tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185728967357800212024-02-20T12:20:43.019-05:00a montreal-based music blogReviews and inherently subjective analyses of bands and performances in and around the Montreal area, which is here defined as wherever I may see a show.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-5464184012451844642010-08-03T12:47:00.006-04:002010-08-03T16:21:28.557-04:00Osheaga – July 31 at Parc Jean-DrapeauAnother year, another almost-worth-it lineup at Osheaga. A formerly back-to-school event held in early September, I have fond memories of watching Grace Potter & the Nocturnals play at noon like it was midnight in 2006, and of Explosions in the Sky doing their blissful best on what's now the Green Stage the year after. But for the past few summers, I haven't quite been able to justify the expense for the daytime extravaganza.<br /><br />Osheaga lacks the hour-plus set times and late-night wonders of festivals like Bonnaroo – an unfair comparison, to be sure, since noise restrictions are probably a little different in rural Tennessee than close-to-downtown Montreal – but there must be a way to bring that $160 weekend price tag down a notch. True, no other Canadian festival has been able to accomplish <a href="http://maisonneuve.org/blog/2010/08/02/osheaga-recap/">what Osheaga has</a> in the past five years, so after what seems like a successful year, maybe the organizers could examine other city fests, like Seattle's <a href="http://bumbershoot.org/tickets/">Bumbershoot</a> – which this year introduced smaller stage tickets starting at $22 per day, or $40 if you want to see the main acts – and make the festival experience more accessible.<br /><br />Not being one to sneak into things, I was still able to enjoy many of the shows for free, standing on the other side of the fences in plain view of the stages. What I'll call my "p'tit blog pass" only lasted until Saturday evening, however, at which point security clued in to this glitch, and either moved the fences back or asked me not to stand directly behind them. A couple metres seemed to suffice – it was like the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/police-admit-deliberately-misleading-public-on-expanded-security-fence-law/article1622864/">5-metre rule</a> at the G20, only more arbitrary.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Owen Pallett</span><br />From my view beyond the Green Stage's fence near the water overlooking Old Port, the violin fiend formerly known as Final Fantasy sounded crisp and comforting as he played his loop-heavy, warm-voiced arrangements for the afternoon crowd. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the Curse of Festival Sound: Pallett complained about the monitors on his penultimate track, and ended the last song half-way through, saying he couldn't hear himself at all on stage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros</span><br />Positioning ourselves on the other side of the big hill behind in view of the main stages, I asked my fellow free-festival-goer what the deal was with this particular ampersand band. "They're like a 70s band only not from the 70s." Turns out that's a pretty accurate characterization, especially in the festival setting, where they were to Osheaga what the shared-vocal, big-bandiness of Jefferson Airplane were to Woodstock '69.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimmy Cliff</span><br />It's nice to get a sense of what concerts your parents have just seen – and with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Harder They Come</span> having just come into life this past year, I was interested to see the resurrected reggae hero. Though I didn't recognize the tunes, I believe Cliff's anti-war message was the only one of the day, making wonder why indie music doesn't often broach such topics. After all, we're too busy coming up with justifications for not paying for music.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Japandroids</span><br />Touring behind the second of their five-part single series, Brian and David from Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/07/japandroids-invites-july-14-at-club.html">once again</a> seemed to be wrapping up a string of shows in Montreal. I suppose all their "We love it here" banter is true, because they did everything they could to make their set in the midday sun work with their late-night shenanigans – building things up with what seemed like two intros before launching into "The Boys Are Leaving Town" and "Rockers East Vancouver", the <span style="font-style: italic;">Post-Nothing</span> fist-pumper that started the pit that lasted the whole show. Does the lack of said shoving at their Club Lambi last summer show suggest Montrealers are more rowdy outside? Probably not, but it might help that the newer songs are more post- than pop-punk, while still incorporating their simple guitar-only moments and stepping things up on the drum front.<br /><br />Again, the sound on the Green Stage was surprisingly good – you could feel the low 'E' as Brian built up the gigantic "Heart Sweats". As evidenced by the impeccably cued pause before yet another outburst – filled only with the a light-hearted "David?" to signal the return of their wall of sound – the chemistry between these two is palpable. Let's just hope they don't have the same luck with girls, so we can keep hearing more of their rebound rock.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avi Buffalo</span><br />Darn security, not letting me stand behind the fence in front of the smallest stage. The experience was much different five, rather than one, metres from where paid entrants were standing. I'm new to Avi Buffalo, so I won't offer much other than to say that they're workin' that lo-fi alt-grunge thing pertty well, with gender-bending vocals and dynamics to boot. I felt bad for them, though, when the soundguy forbid them from playing their last song – despite the fact they had just given the crowd the "we have two songs left" warning, and that they actually had a couple minutes remaining before their 6:30 finish line.<br /><br />So, a message to soundpeople everywhere: bands think very carefully about what song they will end with. Don't fuck that up for them.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-81183540249169310332010-07-23T13:16:00.011-04:002010-07-23T17:30:53.098-04:00Kurt Vile & the Violators, Real Estate, No Joy – July 22 at Il Motore <span style="font-weight: bold;">No Joy</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkNeAo1fgCwQkAhi5Q9jhl8jdre06X4Hj1WFHjyO-L-bvJu2P2IRm_OzuzzaQUQxDiL28Vh8HCTcjWThG0Dm5okJ6WzI4y9X2rBArmumhEbyWavO4dpv7Tm8zlrgQS39_gb1WPGekzRuQ/s1600/no_joy_3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkNeAo1fgCwQkAhi5Q9jhl8jdre06X4Hj1WFHjyO-L-bvJu2P2IRm_OzuzzaQUQxDiL28Vh8HCTcjWThG0Dm5okJ6WzI4y9X2rBArmumhEbyWavO4dpv7Tm8zlrgQS39_gb1WPGekzRuQ/s400/no_joy_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497197603554491362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This L.A.-via-Montreal band's noisy nostalgia sort of works, and it sort of doesn't. When it does, the feedback-heavy waves emanating from their shiny guitars, boutique pedals and vintage-reissue amps coalesce to form an agreeable orb, while at other times each player's contribution seems to just get in the way of the other frequencies, muddying the whole experiment.<br /><br />No Joy certainly put out some desirable components, but there's a barrage of reverb-heavy garage rock currently re-imagining the music we were too young to experience the first time around, and there's no particular reason why I should care about No Joy over any other band former by former Thurston Moore fanclubbers. Failing that much-needed substance, their 4th gen Yo La Tengo stylings will be about as useful as the heel-and-toe-exposing boots sported onstage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Real Estate</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ75GBUtClaLuoKfrH6RIUR-PqnPNf4zHIcRJgrptj1C0OrJwBaLcH5MhPAXA2gm75tKsCpkBCXna9TnHFH_7smnwwuHJdO0pEZt_xS94AHMrsuzBd5Njpgp5H2xbjj0ro9Moc_vUwenqL/s1600/real_estate_3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ75GBUtClaLuoKfrH6RIUR-PqnPNf4zHIcRJgrptj1C0OrJwBaLcH5MhPAXA2gm75tKsCpkBCXna9TnHFH_7smnwwuHJdO0pEZt_xS94AHMrsuzBd5Njpgp5H2xbjj0ro9Moc_vUwenqL/s400/real_estate_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497192735743210674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I love this band because they do something no one else can: they make me not hate the suburbs. Forget the oil addiction, the social isolation, the close-minded classicism – without the cul-de-sac, there would be no Real Estate. For that, I'm forever grateful, and at least a little conflicted.<br /><br />While I would consider these born-and-bred New Jerseymen's self-titled debut to be an example of great art coming from dark places, something tells me they wouldn't agree with that description of their origins. <span style="font-style: italic;">Real Estate</span> reflects the aimlessness of four friends moving back to Jersey after college, but as bassist Alex Bleeker explains, there is a natural tendency to glorify nostalgia, emphasizing the rosier parts of Jersey life.<br /><br />There's also a humble yet reactionary pride that rumbles along with their thoughtful reverberations on suburbia. "[That pride is] accentuated by people telling you that where you come from sucks," Bleeker says. I've always felt a similar reason for sticking up for Georgetown, Ontario – a town as white as it sounds – even though, more recently, I feel like its most vocal critic. No regrets about my comfortable, fresh air'd upbringing, of course, though it would have been nice to ride the subway a few more times before going away to school.<br /><br />Just as perceptions of our pasts change, so does the band's current batch of songs, which so wonderfully serves as a gateway to revisit patchy childhood perspectives. When I first saw them opening for Woods at Club Lambi in the spring, I wasn't expecting the tempo and vocals on "Green River" to reach such anthemic levels, but this time I was ready. The "woah-oh" rush bled straight into the poolside drawl of "Suburban Beverage," and then into perhaps the bravest contribution to their repertoire, "Atlantic City." Ostensibly, a less than two-minute instrumental track (that sounds like an alternate ending for other songs) might seem out of place – but if the suburban mythology is going to hold true, it has to be open to everybody, or in this case, every song.<br /><br />With every passing chilled out lyric or sepia-toned memory, it would be easy to criticize Real Estate for poaching the few bucolic aspects of suburbia for their own benefit. The important thing with this band, however, is that the experience is shared.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kurt Vile & the Violators</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn-0tliJu9lJ-E8A7AO91Nes-kGm-u1cOOp7-Yd-yoLgEwmVrTgRR54nvYCy3vzxQKtlQUpQIS1Nb4SBsyCUbZHw-XIjPWQ5rIapTSUwECr_d6kcs5KgxP9uusoazKhM81is0-h9WTwG0/s1600/kurt_vile_2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbn-0tliJu9lJ-E8A7AO91Nes-kGm-u1cOOp7-Yd-yoLgEwmVrTgRR54nvYCy3vzxQKtlQUpQIS1Nb4SBsyCUbZHw-XIjPWQ5rIapTSUwECr_d6kcs5KgxP9uusoazKhM81is0-h9WTwG0/s400/kurt_vile_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497194302711880610" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />[coming soon]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Photos courtesy of Véronique Coté. All rights reserved.</span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-7931389453016745392010-05-05T10:07:00.003-04:002010-05-05T12:15:26.385-04:00Yeasayer and Sleigh Bells – May 2 at Le National<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sleigh Bells</span><br />The latest Brooklyn-based noise-crunk-whatever band borrows equally from out-there hip-hop as they do from 80s arena metal, so when some of their simple, boombastic beats reminded me of early Dizzee Rascal, it seemed only fitting that the London MC's first single sampled a song called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQYgrm6Vv0">"The Big Beat"</a>. Song after song, this is just what the duo gives you, adding epic guitar slides and riffage to the sound of their <a href="http://stereogum.com/300921/sleigh-bells-debut-album-treats-powered-by-m-i-a/news/">new friend </a>M.I.A. with an ever-changing display of vocalist Alexis Krauss's throat contortions, from her mom-friendly <a href="http://stereogum.com/356511/sleigh-bells-tell-em/mp3s/">head voice</a> to long, piercing releases inspired by kids slowly letting air out of a balloon.