Canadian Music Week 2009 in review

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Will Currie & The Country French @ The Mod Club
It was a little surprising to see the Mod Club already three-quarters full by the time Will Currie & The Country French hit the stage opening the first of two nights for Can-rock heroes Sloan.
The mutual friendship between both bands was evident right from the beginning as they did an admirable job of getting the audience into their 60's-inspired, upbeat indie-pop. Many heads were bobbing to the music during their energetic set and they received an enthusiastic ovation at the conclusion.
Sloan later brought them out to perform their collaboration from last year, "Push Pins", during their encore.

Sloan @ The Mod Club
Nearly twenty years into their careers, it's a rare treat to see a homegrown band like Sloan still look like they're enjoying themselves onstage. Despite performing to a sparse and largely disinterested audience at last summers' MLS All-Star game festivities at BMO Field, they managed to sell out two-nights at the Mod Club this time around and the atmosphere almost felt like a Sloan show from their heyday in the '90's.
Sating the long-time fans in the audience by commencing with "Penpals" from 1994's Twice Removed, they worked their way through cuts from all over their nine albums. Fan favourites like "Coax Me", "The Good In Everyone", "People of The Sky", "The Other Man" and "Money City Maniacs" got rousing sing-alongs while newer material from last year's Parallel Play like "Cheap Champagne", "Witch's Wand", "Emergency 911" and "Believe In Me" sounded comparative to the classic material. Closing the show with a frenetic run through "She Says What She Means", Sloan showed how to keep a crowd engaged for the entirety of their set and exactly why they're deserving of their hard-earned reputation.


Thursday, March 12, 2009

Flowers of Hell @ Velvet Underground
This band first gained local attention after emerging from left field to open the highly anticipated My Bloody Valentine show last fall. A sweeping orchestral ensemble, this Canadian/British instrumental collaboration would appeal to fans of Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, Bell Orchestre and Explosions In The Sky. Given a little more time and experience, the dozen or so people in attendance at the Velvet Underground might have witnessed the beginning of something very promising.

We Are Wolves @ El Mocambo
The stacked francophone lineup (also featuring fellow Montrealers Malajube and Duchess Says) made for an interesting atmosphere inside the El Mo. The people heard speaking French inside and outside made for a surreal experience.
No doubt excited to be opening for Bloc Party the following night, We Are Wolves let loose with an explosive set that had the venue rattling from the relentless rhythm section. The band quickly had the crowd worked into a frenzy and the response was equally appreciative. Leave it to the French to put typical Toronto audiences to shame.

Matt Mays + El Torpedo @ Lee's Palace
A consummate showman that didn't need to try to hard to appease the fans that packed Lee's Palace. The set was heavy on East Coast guitar jams but began to lose momentum and wane in the later stages when they delved into campy sing-alongs, but the crowd didn't seem to mind.

Quest For Fire @ Horseshoe Tavern
Entering a gradually emptying Horseshoe, stoner rock at it's most plodding and meandering wafted through to the front bar. The new project featuring ex-members of the Deadly Snakes is a definite departure from that bands' catalogue. You can tell they're been listening to their fair share of 60's psychedelia and Kyuss records and perform their chosen genre well. They could very well be the next Black Mountain. The crowd may have been a little confused after seeing Chad VanGaalen, but those that remained seemed respectful nonetheless.


Friday, March 13, 2009

Teen Anger @ The Gladstone
Trying their best to channel the uninhibited spastic energy of bands like AIDSWolf to the sizable Gladstone crowd, the set lost all of its momentum when guitarist Steve Sidoli broke a string a couple of songs in and took the better part of five minutes fixing it. Lead singer Chris Swimmings tried his best to crack jokes, but with minimal stage banter from his bandmates to fill the void, the crowd began to get restless. They did an admirable job in getting back on track, but musically, they have some work to do. The songs are quick and to the point, but don't engage the listener as much as they should.

