lush, romantic side, since none of the six songs played really fit the prominent style of this newest release. Between "the hits chosen by you" as Torq called them, he rambled on as he is known to do. (It could be that I was just naive when I first began going to Stars shows, but his banter used to sound poetic and profound.) However his voice is still there, and the excellent, enduring ballads of yesteryear still pack the emotion in a live setting. We were treated to a string of favourites from the previous three LPs - Your Ex-Lover is Dead, Take Me to the Riot, Elevator Love Letter, Heart, Ageless Beauty, and One More Night. It wasn't until the very last song that they hit on any of the three I voted for, giving me Calendar Girl but not Personal or their This Charming Man cover.
To satisfy that tiny leftover feeling, Torq and Chris returned to the stage and played the only Nightsongs cut of the night Tonight which needed two takes but was wonderfully laid over the sole piano and wrapped up this lovely exhibition of Stars music, new and old.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Stars over the Hillside
Going back to my first-ever Hillside experience, this year STARS will be performing once again at the festival! (From an interview with Hillside organizers)
Also circulating is:
Los Lobos
Alex Cuba
The Tabla Guy
Monday, July 13, 2009
Beautiful Social Scene
It was the Canadian concert of the year (note the absence of qualifiers such as "free", "summer", or "Toronto"). In retribution for scheduling a Toronto Island concert, and subsequently canceling when realizing the date conflicted with the noisy Indy, Broken Social Scene performed a free show at the Harbourfront Center. The lovely and adequately-named venue was at least three times too small, as hordes of music lovers ranging from hipsters to rockers literally jammed the entire space from stage-front to the water. Despite the cramped quarters you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't walk away amazed by the band who fittingly represent the Toronto indie-scene, in part because the collective has members in some of the most successful bands going.
Kevin Drew
In a role reversal of the Spirit If album, which is "Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew" this evening was "Kevin Drew presents Broken Social Scene" as he played ringleader for the indie rock on-stage circus (in addition to killing it on guitar). The band played a splendid version of Kevin's Frightening Lives from Spirit If too. As a core member of the group he had the enviable job of introducing the cornucopia of musical royalty who took this night from special to epic. Rather than prolonging the hoping and wondering of the crowd, he waited only two songs (a new song, and Fire-Eyed Boy) before welcoming Ms. Leslie Feist...
Feist
This beloved lady garnered a huge response from the crowd as she stepped out to sing 7/4 Shoreline. It was not an entirely unexpected guest feature as she'd joined BSS at NXNE a couple weeks ago, and from the beginning they'd been promising us an extra special show. (Plus when heading to a BSS show doesn't the talk of who will be present always swirl?) Later on in the show there was a gorgeous acoustic medley of Feist's Past in Present and I Feel It All. She also picked up some drumstick to bang away on the second kit for more than a couple tracks, in addition to busting out her wonderfully dorky dancing. Oh, and so much more, including lovely female duets and triplets.. including Ms. Amy Millan of
Stars
Amy took the stage to perform what I presume to be a song from her up-coming second solo release. It was an incredible vocal performance as most of the artists went backstage and Amy sang solely with percussive accompaniment. Fellow Star, Evan Cranley (yes Cranley's Gonna Make It) was all over the stage playing a host of instruments all evening. Unfortunately Torq (Campbell also of Stars) wasn't in attendance despite often playing in the BSS brass section, probably because he resides in Vancouver and this show was rather Toronto-centred. Amy's voice was great as she appeared very happy to be there but perhaps not as obviously energetic as the bounding Ms. Emily Haines.
Metric
James (Jimmy) Shaw was already on stage (I believe) when bandmate Emily Haines came out to the screams of adoring fans. Shooting up even further in popularity recently after their self-released Fantasies album, Metric have a huge following and Emily is at the focal point. She sang on a very, laid-back version of the Metric single Gimme Sympathy. She stuck around and bounced around the stage, dancing and singing (simultaneously without holding back on either) for the rest of the show. Now with all the prominent females (plus the also-amazing touring female vocalist, Lisa Lobsinger) from Broken Social Scene's storied history present on-stage together (how many years has it been?) there was a euphoric rendition of the simply beautiful Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl that featured Julie Penner on violin. Emily was also at the forefront singing along when Mr. Jason Collett had his turn in the spotlight.
Jason Collett
Perhaps my favourite song of this BSS show was not a Broken Social Scene song at all, but Jason Collett's I'll Bring the Sun. An excellent summery tune in it's own right, when flushed out by the now 13 or so musicians playing together it took on a new strength. The crashing ending saw thirteen separate musical entities turning from the crowd into their own worlds to combine for one ultimate song meltdown. It was utterly awesome.