<br /><br />Guitarist and songwriter Derek Miller's time with hardcore <a href="http://www.myspace.com/poisonthewell">Poison The Well</a> makes him no stranger to hugely distorted lead guitar, and the power coming through on the string side of things sometimes reminded me of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRo9bkeux_c">Jack White</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi8KdTk0u0g">fighting</a> for soaring leads through shitty gear – except Miller has a fully-functional Marshall stack behind him. There were a few moments when their fully-formed wall of sound was a little much, and tracks like <a href="http://stereogum.com/97041/band_to_watch_sleigh_bells/franchises/band-to-watch/">"Crown On The Ground"</a> could have benefited from the clarity their <a href="http://stereogum.com/mp3/Sleigh%20Bells%20-%20Ring%20Ring.mp3">lighter fare</a> offers. It'll be interesting to hear what they choose to explore on their 'real' recordings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yeasayer</span><br />"They're really good at their machines," a friend of mine said when I asked what she thought of Yeasayer's set Sunday night. It's true, and it's also why I prefer <span style="font-style: italic;">All Hour Cymbals</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">ODD BLOOD</span>. Both albums create the band's worldly psychedelic pop, though their debut is decidedly more human, whereas their <a href="http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/4624-yeasayer-ambling-alp-secretly-canadian-mute">video</a>-<a href="http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/4305-yeasayer-one-secretly-canadian">prone</a> second album finds the band letting the electronics doing more of the feeling – and, judging by the Animal Collective-esque light set-up, seeing – for them. (The decision to have the robot voice on "The Children" open <span style="font-style: italic;">ODD BLOOD</span> and their live set could be a reminder that Yeasayer's heads are always in the future – see "2080" – for me it only served to make the natural harmonies that come in part way through the song all the more rewarding.) Their dependence on tools isn't necessarily a bad thing, though it may have something to do with their debut still sounding fresher than their sophomore LP.<br /><br />This may also be a function of the band letting more their songs comfortably seep into the background, whereas the Yeasayer of 2007 came to the fore and stayed put. Live, this results in more a subdued experience, though I would say that they're stronger when they play to their extremes – whether that's the sing-and-dance-along singles ("O.N.E." and "Ambling Alp") or the beatless "I Remember" – as opposed to wading somewhere in between.<br /><br />Bassist Ira Wolf Tuton (whose loose-fitting tank had a tough time keeping his nipples concealed) also provided a good example of the human-machine dynamic the band seems to be straddling on Sunday night. Toward the end of the show, when his nimble near-shredding became the main attraction for a few bars, the notes sounded like they were coming more from a flute than the fretless F-hole bass he was actually playing. While his effects pedals warped his sound, he was still conscious of the crowd surfers not falling to the crowd, and thanked the crowd for keeping the people safe.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-70617183637453958992010-04-17T01:41:00.005-04:002010-04-17T18:10:14.831-04:00The Bulletproof Tiger – April 14 at Bar St Laurent 2Within 20 seconds of stepping inside that <a href="http://www.myspace.com/barstlaurent">other</a> establishment at the <a href="http://www.lecagibi.ca/">corner</a> of St Laurent and St Viateur Wednesday night, I immediately felt equal parts untalented and unworthy – before the second-wave reaction to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thebulletprooftiger">The Bulletproof Tiger</a> set in, reminding me that not everyone can (or should) play the way these Windsor math-rock wonderchilds do. Because that would get boring, and because the world's ears would bleed.<br /><br />From the depths of southern Ontario, this four-piece skirts vocals for calculated yet tuneful waves of tapping-heavy phrases that stay true to slightly dirty, pretty reverby, kinda middy tone that the genre has come to monopolize: enough for the notes to have some teeth, clear enough to make sure all the dexterous string mangling actually gets heard. And having long ditched the picking hand/fretboard hand binary, the band's decidedly egalitarian approach is not only expressed on their guitar necks, but through their frontman-free take to stage presence.<br /><br />Bulletproof Tiger spends a ton of time running through melodies and bouncing around subtle time experiments – so when they resort to actually <span style="font-style: italic;">strumming</span> their guitars, the unified force is enough to put you to rest, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twsHr554PPI">Memorial</a>-like. You might not get that idea on their <span style="font-style: italic;">Stab the New Cherry EP</span>,<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>which keeps to the cleaner side of their sound, even adding some electro moments. To keep things interesting next time around, the band could take a cue from contemporaries <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mapsandatlases">Maps and Atlases</a>, who have successfully embraced other sides of the mathy coin. Otherwise, they might be the ones getting bored with what the sometimes restrictive genre can do for them.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-84451027245603081802010-03-07T17:03:00.006-05:002010-03-08T09:29:10.085-05:00Yukon Blonde, Turbo Fruits, Surfer Blood – March 5 at Il Motore<span style="font-weight: bold;">Yukon Blonde</span><br />This is just getting ridiculous. First I missed Yukon Blonde's POP Montreal show for a stunningly <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZN7HHFvHYI">underwhelming</a> <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/10/pop-montreal-october-1.html">Joel Plaskett</a> show, then on Friday I waltzed into Il Motore at a gentlemanly 9:45 p.m., only to find Nashville's Turbo Fruits midway through their set. "Great!" I thought, not only do I get to catch a half-dozen <a href="http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13768-echo-kid/">ex-Pet</a> songs, but I'll see the other two bands on the bill as well. How little did I know.<br /><br />Apparently due to some odd scheduling situation, a completely separate DJ set was planned to start at midnight at Il – making this the first and presumably only show to ever start at 9 p.m. in Montreal ever. I won't hold it against BSTB, though that decision is made easier considering the Vancouverites will be back 'round these parts in <a href="http://www.myspace.com/yukonblondeband">late April</a>.<br /><br />Maybe I should explain why I even care. If you've clicked on that first link, you'll see I snuck in the easy comparison Canada's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuauRyX-G8k">other</a> great '60s-ish simple-done-well pop-rockers, Sloan. True, that's what they sound like. But there's something else going on that makes it worth listening to. After the show, guitarist Jeffrey Innes summed it up like this: "We want to <span style="font-style: italic;">be</span> different without <span style="font-style: italic;">sounding</span> different." See – honest without being lame, just like their E.P.'s "Free Your Mind" and debut L.P.'s "Wind Blows".<br /><br />While Exclaim! contends that the band's debut "<span class="bodytext">could be the finest Canadian pop rock album by anyone other than the New Pornographers since Sloan's <i>Twice Removed,</i>" I'd say <span style="font-style: italic;">One Chord to Another</span> would be more apt. But only because I want to give the recently <a href="http://www.theconcordian.com/yukon-blonde-finally-get-the-name-right-1.1217465">re-birthed</a> band some room to breathe.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Turbo Fruits</span><br />Right around the time that lead moustache Jonas Stein took to the floor to spout out his tight three-piece's take on heavy Nashville rockabilly, I found a way to Focus on the Now and Forget the Regrets (wise advice I learned from a drunk on the train one morning last winter). When Stein attempted to tune, however, I couldn't tell if he couldn't hear himself or if he pretended not to care – because shit was off, my friend. No matter how scrappy the sound, every touring band should have some air of tunefulness, a though that only served to re-open the YK scab.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Surfer Blood</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaoIH4yzYaqroRYxzQTi3CmljK2h8znzitrmCyHojLRaHsYv1NOSoShrfARxWAKm7G4Yoy5XSxqwn9aOEuzqrdFhA5RmjeEfQq3kob0X-UhT9E-WGVB9Q64PtsUWixzSsp5jVk-H3SaGq/s1600-h/Surfer+Blood+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaoIH4yzYaqroRYxzQTi3CmljK2h8znzitrmCyHojLRaHsYv1NOSoShrfARxWAKm7G4Yoy5XSxqwn9aOEuzqrdFhA5RmjeEfQq3kob0X-UhT9E-WGVB9Q64PtsUWixzSsp5jVk-H3SaGq/s400/Surfer+Blood+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446141039036600162" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="bodytext">It seems like these fresh-faced Floridians read their press. Being compared to the <a href="http://www.nypress.com/article-20593-surf-school.html">Pixies</a> and the more straightforward side of Sonic Youth is one thing, but <span style="font-style: italic;">actually using a <a href="http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/gtr01.html">drum stick</a> to make guitar noise</span> is a whole 'nother level of early-90's indie rock revivalism. As for the <a href="http://www.straightuphoodrich.com/review-surfer-blood/">Weezer</a> comparisons, the band wisely refrained from playing more than 8 bars of "The Sweater Song" during their encore. Still, the drummer had to get that intro fill in for the audience's pleasure (see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQqqM5sr7g">first four seconds</a>).<br /><br />The other side of their sound, of course, is their ultra-overdone afro-shoegaze. (Joke.) But that one song, "Take It Easy", certainly finds the band at their most <a href="http://blog.mtviggy.com/2009/10/27/cmj-crystal-antlers-surfers-blood-cymbals-eat-guitars/">VW</a>, and came across really well early in the set. Before the show, I was worried that maybe it was the studio-rendered reverb – rather than the band – that made standouts like first single "Swim" really pop on <span style="font-style: italic;">Astro Coast </span>(especially with bland-yet-well-recorded videos like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpi74QmxdiA">this</a> floating around). But as the band jubilantly prodded along, their quasi-unpolished indyisms felt pretty fun. So whatever, throw your artfully tatooed hands in the air.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4-4nsbmD5FbJjf4SHBqRpgYPkyqFJwvaH2zU4ad2OwJJ741qiHK0DTBXdqs1D7LDniye8yr67ja19I22yIoJ2cZtnVw5eFGap2ik3kEXRhq1zyd2mRYxi9neIsTanBGIc-2b-CYVso2E/s1600-h/Surfer+Blood+11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4-4nsbmD5FbJjf4SHBqRpgYPkyqFJwvaH2zU4ad2OwJJ741qiHK0DTBXdqs1D7LDniye8yr67ja19I22yIoJ2cZtnVw5eFGap2ik3kEXRhq1zyd2mRYxi9neIsTanBGIc-2b-CYVso2E/s400/Surfer+Blood+11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446131847506922930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Photos courtesy of Eric Schreiber, who was nice enough to pass them along even though he was really there on behalf of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://leacocks.com/">leacocks.com</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><span class="bodytext"><br /><br /></span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-83840148050951005572010-02-20T23:35:00.007-05:002010-02-21T15:43:27.314-05:00Ismism – February 6 at O Patro Vys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8d1_1c-au6ErANXsQ4_9S9AlKOVNch3ryGufjyfRa78HXW0mcKkqyYRFl0MVUwKoA_B2-8meTR3c1o5Z2DSKkonQT1Bf6BlQyUx-MiCclwWKRvigvDhMqHjtk2hMsrLxUqGDvFs98TxU/s1600-h/DSC_0025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8d1_1c-au6ErANXsQ4_9S9AlKOVNch3ryGufjyfRa78HXW0mcKkqyYRFl0MVUwKoA_B2-8meTR3c1o5Z2DSKkonQT1Bf6BlQyUx-MiCclwWKRvigvDhMqHjtk2hMsrLxUqGDvFs98TxU/s400/DSC_0025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440748353494228114" border="0" /></a><br />What does <a href="http://www.mcgilldaily.com/articles/26083">electro-acoustic post-rock</a> even mean? Probably nothing. That's because arguably made-up genre classifications often fall short of the sounds they try to envelop in a few short words. It can be tough to admit, but sometimes academic (and, if I may, audiophilic) catch-alls aren't the best way to describe sounds that seem a bit out of the ordinary, or even a bit out of the Top 40.<br /><br />To play a little name comparison game, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ismismusic">Ismism</a> can at times sound like what <a href="http://www.boardsofcanada.com/">Boards of Canada </a>would record after listening to <a href="http://cstrecords.com/releases/cst020">& Yet & Yet</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_mMzOQpe0I">OK Computer</a> on repeat. And repetition, it so happens, plays a large role in the earnest melodic developments that make the band's debut e.p. so inviting. This is not texture for <a href="http://prettymuchamazing.com/music/blinded-by-the-hype-animal-collective-merriweather-post-pavilion">texture's sake</a>, <a href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/2005/11/29/phish-sucks/">aimless improvisation</a>, or <a href="http://www.myspace.com/dreamtheater">self-indulgent experimentation</a>. The <a href="http://ismismusic.