Both previous times I’ve prepared to see Wintersleep I’ve listened to their records and dreamt about how amazing it the live show should translate. Yet both times I’ve been let down – mid-afternoon Hillside Inside set, and openers to a half-empty gargantuan Toronto Amphitheatre from half-way back. Each time I’ve thought “if only they could play in a sweaty, crammed little club where the fans are stoked to be there specifically for them”. Last night at the Vinyl my wishes came true and it was absolutely everything I could have hoped for.
Shoulder to shoulder with fans the energy buzzed in the darkness while the air filled with smoke. Finally the anticipation was sated as Wintersleep took to the stage and proceeded to rock our faces off. With well-composed songs and accomplished musicians playing them, they really know how to build a song up to epic proportions that make you lose your place in the swirl of guitar and drums. It didn’t matter whether the songs were new or old throughout the night because the band was feeling it, and the fans actually gained energy along the hour and a quarter of mindmelding music. Just as New Inheritors tracks like Preservation, Baltic and Trace Decay build and improve as they go along, so did this show.
A fine subset of Welcome to the Night Sky was included too, such as Archaeologist that played well with keys traded for tambo and a modified chorus, while Dead Letters.. was simply and purely awesome. The crowd sure was pleased by the early-set back-to-back accessible hits of Weighty Ghost into Oblivion while deeper cut fans must have been blown away by the full rendition of that album’s closer Miasmal Smoke & the Yellow Bellied Freaks that also closed this set.
After going out with a bang (figuratively, and literally – burst of confetti) the crowd hollered for a legitimately deserved encore and the efforts fully paid off. They led with the repeatedly requested Orca, dating way back to 2003 from the bands first self-titled effort, and it was appreciated. Finally they hit on 2005’s release, finishing oh-so-strong with the neatly drummed Danse Macabre letting us all yell out “Oh you had such big, big plans!” Well my plan was to take in Wintersleep at their best, in this well-suited situation and that’s exactly what I got; one of the best live shows in recent Guelph history - or anywhere for that matter.
Nearly Complete Set List
Drunk on Aluminium
Encyclopedia
?Trace Decay
Dead Letters & the Infinite Yes
Black Camera
Experience the Jewel
Weighty Ghost
Oblivion
New Inheritors
Preservation
Archaeologists
Baltic
Lasers
Miasmal Smoke & the Yellow Bellied Freaks
Encore
Orca
Danse Macabre
Showing posts with label wintersleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wintersleep. Show all posts
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Wintersleep Live Up to their Potential (Vinyl, Oct.21)
Rah Rah open for Wintersleep (Vinyl, Oct. 21)
The evenly mixed-sex, sextet on stage known collectively as Rah Rah were performing their driving pop, lead by earnest drumming. They burst out with Betrayal Pt. 1, including male/female vocals, violin and plenty of energy. Carrying on in short time they covered the infectiously ridiculous Going Steady hit, Tentacles, as well as its record-mate Fuck NAFTA. Like their Saskatchewan brethren (and sistren(?)) of Library Voices they really know how to make a catchy hook and back it up with nearly frenetic pop instrumentation – keys and accordion included. That or burst out in the middle of songs like Henry with lines such as “Hey Henry, you better lock that shit down!” The female drummer who had been clanging a cymbal with a tambo earlier then doled out extra sticks to any bandmate with a free hand and they tapped out Beaches all over the joint (speakers, walls, mic stands etc.) – a highlight for sure. Unfortunately there wasn’t much more time for other highlights as they had a sick member so they tossed in a Duet for Emmylou.. and took off after playing for about as much time as it took them to sound check. Not even enough time for recent single Arrows – which leaves a reason as good as any to catch them on the next fly through.
The Noise and the Ghost are four guys from Guelph who had the honour of opening the evening. Catching only the closing few numbers they held their own with some chill roots rock, tossed in a few decent electric guitar riffs (and had an acoustic going too), before closing off with a Wilco cover.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
City & Sara, Ra Ra-Sleep (+Special Hip Guest)
Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot have a dense sound with a lilting vocal delivery and that is exactly what came across at Toronto’s amphitheatre on Saturday night. The six piece began a stellar night of music to those patrons that knew about their excellent sound and specifically showed up for it, and those that were just early enough to be introduced to it. The ever-prompt amphitheatre had them mid-set as I found my seat, perfectly coinciding with my most favoured track Too Dramatic from this year’s The Orchard. This upbeat tune pulsed its way throughout the gorgeous early evening shadows. With the skeleton of an electric cello rumbling and the violin streaking overtop they won people over in short time.