Apostle of Hustle
Andrew Whiteman is perhaps my favourite guitarist in the band - and when there's 4 to 5 guitarists at any given moment that's saying something. He is another so-called 'core' member and had been playing from the get-go but was also afforded the opportunity to showcase a tune from the May-released Eats Darkness. Admittedly his Apostle of Hustle music doesn't usually turn my crank, but this was an enjoyable rendition of Soul Unwind.
Brendan Canning
As always the bearded Brendan Canning was a force on guitar and played strong the entire night including a couple from his BSS Presents too. One of the founding members and creative forces behind BSS he usually allows his guitar to speak for him during live shows and this night was no exception.
Happiness Project
I'm not sure that any of the songs from Charles Spearin's Happiness Project were played amongst the handful of songs that I didn't recognize (and I assume to be new BSS material, recording under way) - but Charles was definitely contributing all night long in bringing happiness to the throngs of music lovers in attendance. The female contingent opened up the show's final track, Bandwitch, with their Oh Oh Oh uh Oh Oh Ohs. It wasn't, of course, the actual last song and I could go on and on about it, as the show did - with a total of four encores (one track each) but words cannot do justice to this show that transcended my high expectations. As KC Accidental ended I'd known I'd witnessed something special, and the absolute final encore - a fast version of Major Label Debut - cemented this show as one to go down in Toronto indie history.
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.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
(In our bedroom) After the War - Stars Album Review
The Beginning..
the night sky stretches high above - reaching out in all directions - just taunting us to stare into it and dig deeper. a slow pounding builds in your head; all the thoughts that are on the brink must be bursting to pass through your brain. then a glow in front of you makes you focus not on the beating anymore, for you realize it's source and stare into it trying to make it out. the light continues to grow in intensity, allowing for you to comprehend the image of a solo drummer but then your attention is diverted as a keyboard twinkles into earshot and another silhouette appears in a warm yellow cloud. things begin to swell as a female on guitar comes to light as well. the Stars have come out on this lovely night and they are ready to change you with their songs.
Amy repeats what we all know as true: The Night Starts Here indeed. Overtop of a background rumble she introduces us to the new album from a band that has made some of the most gorgeous songs to come out of Montreal this decade (and that is saying a lot). Torq finally enters to add his charming vocals to the track, and the interplay that defines many of their greatest songs is heard for the first time on this album. Along with overlap that works really well in this case. Then, like an asteroid it comes to an abrupt stop.
Torq then grabs the reins for a little while as he demands Take Me To The Riot while Amy comes along for the ride.
In an immediate tune, Amy reads from her ..Favourite Book and makes a strikingly adept comparison, in a way it is a reverse personification, about a lover. Slow and straightforward, the song is easy to listen to initially but comes off as not having much overall depth.
The same cannot be said for the Midnight Coward which is dynamic and a standout, even on this gorgeous album. Again the interplay between the two stellar singers achieves a wonderful effect.
The Ghost of Geneva Heights starts out with a beat that could be made by the ghost of the king of pop. Even during the chorus a slightly effeminate sounding Torq comes across with hints of MJ. Despite these peculiarities it is still much more a Stars track than one from Michael Jackson.
Personal gripped me so much that I won't allow myself to make an obvious play on the title for it would lessen the effect. In a recreation of a brief correspondence, a heart-breaking tale is told that slightly shocked as it tore through my chest. As disheartening and difficult as it may be, the talents of Torq as a writer, and both him and Amy as performers must be acknowledged. The song draws you into this story enough to tear at your heart while the bottom falls out. "Sorry to be heavy, but heavy is the cost."
A beautiful piano-ballad; Torq tears down the Barricades and let's his vocals shine through. "How could anyone not love your cold, black heart?"
A few abrupt tempo changes manage to keep the listener intrigued, but like the Window Bird chirping all day outside on the sill, this one sometimes fades into the background. Some guitar work saves it near the end.
Amy resumes lead vocals to sing about the Bitches in Tokyo as the album picks up pace again.
In a reflection on Life (2), Torq - the real-life actor - walks us through the screenplay for a movie. The contemplation of what life is supposed to be is grounding, especially the thesis of The Unhappy Ending.
Trying to lift you out of the rut that the sad story brought on, Amy promises that Today Will Be Better, I Swear! But for some reason it is difficult to believe her, as much as I'd like to.
Sitting In the Bedroom, After the War you grapple with the bittersweet message that forces one to decide which point of view they are going to take, but also questions whether you can just look at one side while ignoring the other. To paraphrase "Yes the war is over, and we think we've won" but is that just our state of mind, or are we lying to ourselves? The culmination into a soaring song almost tears you away from the grim outlook of the future. But must it be so bleak? That is the question being posed after all.
As the album comes to a close, it implores you to return to The Beginning After the End once more - perhaps this time with a new perspective - if Stars have been successful in their bid to effect change in people through their music.