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ismism e.p.</span></a> covers plenty of new iterative, slow-building ground without delving into an uninteresting abyss that can sometimes make instrumental rock a turn-off.<br /><br />The disc's peak-and-valley structure mimics that of individual songs, making it easy to conceptualize the self-titled output a unified package, rather than a collection of stand-alone tracks. Fitting, then, that the five-piece's release show contained two extended halves, with songs flowing into one another through appropriately-timed lulls. Band members routinely dipped down to control samples through their floor-bound mixer, swapped or teamed up on instruments (vibraphone!), and exchanged numerous smiles and head-bobs, adding to the group effort that successfully put the music and the mood above any individual attention. (One unintentional exception may be bassist Alex LeBlanc's habit of walking on the spot to the beat – but that probably just means he's really into it.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5B4yctS89-PyrizvBjs4HQZ114SMAej2FZiT_Mm_xPXe-7_BQ5hFHBNKGwAwOfESAbEZvbKkD7RX4ZPW8V2Nd0Q6YF6JtsZsMD_KgUFFqXJlZMEmqfZtGeVO786qqzQ35Y7poZF5nVS5/s1600-h/DSC_0171.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5B4yctS89-PyrizvBjs4HQZ114SMAej2FZiT_Mm_xPXe-7_BQ5hFHBNKGwAwOfESAbEZvbKkD7RX4ZPW8V2Nd0Q6YF6JtsZsMD_KgUFFqXJlZMEmqfZtGeVO786qqzQ35Y7poZF5nVS5/s400/DSC_0171.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440745460610960754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This collective, all-for-one feeling also helps to set the band apart from acts who focus solely one member, or that one unique aspect of their sound. Another largely unimportant peculiarity is the the fact that "the drummer" (also known as multi-instrumentalist, composer, and all-round nice guy Matt Daher) writes all the music. And after watching these songs build over the past year, I'm really looking forward to new works from Daher and friends. And did I mention they lug a fucking <span style="font-style: italic;">vibraphone</span> to every gig?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqTn9fM4uQT_GSclnE5JYkGoPO1iC1STjlp8lqAe49McgFfTz9IrfqqWtmOE6wQqaUYqTAEbJr0EDljGhHXz2dbSrWDx7lfZrqyG5K9xhEBQ3ykfVjKrp3RaePl-g2qO-pWNmTdyV_B7M/s1600-h/DSC_0220.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqTn9fM4uQT_GSclnE5JYkGoPO1iC1STjlp8lqAe49McgFfTz9IrfqqWtmOE6wQqaUYqTAEbJr0EDljGhHXz2dbSrWDx7lfZrqyG5K9xhEBQ3ykfVjKrp3RaePl-g2qO-pWNmTdyV_B7M/s400/DSC_0220.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440745190956675058" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Photos courtesy of Danya Z.</span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-49270755733389396252010-02-20T17:09:00.003-05:002010-02-20T19:14:11.047-05:00Emma Frank Quartet - February 3 at Dièse Onze"<a href="http://www.myspace.com/emmafrankvoice">Let It Go</a>," the standout track on Emma Frank's humble online home, starts with a few soft chords, offbeat hits against a snare's rim, and a simple kick to reminds us where the cycle starts. For the next three minutes, the local vocalist blissfully explores the nuances of notes she seems tied to only at arm's length. Blending ever-tasteful vibrato, natural scats, and soothing melodies, the song shows off the best parts of whatever neo-soul meant to be, its restraint more rewarding with each listen.<br /><br />When I first complimented Emma on her ability to add depth to sometimes straightforward vocal lines, she wrote it off as being "just Jazz," effectively downplaying her talent and the fact that she applies similar techniques to her multiple pop forays. Online, this is evident in the first single from her newest project, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/shesgotahabit">She's Got a Habit</a>, in which spacey synths and rolling beats provide the backbone for the adaptable songstress's musings. And in real life, the jazz-pop amalgamation came to the fore during the Emma Frank Quartet's second set at Dièse Onze earlier this month. Highlights included a prodding cover of Bjork's "Unison", and of course <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/10/pop-montreal-september-30.html">busy-stickman</a> Phil Melanson's facial expressions. ("Feeling" doesn't even approach an accurate description of the experience that is watching Phil coax his drums.)<br /><br />During that set, the band balanced experiments beyond jazz's realm while staying true to the purpose of the dimly lit Saint-Denis lounge. Following the stirring build-up around said cover's "I never thought I would compromise", the Frank-penned "Go Running" led the band into a disco-jazz territory before a remarkable dose of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright". While the original relies upon a subtly simple yet powerful chord pattern, the Quartet brought the changes to an undefined but oft-cited 'next level'. But what's really exciting about this band is there ability to play off each other, each musician serving an equal (and between the vocals and saxophone, sometimes indistinguishable) role in the sound. See them when you can.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-43868239162357493592009-12-10T01:20:00.007-05:002009-12-10T02:16:25.671-05:00Hey Predator!, The Denial Tone, DD/MM/YYYY – December 9 at Il Motore<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey Predator!</span><br />Tonight Hey Predator! transitioned from being I band I like because they're good and because they're friends of mine to one that I just like. Maybe it was Il Motore's surprisingly good sound, or because they were in a spot I think they envisioned themselves at their name-release party a couple years ago (before they changed "Hate" to "Hey" and dropped the super-scenester comma), or even because vocalist/poetry-yeller Taylor used to work out. Whatever the reason, they topped even their solid Divan set this past <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/10/hey-predator-bronzed-chorus-antarctic.html">fall</a>.<br /><br />Opener "This is a Pregnancy Pact" was especially strong, with (one of three) guitarist Tristan's fingers running up and down the neck like it was a fast-paced game of Snakes 'n Ladders, while on the next song, his second tapping hand forced the notes to bounce back and forth in a mathy match of Pong. The tightness of these relatively newer songs even managed to supersede the go-to closer of "Puncture Wounds," whose aggressive group vocals (they scream "fucking"!) always gets people's attention. Hopefully Hey Pred continues to get the Blue Skies Turn Black-level shows they deserve.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Denial Tone</span><br />Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for the high-pitched, mid-heavy barrage of The Denial Tone's garage-punk. They pounded out tight enough tracks, with the guitars often veering into intruiging territory, but it just didn't seem like the band really felt it, and neither did I.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DD/MM/YYYY</span><br />DD/MM/YYYY (pronounced "day month year") excels in cathartic yet contained psych-math explorations. Tonight, they delivered much of <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Square</span>, perhaps their most successful studio outing, in all its instrument-swapping, drum-spattering, echo-y-vocal glory. After the show, guitarist/vocalist/drummer Tomas Del Balso explained that the switching comes from the band's democratic songwriting process ("We wanted a no holds barred approach"), where all five members bring song ideas to the table and determine who plays what accordingly. "It's a problem and a good thing," he said.<br /><br />Instead of forcing the listener to choose between spacing out or dancing a frantic jig, the band smartly allows for both, showcasing their controlled experiments with playful ease. Del Balso also noted that although the band's complex output still relies on "pretty conventional weapons – guitar, drums, and keys, nothing too obscure – but the way we play them is our personality." As might be expected, for this band the message isn't solely in the vocals, but in the rhythms, too. "We want to leave people thinking for themselves, and about their expectations for what a band should and could be."GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-69240931981843964802009-11-23T15:56:00.004-05:002009-11-23T16:52:50.861-05:00The Rural Alberta Advantage and Great Bloomers – November 18 at Club Lambi<span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Bloomers</span><br />If your <a href="http://www.myspace.com/greatbloomers">MySpace</a> describes you as talented "beyond your years," that probably means you're young – which doesn't really have to mean anything. Take Toronto's Great Bloomers for instance, whose alt-country Canadiana served as a perfect prelude to The RAA last Wednesday. The band laid down Cuff the Duke basics with a voice that sounds like a twangy <a href="http://www.chom.com/">CHOM 97.7</a>. They also overcame sound troubles when guitarist Nate Hindle gave up on his hollow body and instead sang on the finale, thought it was clear the poor guy had no idea what to do with his hands. Enjoyable, yes, though it made me yearn for another <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/06/bonnaroo-thursday-june-11.html">other</a> <a href="http://deltaspiritbydeltaspirit.blogspot.com/">band</a> doing the old thing well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Rural Alberta Advantage</span><br />The first two songs from <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theraa">The RAA</a> had two-thirds of the band restricted to back-up vocals and a floor tom, which was unfortunate because the drum sounded like shit. When drummer Paul Banwatt eventually moved to the kit, I was taken aback by how friggin' tight and loud he was, bringing the punk to tin-can <span style="font-style: italic;">Hometowns</span> foundations like "Don't Haunt This Place" and "Drain the Blood," and the Chemical Brothers back to rock with "Sleep All Day."<br /><br />Meanwhile, guitarist and real Albertan Nils Edenloff delivered on his <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/37175-video-neutral-milk-hotel-live-in-1998/">Aeroplane</a>-tinged vocals and small town authenticity, expressing genuine interest in meeting people after the set. But for some reason, he did a cover of "Eye of the Tiger." Why?<br /><br />Before the show,<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>The RAA's pithy, prairielectro-folk hadn't really won me over, but enjoying the set from the fringes of the Wednesday night dance party convinced me to give the tar-loving Canadians a chance.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-76835352421412046442009-11-17T23:13:00.005-05:002009-11-18T01:34:36.476-05:00Dirty Projectors and tUnE-YaRdS – November 15 at Le National<span style="font-weight: bold;">tUnE-YaRdS<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>In a sort of Cagibi coming-out party, Merrill Garbus happily shared the <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=5902638&blogId=481034801">Bird</a>'s finest offerings with new and old fans Sunday night. I could attempt to describe her staggering vocal skills, but instead I'll let <a href="http://maisonneuve.org/pressroom/article/2009/sep/27/tune-yards/">Drew Nelles</a>: "sometimes she sounds like a eunuch, sometimes like she’s laying down a reggaeton track, sometimes like she’s disembowelling a zebra on the savannah." Garbus often explores all three roles in a single track, while also laying down multi-layered drum loops and ethereal harmonies with ease.<br /><br />Chances are she could have other people doing these, but it's more fun to see her create full drum beats one morcel at a time, and churning her sung parts into a kind of oral synth. Once, it sounded like a second snare part was a bit off, but with the full beat realized, it became one of the set's most danceable tracks (since she was simply laying down the opposite hand's contribution – forming an backbone akin to acoustic Animal Collective).<br /><br />It was nice to see half the headliners (Angel, Dave, and Brian) bobbing enthusiastically to the side of the stage. Like the Dirty Projectors' sound, Garbus' little guitar was mainly clean, but turned to a bruised distortion with enough attack. The accompanying men in white offered cute harmonies compared to her powerful wail, and coordinated dance moves to boot. Party on!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dirty Projectors</span><br />It's easy to justify seeing this band <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/08/dirty-projectors-at-theatre-plaza.html">multiple</a> <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/06/bonnaroo-friday-june-12.html">times</a> – especially in indie, talent and experimentation are rarely matched to such a satisfying degree.