Wintersleep
Returning to past Wintersleep albums is a reminder of their strength as songwriters, managing to craft catchy songs while incorporating exquisite guitar work. That being said their live show has yet to translate that as well, at least in the situations I’ve seen them. Opening this set they treated us to new New Inheritors such as Mirror Matter before dropping that catchy as all get-out Oblivion. It appeared a difficult task to translate to this huge venue that was slowly filling with mostly non-fans. Even a blistering version of recent single Black Camera wasn’t enough to draw people in as the amazing guitar breakdowns were being lost in the ether. Miscommunication led them to rush into finale Weighty Ghost, which they put a slightly new spin on as they do to most live songs which may have disappointed those radio fans who yelled in recognition off the top. Realizing they actually had time for two more songs after this was a blessing as they rocked Archaeologists with loose vocals, leaving them with the somewhat synthy, tempo-changing Trace Decay as their strongest performance in finale. Give this band a headlining spot in a moderately sized club and I bet they’d have the power to floor ya.
Tegan and Sara, City and Colour after the jump..
Tegan and Sarah
Tegan. Sarah. Admittedly nervous at the start (massive crowd? opening for Dallas?) it took a few songs before they really began to translate, despite the hearty response to them off the top. They shine at their most vulnerable and so it was songs with revealing lyrics like The Con, and numbers such as the slowed down Back in Your Head – laid out over acoustic guitar and synths - that really hit their mark. In fact there was a midset section that removed much of the presence of the backing trio (drum, bass, keys/guitar) and put the focus on the band’s namesakes to great effect. Teegs and Sassy did So Jealous ‘classics’ such as the title track, Walking with a Ghost, Speak Slow and Where Does the Good Go? There was also a neat version of Nineteen that had the mid-song vocals over just an ethereal guitar. To close it out they brought everyone back for a rocking Northshore and after giving authentic, heartfelt thanks the two of them alone used The Con’s closer, Call It Off for an emotional singalong leaving a hanging T&S presence as they exited the stage.
City and Colour
City & Colour is Dallas Green and that's just how this show began, Dallas strumming a guitar in his suspendered Canadian tuxedo for 10,000 or so (mostly) screaming fans. Partway through opener Comin' Home he was joined by his backing band who were present for about half the set. "I said I wouldn't say anything... but 'Holy $h!t'" were some of the first words Dallas muttered to the audience a couple of songs in, and of course the crowd went crazy. Back and forth from acoustic to electric he mixed in cuts from both albums as well as a couple of new tracks to boot. A vocal-only outro to Hello, I'm in Delaware resounded, while Save Your Scissors had the crowd's voices in unison covering the chorus for him after the band had left again. A knockout was the harmonica-laden Body in a Box, which preceded the predictable Tegan and Sara accompaniment - at least it was for the oil spill response song freshly written by Mr.Green. The girls held their own with their vocals but didn't produce particular magic on their only song.That Girl had the couples in the house (both gay and straight) reaching for each other's hands, while Sometimes was reworked as a rocker with legit electric guitar solos and everything. To close out the set he followed T&S' lead by closing with an album closer - the slow burn of Bring Me Your Love's As Much As I Ever Could.
Lights out, "I Love You Dallas'" drowned out by cheering for the encore. This eventually brought him back out alone to the piano to play an "almost cover" of Alexisonfire's Happiness by the Kilowatt. Euphoric right? But as the cry went all morning at Buskerfest - wait there's more!
To paraphrase the man of the hour's introduction to the next and final song of a rather solid evening of performances, "I brought my friends back out with me for this one," backing band strolls on stage as the lights shine on them, "and I brought another friend with me too. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Gord." The introduction by first name only was all that was necessary as speculation had been running rampant all day about this potential collab. Spontaneously the crowd went officially bonkers - the guy directly in front of me impulsively jumped in her lap and hugged the sh!t out of his girlfriend - as the reigning god of Canadian rock sang his verse and backed up the chorus on Sleeping Sickness. Gord Downie and Dallas Green embraced both before and after the song, as caught up in the moment as we all were. As Dallas pointed out - I feel sorry for those who decided to beat the traffic by sneaking out early.
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