<br /><br />In this post-album tour, the band switched up the set list (which had remained fairly consistent over the summer), starting with tracks from the U.K.-only 12-inch and "Cannibal Resource," on which Dave Longstreth employed noticeably more distorted tones and new parts. These ended up being a theme of the evening, as his racing right hand sometimes gave way to minor bumps and blips. This is all relative, however, as you'd be hard-pressed to commission anyone to execute these parts' intricacy played with similar proficiency.<br /><br />Trowing in <span style="font-style: italic;">Bitte Orca </span>closer "Fluorescent Half Dome" into the first third of the set was a nice touch, Brian McComber's dynamic drumming more pronounced than ever. Afterward, Longstreth settled into his new role as a frontman of a Le National-worthy band, offering stage banter beyond monotone "Thank yous" for the first time this year. Plus, it was funny. Fielding two comments at once ("We like you" and "I have to pee"), he reciprocated the first ("Yep, we really like being here too") and responded to the second with a story about having to leave a Harlem Globe Trotters game when he was a kid ("When you gotta go you gotta go").<br /><br />The band also took advantage of the headlining slot to re-imagine <span style="font-style: italic;">Bitte Orca</span> tracks with new arrangements, most notably a semi-acoustic version of "The Bride," proving that Nat Baldwin is not lugging around his double-bass in vain. "Two Doves" also had a greater calming effect later into the set (as opposed to opening it), following thunderous renditions of "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and "Thirsty and Miserable." Of all the highlights, however, the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhypem.com%2Ftrack%2F954382%3Fawesm%3D12PS5%26utm_campaign%3Dhypem%26utm_medium%3Dawe.sm-twitter%26utm_source%3Dtwitter.com%26utm_content%3Dhypem-track_page&h=8c9e7f8dd4f0d283114b4d20a1531f74">Solange</a>-inspiring "Stillness" suffered from guitar troubles and even minute pitch issues, though as always, Amber killed the finale. Overall, Sunday night's set found the band exploring their new role as a bigger-than-Sala act with a longer, re-assembled set showcasing their winsome mix of the deceivingly steady and potently ornate.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-42595148242716867002009-11-16T16:29:00.005-05:002009-11-17T12:07:02.938-05:00Most Serene Republic – November 14 at Zaphod's (Ottawa)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Meligrove Band</span><br />...was a no-show Saturday night, apparently down with the <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=4729823&blogId=517936423">swine</a>. Whoever booked the new opening band probably did so at the last minute, because they were pretty awful. Group vocals with no harmonies, boring song structures, drum fills that don't quite fit...all in all, they reminded me of decent high school shows. That also provides a nice segue since high school is where I first saw <a href="http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Most_Serene_Republic/2009/11/11/11705151-sun.html">The Oneironauts</a> (who then became Most Serene).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Most Serene Republic</span><br />It's been almost 5 years since the underwater cinematographers played with <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thejunction">The Junction</a> at an indie music night at the Heritage Theatre in Brampton, Ontario. At the time, it seemed like The Junction was slated to break out, bringing their jazz-pop intensity outside the southwestern Ontario scene. Instead, however, a younger version of Most Serene became the first Arts & Crafts signees outside the immediate Broken Social Scene family, and did their best to navigate the hype stowed upon them. Three albums later, their main task seems to be rekindling that initial buzz, though it doesn't seem like they're going back to their earlier incarnation anytime soon. After "Where Cedar Nouns and Adverbs Walk" – whose centrepiece shout-along "I think we all know the words" brought me right back to 2004 – the band mocked the chorus, which they wrote when they were 19.<br /><br />As Most Serene blew up, The Junction quietly got a distribution deal with Universal, but after a so-so debut – which veered from their cleaner roots toward distortion and screams – got dropped. Though they're back with a sound that better emulates their earlier wonders, there's no tour to back it up. Taking different paths, both bands have found out how tough the industry can be.<br /><br />Most Serene's Saturday night set could have benefited from better sound, since it's easy to lose track of seven people playing through nightclub speakers. Seeing them at Guelph's Hillside Festival two years ago, I was re-invigorated by their swirling tightness and singer Adrian Jewett's patented kookiness. Though he still employs some impish dance moves, Jewett has traded his high-pitched tomfoolery for mid-ranged normalcy – and the wannabe Emily Haines next to him isn't quite strong enough as a lead. With their musicianship muddied and the main character tamed, the band seems to be sacrificing their energy for an undefined focus.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-14989510614447496792009-11-15T16:38:00.010-05:002009-11-17T21:13:12.265-05:00Mark Bragg, Rae Spoon, Wax Mannequin – November 13 at Zaphod's (Ottawa)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Bragg<br /></span><span>The exuberant east <a href="http://www.myspace.com/markbragg">coaster</a> got the night rolling with a taut set of honest collar rock. Near the start, it sounded like <a href="http://www.thecoral.co.uk/releases.php">The Coral's</a> debut minus the superfluous instrumentation, and finished with a dose of breakneck bluegrass. For back-to-basics bands, feeling is often most important, so this band's sheer tightness was a bonus – thanks in part to bassist Rajiv</span> Thavanathan <span>of Toronto's <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ohnoforestfires">Oh No Forest Fires</a>. "This band is smokin'," says Braggs, a St. John's native who's been performing for about 10 years, after the show. "I forgot how tourin' makes bands wicked tight." </span><span><br /><br />With a brief explanation of each song's origin (concluding with "And that's what this song is about"), the fast-talkin' Newfoundlander made a novella out of the short set. I was surprised to learn this type of storytelling was a new component of his live show, "specifically learned from Rae and Wax," Braggs tells me, adding, "I've always been shitty at introducing songs." Apparently he's past this phase. With the new shtick forcing him to re-think the songs' meaning, Braggs is better able to communicate his dark fiction more directly with those before him. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Rae Spoon<br /></span><span>Rae makes their unique status as a transgendered country singer known from the get-go, offering an engaging set of surprisingly electrified acoustic numbers with a side of basic Macbook beats. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/raespoon">Think</a> Hank Williams with a penchant for minimalist Postal Service. Drawing on experiences living in the Yukon, Halifax, and Berlin, Rae provided funny anecdotes – topics include dial-up internet; queer Country day; and the parallels between being a German cowboy and a trans Calgarian – between (and during) many of their folky, charming tunes.<br /><br />Why the banter? "When I get on stage, people don't know how to perceive me," Rae tells me, explaining that the personal narrative woven throughout the show comes as a result of consistent touring over the past 10 years. Especially for country – which Rae even remarked as a genre relying heavily on stereotypes – theirs is a bold statement, though it doesn't outweigh the quality of the music. "Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down" is still stuck i</span><span>n my head.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Wax Mannequin<br /></span><span>After two solid openers, the punky old timer (brandishing both suspenders and an iPhone) ran through a set of fist-pumping Tom Waits in fine fashion, though some songs could be mistaken for CCR or Lou Reed covers. I think that's a compliment. </span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-64285635557025365502009-11-09T21:52:00.004-05:002009-11-10T14:50:12.280-05:00Dan Auerbach – November 8 at Le NationalApparently Le National is a tough venue to fill. Not even <a href="http://grizzly-bear.net/live/">post-Veckatimest</a> Grizzly Bear could accomplish the feat this past June, and though the Auerbach-adoring crowd certainly showed its affection throughout Sunday night's show, there was still a little too much room to groove on the down-sloping floor. Plus, it didn't help that the extra white lights – strung in an 'X' from the sound booth to the back of the stage – brought attention to the fact by over-illuminating the room, making it feel like the end of the show several times throughout. Nevertheless, the set was a well-rehearsed, loud-as-hell re-ordered rendition of <span style="font-style: italic;">Keep It Hid</span>, opening with a tender "Trouble Weighs a Ton" brought to life by harmonies shared at the mic.<br /><br />At a Black Keys show at La Tulipe three years ago, I remember Auerbach providing more than enough guit-gusto through two Marshall stacks – his highs running through four 12-inch speakers and his low-end through <span style="font-style: italic;">eight</span> of them – so I was interested to see how he'd maneuver the stage with five other players, including two drummers. The band certainly put on a good show, but it didn't convince me that the Keys' two-man show is significantly lacking numbers.<br /><br />The sound was at times clear as a bell – or, in the Fast Five's case, shakers, tambourines, and a triangle – though at others the onslaught of unified fuzz was a little much, making it hard for lead guitars to cut through the mix. Auerbach seemed to remedy the problem by adding an inordinate amount of distortion on some solos, fighting off his own noise as if the band's wasn't the main barrier to him getting heard.<br /><br />Spending much of the set establishing rolling, mid-tempo grooves drenched in organ, faster tracks ("My Last Mistake") came as a welcome, crowd-pleasing relief. Regarding the former, "Street Walking" was definitely a highlight, as was the let's-get-this-party-started "I Want Some More." A good time, but right now I'm more excited for <a href="http://www.myspace.com/drummerthebandhttp://www.myspace.com/drummertheband">Drummer</a>.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-45771851312883940472009-10-27T01:15:00.006-04:002009-11-10T00:42:20.544-05:00Hey Predator!, The Bronzed Chorus, Antarctic, Please Don't Put Charles on the Money – Monday, October 27<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey Predator!</span><br />Every time I see Montreal's finest <a href="http://www.myspace.com/heypredator">veritable guitarsenal</a>, I feel like I get closer to hearing the songs as they hear them. This time, the sound at Divan Orange did justice to their swirling, midtempo nerd punk with bigger bass, sharper guitars, and more excitable drums courtesy of ex-<a href="http://www.myspace.com/dangerdangermammothhunter">Danger Danger Mammoth Hunter </a>guitarist (and lone francophone) Matt. Gone are the tinny MySpace recordings of yesteryear, the time for howled poetry over 22 interwoven strings is now.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Bronzed Chorus</span><br />Hailing from Greensboro, North Carolina, this <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thebronzedchorus">how-are-they-just-a-two-piece</a> carves out groove-heavy, hard-hitting instrumental escapes that create a common space for post-rock fans sick of waiting for the climax and hardcore admirers who forgot how to dance. Drummer Brennan O'Brien pulls a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Allen_%28drummer%29">Def Leppard</a> on half the tracks when he doubles up on keys, though you wouldn't notice by the recordings. And with the help of two amps and (just) a half-dozen pedals, guitarist Adam Joyce calmly explores the nooks and crannies of the duo's stereophonic limits.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Antarctic</span><br />These Floridians' <a href="http://www.myspace.com/antarcticsounds">specialize</a> in mathy, full-throttle novellas that attack as much as they persuade the listener into admiration. When they really let loose in all their two-hand-sprint-tapping sincerity, they take the jaded music lover in me by surprise. What's truly bewildering is how otherwise acutely intricate sections sound tame in the presence of these extremities. Within the context of their sound, it sometimes feel like they're holding back when, compared to most 'aggressive' bands, they would already reached the zenith of musicianship.<br />And if you don't care about all that, keep in mind that their songs are also damn fun.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-21382751727488128322009-10-10T01:24:00.007-04:002009-10-12T13:58:32.125-04:00POP Montreal – October 1<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey Ocean</span><br />Given the too-early 8 p.m. time slot in a too-big room that adheres strictly to the first part of its name, Vancouver pop mélangers Hey Ocean! did what they could at the sterile Club Soda. Though they dealt mostly within the range of safe, coastal dance-pop, the group was at its best with a Feist-y jazz number about finding a better bicycle, and when singer Ashleigh Ball busted out her flute like the "<a href="http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/topics/1032-2126/">As It Happens</a>" theme ain't no thang. Also of note: following his family-friendly drum solo, the band's could've-been-a-male-model stickman went topless.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joel Plaskett & The Emergency</span><br />After seeing Joel Plaskett twice, once solo and another half-solo and half-family band, I had high expectations for his first Pop show. The trio's rendition of "Work Out Fine" at Sala Rosa a few months ago in support of <span style="font-style: italic;">Three </span>stands out as a particularly stellar concert moment, and from then on I was yearning for a full set of The Emergency.<br /><br />Despite Plaskett's trademark jittery energy and tight guitar playing -- not to mention his tendency to meandre off into nearly-nonsensical-but-oh-so-smart spoken word before the attention shifts back to the band's solid rock 'n roll -- something was off at the Club Soda show. Maybe it was the empty balconies, the chairs and tables faux-filling up the floor, or the people talking throughout the show -- the only exception of which came when during new song "Old Friends." People shut up, and Plaskett's exquisitely arranged chords overlayed with familiar words that play off clichés in the most endearing way reminded everyone part of the reason why they came.<br /><br />Nevertheless, the high point of the set again came with "Work Out Fine," after which the band trotted along satisfactorily, playing essentially the same set as their last Sala Rosa show. And I'm surprised to say that I didn't need to see it twice. At the risk of becoming formulaic in his middle age, Plaskett really should consider broadening his live tracklist.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-78443919731216962992009-10-01T01:36:00.009-04:002009-10-10T01:23:19.277-04:00POP Montreal – September 30<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leif Vollebekk</span><br />Adorning the Wednesday night volunteer wristband, I entered a somewhat emtpy-feeling O Patro Vys to see Leif Vollebekk for the first time. Evoking many of the same musical qualities as fellow Montreal folk-pop phenom (and collaborator) Charlotte Cornfield, Leif is also reknowned for his truly kickass name, and was accompanied by the ever-smiling Hans Bernhard on upright bass and "feelin'-it" Phil Melanson on percussion.<br /><br />Throughout the set, pulled mostly from his album <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/leifvollebekk">Inland</a>, Leif grew more confident both with his brand of earnest bluesy folk, and his banter. As the room filled up, he uttered, "Oh look at all you, thanks for multiplying," and the ever-expanding crowd seemed grateful to hear it. Many of Leif's songs were on the importance of place – "Quebec," "Don't go to Klaksvil," "Cairo Blues," the list goes on – and Hans's plugging bass only added to the feeling of motion, whether it be via a river, road, or delectably looped electric guitar and violin on Leif's next-to-closing track. Looking forward to more Vollebekk <a href="http://www.myspace.com/leifvollebekk">around the corner.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oxen Talk</span><br />The soundperson just had to play Grizzly Bear before Oxen Talk took the stage, didn't they? For a difficult-to-classify band, identifying them with a currently popular and mildly similar multi-vocal-and-instrumentalist indie chamber pop outfit would just be too easy. That's not to say Oxen Talk are without Bear-esque undertones – they are – but without the same atmospherics, the comparison lacks depth.<br /><br />The two are similar in the sense that the combination of McGillans Bob, Luke, Adrian, Riley and Mallory makes for one dextromentalist (to borrow a friend's terminology) and highly talented group, though their focus is more on intricate wordplay set upon a more bare bones yet complex musical backdrop with shift-on-a-dime tempos. Oxen Talk's sense of humour was also on display, for instance with a grossly awkward but enjoyable finale to one number: as the lights faded, their wry smiles intensified, waiting for the last possible moment to release control over the keys...and we laughed. Heh.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Youjsh</span><br />Cycling up St Laurent to Il Motore, I was pleased to catch a significant portion of The Youjsh's torrent of tight, mathy hyper-Klezmer. Think Battles, but replace the guitars and robot rock with mostly one-handed keys, trumpet, and woodwinds bent into entirely new contortions.<br /><br />Though band leader and Steve Day admirer Malcolm Sailor told me after the show that while he too resorts to describing it as Klezmer, he said the band's sound draws heavily from Eastern European music in general – the most familiar of which being accordion-based Bar Mitzvah jams. "I'd rather refrain from categorizing my music, and let it speak for itself," Sailor said. And I recommend you <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theyoujsh">listen</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruce Peninsula</span><br />Up next came <a href="http://www.bruce-peninsula.com/">Bruce Peninsula</a>'s mix of weighty growls and soothing choiristas; throbbing, bass-heavy romps bookended by softening a cappella. The band's neo-traditional sing-a-alongs best transcended through an extended version of "Satisfied" and a rollicking "Jack Can I Ride?", the final track on their eponymous 7-inch.<br /><br />After the show, band co-founder, guitarist and vocalist Matt Cully explained that much of the inspiration for the band's unique approach to hard-hitting folk rock came from the archives of Alan Lomax, a musicologist whose field recordings preserved the music of artists like Lead Belly and Muddy Waters just as industrialization threatened to wipe out folk culture completely. I'm grateful we have this Toronto lot breathing new life into old hymns.<br /><span></span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-45620664295051711172009-08-04T07:43:00.016-04:002009-11-10T00:41:43.593-05:00Fleet Foxes – August 3 at Metropolis"Thank you so much, it's really great to be here."<br /><br />Like "Hello, [X city]! Everybody havin' a good time!?" before it, this cordial reciprocation of a crowd's cheers has become something of a concert requisite, often delivered with as much veritas as the initial too-cool audience response. Not so for the Fleet Foxes epic return to Montreal last Monday night, however. Before the band played a single note, the energy in oft-anonymous Metropolis was electric, as preemptive howls and applause seemed to startle the mug-sipping, toque-wearing (and of course, plaid-clad) lead Fleet, Robin Pecknold.<br /><br />Having spent countless hours with their<span style="font-style: italic;"> Sun Giant</span> EP and self-titled debut LP over the past year, I had high expectations for the Seattle quintet's beautifully orchestrated folk-pop. And when the sound arrived, it came bigger and bolder than I ever expected – four voices hymning about leading life through the seasons, slower and more poised than the original start of their extended player. Kudos to Metropolis's top-notch sound for cranking both the bass and the intimacy knob, as every breath and beat on the Pecknold's guitar neck during the a cappella moments made the experience about more than just harmony. The red lights were also nice touch, evoking the ghost of La Sala Rossa – where one might assume most successful indie acts to play on their second tour through the city.<br /><br />But the thing is – get ready for some ripe old cheddar – Fleet Foxes are not like most bands. Last summer, they played Le Divan Orange, with a capacity of about 100, if not 75. Without releasing any new material, they bypassed the middle two stages of the city's usual 4-Step Venue Program (as described by Leslie Feist at her Metropolis show supporting <span style="font-style: italic;">Let It Die</span> a few years ago). Not only did they play the big venue, the filled it with the most enthusiastic audience in recent memory. Throughout the show, the acquiescent band-crowd vibes only intensified, with every thank-you or drink offering (and, at one point, interception) making the room feel a bit closer to "that coffee shop" the Foxes played last year.<br /><br />And their new tunes strongly suggested it won't be the only time Montrealers wield such positive reinforcement. The first one began with an alluring harmony followed by sections of galloping folk and a clever outro, rung out with the confidence of a band discovering its sound the second time around. The only sign of road wear-and-tear came during the verses of "Ragged Wood"– after the even-higher-than-the-album intro "woh-oohs" – when Pecknold pulled back the mic slightly, knowing the highest pitches were just out of reach. With the only flub behind him, however, he gave a staggering "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and morphed into <a href="http://www.myspace.com/awhiteantelope">White Antelope</a> for a sublime "False Knight on the Road." With the reformed full band playing the end of the pre-encore set, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jtillman">J Tillman</a> broke his behind-the-kit presence by singing the lead "Wherever you go today"'s at the end of "Mykonos." (Also of note: the only non-vox Fox, Skyler Skjelset, with whom Pecknold has been playing the longest, added to his beardless and care-free image by <span style="font-style: italic;">skanking </span>off stage.)<br /><br />Then, after perhaps the loudest ground-shaking encore plea imaginable, the crowd provided the rhythm by pounding on the 2's and 4's during "Oliver James," making the guitarless parts all the more powerful. Fitting with the group aesthetic, Pecknold brought on his favourite band (and show opener) Dungen to shake stuff during closer "Blue Ridge Mountains." Before the tune, however, Pecknold let out a euphoric "I couldn't be happier in the world right now!" – doing all he could to reverse the usual blahness exuded by aforementioned crowd appreciation – eliciting big, unadulterated smiles all 'round. Like their lyrics' landscape poetics, live Fleet Foxes served to accentuate the music's hills and valleys, with the real end of the show coming from the inter-band bear hugs to the side of the stage. Let's hope they stay on the happy side.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-86484958551317180452009-08-03T08:47:00.002-04:002009-08-03T08:55:54.291-04:00Osheaga - August 1 and 2Just kidding - I didn't actually go, but through the friendvine I did hear that Saturday's standouts were Lykke Li, K'naan, and Girl Talk, whereas Sunday notables are still TBA.<br /><br />Other than the almost-worth-it <a href="http://osheaga.com/2009/fr/schedule">lineup</a>, the other drawback to the festival was that the STM <a href="http://stm.info/metro/velo-liste.htm">forbid bikes</a> on the metro over the weekend. For shame.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-34104609338274271872009-08-02T12:24:00.015-04:002009-08-03T08:56:47.208-04:00Dirty Projectors – July 21 at Theatre Plaza<span style="font-weight: bold;">Skeletons</span><br />Before the <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=78835169&blogId=496578099">post-crash</a> Dirty Projectors could take the stage for their first headlining Montreal show supporting (<a href="http://stereogum.com/archives/wait-is-bitte-orca-the-best-album-of-2009_073711.html">album-of-the-year?</a>) <span style="font-style: italic;">Bitte Orca</span>, the three jangly noise-makers known as Skeletons provided the crowd both with 40 minutes of jubilant math-rock-meets-chamber-pop <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> the shortest, tightest pair of shorts worn by a guitarist, possible ever. Other than wondering if those were really comfortable, the question on everyone's mind was, of course, are they better than <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bodiesmontreal">BODIES</a>?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dirty Projectors</span><br />Instead of <a href="http://amontrealbasedmusicblogontheinternet.blogspot.com/2009/06/bonnaroo-friday-june-12.html">once again</a> riffing on the musical prowess spilling from Brooklyn's sexiest indie sextet, I'd like to start with two firsts: one, the first photo on this weblog, showcasing a rather happy fan with vocalist Haley Dekle holding the first ever sign brought to a Dirty Projectors concert (as confirmed by Angel Deradoorian when the young fellow cried out for the band to play "The Bride").<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5OAb_QDNFyjx7v1LU5LxiaPG59iJs8imC-ZkVFTSx76rWaawhnLZXfpxFQCnP9zzHapFBu-WuDuAoORwDpDTxQnFL5zh1A5yjWR0jF57avAEwaq1E003AHGFG5vQOyZQeVdJfeAIwulq/s1600-h/fanandhaley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5OAb_QDNFyjx7v1LU5LxiaPG59iJs8imC-ZkVFTSx76rWaawhnLZXfpxFQCnP9zzHapFBu-WuDuAoORwDpDTxQnFL5zh1A5yjWR0jF57avAEwaq1E003AHGFG5vQOyZQeVdJfeAIwulq/s320/fanandhaley.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365412602165847554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />One of the more obtuse tracks from <span style="font-style: italic;">Bitte Orca</span>, it turns out that "The Bride" hasn't translated well live, what with all that weirdness getting in the way of pitch. In other words, they didn't play the song, but Mr. Sign didn't seem too fazed by it.<br /><br />As for the songs they did play, the super-stereo vocals-imitating-instruments placed at the head of "Remade Horizon" proved a solid segue from the now-standard opening duo of "Two Doves" and "Cannibal Resource." Soon after, the straight-forward beat(z) on "No Intention" were a little fast, but as strong as ever, providing just enough space for the rippling strings to work their worldly magic.<br /><br />Though the 4-piece version of the band played the same three tracks from <span style="font-style: italic;">Rise Above</span> at their Bonnaroo set, they switched things up by smoothly transitioning from "Gimme Gimme Gimme" to "Thirsty and Miserable" on a next-level noise wave. Oh, and then the vocals on "Stillness is the Move" were just alright (joke), and most likely out-R&B'd the full-fledged Beyoncé bonanza (she played "Say My Name"!!) happening across town the same night.<br /><br />All in all, the sound could have been better (if more bodies and accompanying skeletons had been wise enough to fill Theatre Plaza to capacity), the drums and bass were as loud, tight, and possibly as taken for granted as ever (as it happens when the vocals steal the show), though the finer points of what makes a live Dirty Projectors show so great were all there: musical/spiritual leader Dave Longstreth's awkward-yet-magnetic presence and the squeaky fret noises emanating from his white Strat; the band's sheer exuberance when finally letting loose on relatively simpler songs; and the not-so-secret triple-threat of Amber, Angel, and Haley. Call them...Amgeley.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-45453954866548734982009-07-24T08:03:00.004-04:002009-07-24T08:53:20.824-04:00Japandroids + invites – July 14 at Club Lambi<span style="font-weight: bold;">Slim Twig</span><br />As I strolled into Lambi last Tuesday, Play Guitar were dismantling their gear, and in their place arose a single skinny white dude and a mass of pedals. To my delight (and thanks to ambiguity of "+ invites") this turned out to be Torontonian Max Turnbull, aka Slim Twig – who quickly summoned the crowd's spirit with a stream of rich backing beats, sermon-y sing-yelps and value-added live keyboard loops.<br /><br />After about a half-hour of his freak-Dylan hip-hop routine, Slim finally picked up the Fender Jaguar he'd set aside at the beginning of the show, and closed with strongest (and loudest) tune of the evening. Maybe the former of his apparent influences deserves some more attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Japandroids</span><br />The hard-rockin'-and-oft-laughin' best friends from Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada took the stage and soon drove into a exhuberant "The Boys Are Leavin Town" – until the fresh, deep wound in drummer/singer David's right hand made his sticks too hard to handle. (He claimed it didn't hurt, but that all the blood made it impossible to grip anything.) After a couple more false-starts, someone (tour manager?) came onstage and bandaged him up real good, and nary was a stick dropped for the rest of the night. Still, it's not often that a percussionist keeps on keepin' on with such a bloody gash – which his better half, guitarist/vocalist Brian explained happened as they loaded in their gear that day. (Despite all the money saved on those pesky CD pressings, they're still touring sans roadie.)<br /><br />Their willingness to play on may have been due to the pure joy of being back in their homeland, as Brian also reminded the crowd how lucky it was to live in Montreal instead of the middle-America they'd just escaped. As for the set, "Heart Sweats" reached new fist-pumping proportions, "Crazy/Forever" evoked more Sabbath than what's usually healthy (little), and "Wet Hair" rolled along with all its adolescent fervour. So yes, the hopefully-not-over-hyped west coasters delivered on their self-described "maximum rock."GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-50266083456889123652009-07-01T14:14:00.012-04:002009-07-01T18:52:18.792-04:00Stevie Wonder at Jazz Fest"Free Stevie Wonder concert" – what a great idea (on paper)! Pick a music legend in which the entire world has at least a passing interest, throw away the cover charge, and see how many people try to cram themselves around screens smaller than Westmount <a href="http://www.bornrich.org/entry/cinema-de-la-mer-hollywood-style-home-theatre-in-a-palm-beach-residence/">home theatres</a>. While I'm all for democratizing live music, the <a href="http://www.geocities.com/xing6666/carnut/mini/suvs.jpg">hugeness</a>, <a href="http://www.neilturner.me.uk/2003/04/22/suvs_seriously_unenvironmental_vehicles.html">ineffeciency</a>, and <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/auto/suv-safety.htm">danger </a>this wondrous shitshow manifested had more in common with the main sponsor's former cashcow than an actual concert. Thanks GM, now please go back to what you're good at (i.e. going bankrupt; killing the planet in the name of getting to work, etc.)<br /><br />So, how did such a great idea turn bad? The first problem is actually one of Montreal's best traits: density. There just isn't enough room downtown to have 100,000+ people see a concert. That's why festivals happen in deserts, and on farms. (The sight of a stretcher trying to make its way into the area that took us two songs to maneuvre through was a little off-putting.)<br /><br />Realizing there was no way for everyone to be within earshot or the main stage, Jazz Fest organizers smartly synced up screens on every possible stage. These ended up functioning like roadblocks to those vying for a spot near the main stage (not once did the steady two-way traffic in front of me cease to waddle), though it was difficult enough to even catch a glimpse of these why-didn't-I-just-wait-for-the-DVD-to-come-out-so-I-could-watch-this-on-my-Macbook-in-my-underwear projections. Near the one where I stood, dozens of people decided it'd be exceedingly intelligent to jump on a temporary wood wall, and subsequently onto the roof of the building next to it. But hey, they looked cool doing it, and that's always a good reason to do <a href="http://image36.webshots.com/37/6/61/44/320666144CgFpld_ph.jpg">something</a>.<br /><br />Right then, so about the music. Before we got any, we were treated to the obligatory headliner half-hour delay, and a speech during which Stevie asserted that anyone producing anything about Michael Jackson should give all the profits to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SUtW3rOkz4">urr-vray-day-I'm-strugg-a-lin'</a> Jackson family. Though something tells me MJ's back catalog might be worth something someday. Like, <a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/michael-jackson-breaks-billboard-charts-1003989310.story">today</a>.<br /><br />Despite fibbing over the first line on opener "I Can't Help It" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Off The Wall</span>, Wonder was in fine form, his voice growing stronger with every signature smile to the side of the mic. I'm glad I got to "see" him, though it really just made me want to actually see him. Granted, if, like <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/Jazz+Fest+Soundcheck+Episode/1748436/story.html?tab=VID">Ken the commenter</a>, I'd stayed for the whole show, my opinion could've well been a little sunnier. (Rain joke!) Regardless, like Gaby says, the <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/Wonder+honours+Jackson+jazz+fest/1748436/story.html">Gazette review</a> really sucks. What's with those ellipses?<br /><br />...here's to Jazz Fest 2009!GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-11903606497133379812009-06-24T23:15:00.004-04:002009-06-25T00:07:49.033-04:00Bonnaroo - Sunday, June 14<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Ted Leo and the Pharmacists</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In the first of what turned out to be many fruitful half-sets I caught Sunday afternoon, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists brought the weekend's best gracefully-aging melodic punk to The Other Tent, and they brought it hard. Busting out mostly new tracks interspersed with old favourites (I've never listened to a Ted Leo album, so this is purely judging by the reactions of the into-it dudes and dudettes around me), Ted and his band covered everything from simmering midtempo jams to more standard punky-pop blitzkreigs. Plus, when introducing "Even Heroes Have to Die," he explained, "The point is, everybody is human...that's not usually the point, but I thought it was appropriate for Bonnaroo."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The Dillinger Escape Plan</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Sunday's lineup at That Tent was likely a Bonnaroo first, consisting exclusively of metal bands. Oh how quickly<a href="http://bonnaroo.com/artists/2002.aspx"> things change</a>. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's not clear whether this new direction paid off, as the crowd gathered for Dillinger's theatrical math metal was noticeably sparse compared to other midday acts – though the pit seemed to be in a fine form. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was mainly there to see lead vocalist Greg Puciato <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-lxwlgyhhA">jump into/on top of the crowd</a>, which indeed happened on their epic closer. And boy can they shred!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Brett Dennen</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For the last couple years, I've kept Brett Dennen at arm's length, expecting to quickly bore from what I assume to be a body of heard-it-before work hidden below his satisfyingly unique voice. And yet, I found Dennen and his California boys' somba-inspired khaki rock to be danceable and enjoyable in the non-ironic kind of way. I have to agree with an equally impressed attendee beside me, who announced to a friend, "This guy's got some soul!" That, and it was more ska than folk. Go figure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Erykah Badu</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Despite being just the second – and first officially scheduled – act to play the What Stage on Sunday, it wasn't until a half-hour into her scheduled set that Badu's band opened with "A Milli"' followed by an utterly pointless intro funk track. That chord progression sure got tiring after a dozen repetitions. When Badu finally strutted onstage sporting a cool-as-fuck tophat and Public Enemy sweatshirt, the real show began, showing off her off-kilter harmonies and power-woman sensibilities. For the most part, the crowd seemed to really enjoy it. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Andrew Bird</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Bird is one of those artists with a big enough fanbase and praise for his live show that his albums should be a safe bet. I even had a "holy shit what music is this this is great" moment midway through <span style="font-style: italic;">Armchair Apocrypha</span> working late one night last fall, yet further pre-Bonnaroo listens of the same record proved strangely uninspiring. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Thankfully, Bird's voice was far stronger and more dynamic – and his multi-stringamentation more pronounced – live than on <span style="font-style: italic;">Armchair</span> or even the arguably-superior<span style="font-style: italic;"> Noble Beast</span>. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for loops of beautifully plucked violin lines. Let's go with that.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Mike Farris</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was sucked into the Sonic Stage for the positively penetrating pipes of Mister Mike Farris. I didn't mean to spew alliteration all over your screen like that, but that's the only way to describe this bluesman's tenor. Great stuff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Neko Case</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Despite my and other audience members' repeated heckling for songs from the Virginian redhead and New Pornographer's back catalog, Neko Case and the Sadies stuck to material mostly from <span style="font-style: italic;">Middle Cyclone</span> – the blander/poppier (take your pick) follow up to <span style="font-style: italic;">Fox Confessor Brings the Flood</span>. No matter, Case's talent has always superseded her songwriting, and it was wonderful to hear her vocal harmonies reproduced so scrupulously.<br /><br />And to compliment her and her backing vocalist's good-humoured banter, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/35683-triumph-takes-on-bonnaroo/">joined her onstage</a> to tell some clichéd-but-chuckle-inducing Bonnaroo jokes and sing an astonishingly in-tune duet. It was a nice moment, her and the guy with his hand up a dog puppet's ass.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Phish</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Distinctly mellower than their Friday kicking out of the jams, Phish's first Sunday set trotted along comfortably and capped off with a well-documented <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36045457@N08/3630750117/">appearance</a> from Trey Anastasio's "boyhood hero, and still hero" Bruce Springsteen. Their version of the archetypal cover band track "Mustang Sally" put me right back to Father's Day car shows in the park, except only better and at Bonnaroo. Then, after an intense weekend of music and little-to-no rest, I fell asleep during their second set. But I bet it was fun.</span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-62409701283720144422009-06-18T21:35:00.014-04:002009-06-22T23:17:32.455-04:00Bonnaroo - Saturday, June 13<span style="font-weight: bold;">Heartless Bastards</span><br />It's shitty to say, but I was happy to be done with Friday. With the most overwhelming day out of the way, I was happy to be in a more exploratory than To Do List-type mode. And the soaring near-stoner jams provided by the Heartless Bastards around 2 p.m. made for yet another good start. While their most recent LP, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mountain</span>, is a fine record in its own right, returning to it after hearing the Bastards play live has made for a more intriguing listen, most of all for Erika Wennerstrom's bluesy vocals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bon Iver</span><br />Justin Vernon et co.'s set in Toronto last summer was something special. I was prepared to enjoy the show; I wasn't prepared to get floored by one of the best vocalists in indie music. While others use falsetto to patch their limited range, Vernon's cut deep at Lee's Palace, filling the room like a group of soulful ghosts.<br /><br />This, my second time seeing him support essentially the same material (save for the <span style="font-style: italic;">For Emma</span>-wasn't-a-fluke <span style="font-style: italic;">Blood Bank</span> e.p.), saw Bon Iver sound exponentially more like a full band, and less as Vernon-with-other-dudes. He introduced everyone by their first name, and had the newest member sign a Yo La Tengo cover ("I Feel Like Going Home," from the formidable<span style="font-style: italic;"> I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass</span>). On it and "For Emma," the band's sound was boosted by Elvis Perkins in Dearland's horns. Overall, the multi-percussion parts that drifted toward the redundant on their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2pzhfm3JVI"><span style="font-style: italic;">Letterman</span></a> appearance were appropriate in the more dynamic full-length set, during which the band rarely doubled up on instruments.<br /><br />Just as on their releases, Bon Iver tracks have a way of melting guitars, voice, keys, and percussion into one other, creating a unified force sometimes charging, sometimes strolling toward the end. On the quieter side, "Re: Stacks" was once again stunning (the "drunk as hell" line may have been specifically directed to the idiot who pissed on the ground before the show, causing the woman beside him to insist he get the fuck away from her, as that was a rather unpleasant experience). The band's recurring closer, "Wolves Part I and II," reached new heights with the jam-packed midday crowd's insistent contribution to "What might've been lost..." A nice powerful outro for the middle of the afternoon. Plus, the <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/11/14/boniver-m.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/11/bon-iver-extends-winter-tour-announces-blood-bank.html&usg=__eITJn5N5Ec1RPBBiTBS5ItzNaTo=&h=300&w=430&sz=34&hl=en&start=41&um=1&tbnid=msaqQpUerYgJEM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbon%2Biver%2Btouring%2Bband%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D21%26um%3D1">other guitarist</a> looks like a blonder, younger <a href="http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2945681408/nm0479471">Shia LaBeouf</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Del McCoury Band</span><br />Real bluegrass. Superb old-timer grooves.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wilco</span><br />Finally – Wilco can open every show with a song about themselves! From the first strums of "Wilco (The Song)," Jeff Tweedy and the boys rocked and rolled through their two-hour late afternoon set in fine fashion. Drawing rather evenly from <span style="font-style: italic;">Being There</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">Yankee </span>to their last two meh releases to <span style="font-style: italic;">Wilco (The Album)</span>, the band was more on the jammy side of the festival's reported <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7669-bonnaroo-2009/">jam/indie divide</a>. It's not like [insert most indie band ever] would ever end with a guitar duel.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Of Montreal (?) parade</span><br />Of Montreal's show started pretty poorly – or maybe I was just too far back – so I wandered over to hear Gov't Mule cover "Creep," that British one-hit-wonder band's song. Instead of catching the end of Mars Volta or Decemberists, I got sidetracked by one of those many moments unique to the festival: a marching band of sorts, complete with burlesque dancers, costumed folk on stilts, and a guy who was extremely happy to be in the midst of it all. Surrounding them were three people watching, 18 taking digital photos.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band</span><br />Like everyone else who never grew up with "The Boss," the only thing I know about them is that they're from Jersey, kicked ass at the Super Bowl, and stole the drummer from Conan O'Brien's band. The only question was, would it really be <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/02/is-it-live-or-i.html">live</a>? Well, after a half-hour delay and a huge first song, that's exactly what Bruce asked the crowd – "I said is anybody out there <span style="font-style: italic;">aliiive</span> tonight!?" – so I went to get some dinner. When I returned, I saw moms and dads dancing, and thought to myself, yeah, they should be able to enjoy music festivals, too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yeasayer</span><br />Slotted for a relatively brief 45-minute set before MGMT at That Tent, these harmonizing techno-beatniks were a perfect warm-up for the sardine-can jump-a-thon to come. Their worldly beats and lofty synths did justice to the much-loved <span style="font-style: italic;">All Hour Cymbals</span> on live versions of tracks like "Sunrise" and "2080." It was clear large swaths of the crowd were in for a first-time listen, and those in my immediate vicinity let out innumerable "this is like, <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>good"'s. So good for them.<br /><br />Somewhat strangely, the "backing" vocals offered up by guitarist Anand Wilder and bassist Ira Wolf Tuton actually felt stronger than lead singer/synthist Chris Keating, who's more about being unique than holding notes. At least he's got the former down pat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MGMT</span><br />How does a band with three great songs and a half-dozen decent ones meet the expectations (and the set length) of a late-night Bonnaroo bonanza? Well, first they play all the songs you know but forgot about from <span style="font-style: italic;">Oracular Spectacular</span>, mix in some newbies, sandwich two of their best tracks ("Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel") together, and come back for encore with the third ("Kids") and the mellower eponymous track from their forthcoming album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Celebration</span> – and bask in the adoration of the mighty masses before them.<br /><br />Overall, the show aligned more with the band's psych-rock tendencies than the club-funk of the aforementioned Big Three, and the new songs pushed even further in the direction of upbeat 60s pop. In reaching for a mellower sound, MGMT – aka Ben Goldwasser and the long-lost <a href="http://www.thefastlife.org/Images/2008/06/mgmt.jpg">Jonas Brother </a>– will likely appeal to a new breed of pop enthusiasts, but at the same time risk losing the sound that got them one of the most packed late-night audiences of the festival.<br /><br />This lighter sound also seems to have influenced their playing of their most danceable tracks. "Time to Pretend," for example, was less focused on the fuzzy, throbbing synth that kicks in after the intro, and more about the smooth guitar lines put deeper in the mix on the band's debut. Still, there remains plenty of hope for these fresh-faced four-letterers, as <span style="font-style: italic;">Oracular </span>tracks sitting firmly in the decent pile, like "Weekend Wars" and "Handshake," had a far grander presence live.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-76348243833291246142009-06-18T16:14:00.021-04:002009-06-22T23:08:02.631-04:00Bonnaroo – Friday, June 12<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After settling in to the festival's otherworldly atmosphere with a stellar first night of music, I left the campsite at noon on Friday excited to navigate one of the most absurdly stacked days of music ever (ever ever, ever ever). That, or the day with way too many overlapping sets – take Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Grizzly Bear, and Santigold all playing around 5 to 6 p.m. as one example.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Though this is an unfortunate reality – and perhaps the only unsolvable logistical issue at Bonnaroo – it's also what I'd call the best kind of dilemma. "Oh no there are several fine musical artists whose performances I'd enjoy seeing but they're taking the stage all at once. Woe is so fucking me." Plus, I'd taken a proactive approach by catching both TV on the Radio (who were upstaged by the Dirty Projectors' impeccable opening set) and Grizzly Bear in Montreal the week before. You do what you can.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Dirty Projectors</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Otherwise known as the royal family of virtuosic experimental indie, or Dave Longstreth & the Power Pipe Girls, or just a really tight band that does what others can't (except fly? debatable), the Dirty Projectors showcased their talents and niceties to a packed early afternoon crowd at the David Byrne-curated That Tent. The group began the show the same way as their opening set for TVOTR – with the acoustic duet "Two Doves," showcasing Angel Deradoorian's soaring alto and Longstreth's fluttering, intricate finder-picking, followed by Bitte Orca opener "Cannibal Resource" – to expectedly superb effects.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Next, the striking vocal interplay that lifts the "Remade Horizon" to a new stratosphere in the bridge of its recorded version again found its place at the forefront of its live rendition, arousing mid-song cheers from what seemed to be an audience largely unfamiliar with the band. Midway through the set, bassist Nat Baldwin and new vocalist Haley Delke left the stage, leaving the Rise Above-era Dirty Projectors to play perhaps the three finest cuts from that album: "Gimme Gimme Gimme," "Thristy And Miserable," and "Rise Above." Though it was nice to see the band as they'd been at their incredible Sala Rosa show last year, the band is simply stronger as a 6-piece thriving on new songs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Baldwin and Delke returned for Amber Coffman-fronted "Stillness is the Move" – you know, the one where the petite blonde bounces about and sings like Mariah Carey, Aaliyah, or maybe both. Whatever comparisons they're drawing from their most straight-forward R&B track, the fact is that few things are more satisfying than hearing Coffman let loose after the last chorus – right around the 4:10 mark on the album. Good, comma, god.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Soon after, the half-sung-mostly-yelled three-part harmonies near the halfway mark of "Useful Chamber" pitted the girls' voices against the boys' slogging rhythm, until the song dissolved into a slower, calmer version of itself. And during this, its most potent live moment, is the only time that the band makes its gender parity truly felt.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The set ended in typical "it had to happen" fashion. Longstreth announced they had one more song, and that they were going to sign it with their friend David – that Byrne guy with whom the band contributed "Knotty Pine" to the Dark Was The Night charity comp. So Mr. "White Suit" Byrne ran on, jumped around, sang a verse and a chorus, and life was good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >St. Vincent</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Pity the pretty-faced songstress who plays at the same time as Animal Collective in the "My Girls" era. So was the fate for Annie Clark and the four multi-instrumentalists behind her, who started with the slowish "Marry Me" before heading into the buoyant Actor highlight "Save Me From What I Want." Both her playing and that of backing band were noticeably precise, and a pleasure to see in a live setting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The band added life to Marry Me cuts like "Now, Now," making the harmonic guitar lines funkier and more pronounced, and by purposefully setting the melody slightly behind the beat in the verses. The guitar spazzout that closes the song was also less dissonant, and more rewarding, than on the album. And as much as I wanted to hear "Jesus Saves" I didn't want to yell that out loud in Tennessee.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Grace Potter & the Nocturnals</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've seen Grace Potter twice – once at a noon Bonnnaroo set in 2006, and again at the first Osheaga (the music festival that didn't always suck) – and there is no way around it. They rock, and she is awesome. I could use a thesaurus to make that point more explicative, but that'd take away from the straight-up realness this band exudes. A highlight may have been the five-person convergence onto Mr. Stache's drumkit, a point when you could feel the fun this down-to-earth, ass-kicking band has playing music together.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A combination of soul, jam, and pure rock 'n roll, theirs is a positively blissful live show amplified by Potter's signature hair-flipping headspins. Now they just need to capture that in the studio.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Yeah Yeah Yeahs</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Oh Karen O. So Karen O. The mic-swallowing, the costume changes, the ferocity and the gentileness, all rolled up into a ball of the ultimate frontwoman. Despite my early 00's subscription to SPIN, I'd yet to the YYYs play. So Bonnaroo was a good excuse, especially after they'd released their most fun record to date.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">On soon-to-be Korova-mainstays like "Zero" and "Heads Will Roll," the band opted for darker, heavier tones than the disco finesse on It's Blitz! And for one of the more intimate moments on the awkward too-big-for-a-tent, too-small-for-a-main-stage feeling of the Which Stage, guitarist Nick Zinner's tuning issues lead the band to do an acoustic version of "Maps." Visibly frustrated as the last notes of the set rung out a couple songs later, Zinner threw his guitar down and walked off stage, as Karen then smashed her mic in sync with the final drum hits. "We don't usually break stuff at the end of shows," Karen said, "but we thought, 'Hey, what the fuck?'"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Grizzly Bear</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I only caught the last three songs of Grizzly Bear's set at This Tent after fleeing the YYYs show, but it sounded surprisingly good for an open-air event. The four-part harmonies were spot-on, and the climax of "Fine for Now" exhilarating as ever. Another highlight was the clean-footed, VIP-clad 40-somethings behind me, one of whom explained to the others that, "This band is really indie rock. They're like, the Big Thing right now." Somehow, his friends still seemed unimpressed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Bela Fleck and Tounami Diabate</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After missing their earlier, hour-plus-long set, I was lucky to catch Bela Fleck and his new finger-picking partner weave beautiful textures over which single notes could prop up their pretty heads. Too bad Al Green was playing at the same time – meaning the bass and horns wafting over from the What Stage at times overpowered this rather quiet duo.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Toubab Krewe</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I meant to see the cheery world musicers from Asheville, North Carolina earlier in the day, but missed them as I stood in line for 40 minutes waiting to get into Centeroo (which culminated in a searchless entry after organizers realized they couldn't keep it up all day). Thankfully, Toubab Krewe graced the small stage after Bela, and the band channeled their African-inspired grooves through the healthy, enthusiastic crowd. It all ended with an appearance from Mr. Diabate, the kora master from Mali.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Amadou & Miriam</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">From rolling grooves to djembe solos, the Amadou & Miriam live show was one of the most energetic of the weekend. That's really all you need to know. Fantastic backing band. Energy. Lots.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Beastie Boys & David Byrne</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">No, they didn't play together. But after a full day of music and full night ahead of me, I wasn't particularly alert for either band's pre-headlining (and overlapping) sets. Which is a shame, because I hear both of them are pretty decent live, and may have a real good shot at this whole music thing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Highlights included "Sure Shot" and "Root Down" from the Beasties, and watching them pick up their instruments to play a hardcore punk song from their pre-"Fight For Your Right" days – an audience request, no less – soon followed by a guest appearance by Nas. While they apparently closed with "Intergalactic" and "Sabotage," I was getting hypnotized by David Byrne and his coordinated-yet-interpretative dancers, all dressed in a white. "Once In A Lifetime" was nice.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Phish</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The much-loved and oft-derided (by those who listen to them, and those who don't, respectively), the quintessential jam band played a plain ol' incredible set Friday night. As a relatively casual Phish fan, I was expecting to recognize maybe a couple songs over the course of the evening. Instead, Trey et al. played a set that resembled more of a greatest hits collection than a typical live show – including but not limited to "Divided Sky," "Down With Disease," "Stash," "Free," "Wolfman's Brother," "Golgi Apparatus," and the closer "You Enjoy Myself" > "Wilson" > "You Enjoy Myself" before "A Day in the Life" for an encore. Other than the songs, it was Trey's genuine happiness to be on stage playing for the huge festival crowd that made the show so enjoyable.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The other nice part about the set was that people like their dancing room, meaning the front area – emptied out after every show in front of the main stage – was easily accessible for up-close grooving, as were the grasses outside for a short mid-set nap. I mean, it was three hours long.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Girl Talk</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Bonnaroo wouldn't be Bonnaroo without the infamous late night/early morning jam-or-dance-or-both sets. (Actually, it'd be Coachella.) I'd stupidly missed Girl Talk on his two most recent tours through Montreal, so I figured a decent way to see him would be with a few thousand other people from 2 to 4 a.m. Like Passion Pit, it was TOFF. The most memorable highlights from Feed the Animals and Night Ripper were there, albeit in different sequence and form, and they made for a spectacular (not a) DJ set celebrating a generation's short attention span.</span><br /></span>GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318572896735780021.post-83388324855804097202009-06-16T23:02:00.008-04:002009-06-22T23:16:00.869-04:00Bonnaroo - Thursday, June 11Emerging from our sweltering tent at 8:30 a.m., the downsides of probably the best music festival on the planet quickly introduced themselves: lineups at the ice truck and porta-potties, the vile smell of hard-boiled egg emanating from the Sulfur-tainted water trucks, torrential Tennessee downpours, and not being able to sleep past 8:30 in the morning. We got acquainted with our friendly neighbours (word to Troy and Amy from Pennsylvania) as the relatively brief-but-intense bouts of rain made relaxing at the campsite more appealing than exploring Centeroo – which, in short, is where all the music and stuff happens.<br /><br />Though later in the weekend I overheard some faithful What Stagers deride the Thursday lineup as "always pretty lame" (which I suspect has more to do with their poor music taste and/or social skills), it easily ranked among the best of the weekend. Each year, the healthy Thursday night sets at This, That, and The Other tents present a rare opportunity to see a half-dozen up-and-comers play for what are yet the biggest crowds of their careers – and the audience's palpable energy helps them out at every beat along the way. Here's how the night went:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alberta Cross</span><br />These Brits' take on hard-rocking Americana provided a solid start to the four-day extravaganza, evoking the ghost of the sorely missed (yet still living) Jim James. Despite the lack of reverb, the crowd really enjoyed the set. Why can't Montrealers be as enthusiastic as pre-burnout Bonnarooers?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">White Rabbits</span><br />Learning that Delta Spirit would be arriving late, I headed over to This Tent to catch the piano-and-percussion-driven rock of White Rabbits. Balancing out their sound with folky undertones, these New Yorkers foreshadowed the upbeat sets to come.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Portugal. The Man</span><br />Wasilla's finest made the first of what would be several steps into airy, 70s psych-rock jams over the weekend. The crowd loved the big riffs, and the mellower breakdowns let everyone relax before spontaneously erupting into yet more half-note hand-claps. My notes summed up their set fairly well: "<span style="font-style: italic;">AWESS</span>."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chairlift</span><br />Often the only way to get a good spot for a band – without weazeling through a dense and sweaty crowd – is to see the band before them. Thus my attendance at Chairlift, who were scheduled before Passion Pit – the obvious late-night choice for anyone uninterested in the country-jam-rock of the Zac Brown Band or Mindite's roots reggae. While these New York hispters' dark 80s electro can at times be endearing, as the rain poured down, my attention shifted to the mud that soon engulfed my Birkenstock knock-offs. As is the plight of the white dude at a music festival.<br />And then I kept waiting for Passion Pit.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Passion Pit</span><br />One of my top TOFF (tons of fucking fun) picks of the weekend, the band brought tons of energy to a crowd ready to jump and dance like they're partying with a few thousand people to full-bodied, falsetto-drenched dance tunes under a big tent in Tennessee. Oh wait.<br /><br />To no fault of their own, the band's sound was a little variable, but the crowd didn't seem to notice much, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Manners </span>highlights – take for instance the one-two punch that opens the debut LP – felt fresher and somehow more joyous than they do on record. Apparently all you need to get a crowd amped is dueling keyboards and a chorus of children yelling "higher, higher and higher."<br /><br />Passion Pit were also one of many bands to seem genuinely happy to be playing to such a large, eager crowd. Good thing singer Michael Angelakos's voice is as strong live as it is on the album (and steadier than on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Chunk of Change</span> EP). Out-of-tune high-as-shit melodies can't good for anyone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delta Spirit</span><br />To round out the fantastic first night, the soulful instrument-swappers in Delta Spirit made a strong case for breaking out of the bar band/opener role they've satisfied over the past couple years. Lead vocalist <strike>John Stamos</strike> Matthew Vasquez sang as much through his facial expressions as he did with his throat, yielding an oddly enigmatic and captivating effect over those lucky enough to stick around for their set.<br />And by that I mean he can really wail.GE(T)OFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08699694031885083911noreply@blogger.com0