White Cowbell Oklahoma @ Lee's Palace
Local mainstays with a dedicated fanbase (a higher-than-normal amount of cowboy hats in the audience), their website does a better job of explaining who they are and what they do than I ever could: Ass-kickin' southern fried boogie rock with four guitars, sexy ladies, bizarre onstage debauchery, plus acts of filth and destruction. This was undoubtedly the best opening set I saw all weekend and set the stage perfectly for the legendary Supersuckers.

Supersuckers @ Lee's Palace
For over twenty years, the self-proclaimed "Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World", have built a reputation as a hard-partying band that loves to have a good time.
Lead singer/bassist Eddie Spaghetti knows how to play to an audience and their brand of garage/cowboy punk had the faithful Lee's Palace enraptured and impassioned.
Arguably the best set of this year's festival (and one I was conflicted about leaving).

The D'Urbervilles @ The Silver Dollar
It's been a long time since I last saw The D'ubervilles (a few years ago at the same venue, the Silver Dollar, unexpectedly replacing a disbanded From Fiction during NxNE). Since then, they've apparently gone from nervously jittery Tokyo Police Club-esque indie-pop to Joy Division/New Order gloom. Lead singer John O'Regan certainly does his best to emulate Ian Curtis with his similar vocal style and onstage presence.

The Ghost Is Dancing @ The Silver Dollar
With the forthcoming release of their sophomore effort, Battles On, The Ghost Is Dancing were more energetic and happy sounding than any band should be at 2am. While the new material sounds more straight-ahead and conventional than their previously whimsical ensemble pop, it's a development that seemed inevitable.
This show ended with most of the members in various states of undress with their keyboardist finishing the set in his underwear.


Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bloc Party w/ Holy Fuck @ Kool Haus
The most anticipated show of the entire festival was undoubtedly the return of Bloc Party.
It's been only a scant six-months since Bloc Party was last in town at the Virgin Festival, but they've since released the under-appreciated Intimacy and have been touring in support of it ever since. The fact that they were playing back-to-back sold out shows at the Kool Haus only adds evidence of their ascension to the indie-rock stratosphere.
Whether you like them or not, their live show is brilliantly performed with dazzling lights, signature angular guitar hooks and precision timing only a band that has been on the road for almost a year can execute.

Hometown instrumental freak-outs Holy Fuck delivered a mesmerizing and hypnotic opening set, that encouraged many in the audience to light up and turn the venue into a hotbox by the time Bloc Party hit the stage.
Lead singer Kele Okereke amusingly noted, "There's a very pungent odour of marijuana in the room. You can't fool us, we weren't born yesterday! If you're going to use drugs, use them... responsibly."


Opening with the hard-driving "Trojan Horse" and continuing the onslaught with "Halo" and "Hunting For Witches", the British foursome quickly snapped the crowd out of their herbal stupour with a show heavy on sensory assault.
At various moments, especially during the beat-heavy "Mercury", it felt as if the show was equal parts rock concert/dance party. Along with the intense LED display, one could be forgiven if they thought they'd stumbled into a Daft Punk show.
They liberally chose songs from all three of their albums, with tracks from their 2005 breakthrough, Silent Alarm ("Banquet", "Positive Tension", "Like Eating Glass"), getting the biggest receptions.
Finishing the main set with a the blistering version of "Helicopter", they came back out for two encores before finally wrapping things up with crowd-favourite, "This Modern Love".

On the verge of moving up and filling arenas, Bloc Party proved without a doubt why they're deserving of CMW festival headlining status.

Broken Social Scene w/ Land Of Talk @ Masonic Temple, Brooklyn, NY - 10/24/08

Virgin Festival @ Toronto Island Park, Toronto - 09/06-07/08

I wasn't planning on attending this years' edition of the Virgin Festival. I had already seen the headliners numerous times (Oasis twice, Foo Fighters thrice) and the undercard largely left something to be desired. However, after winning tickets in a contest, I was off the the islands for the third year in a row. I used to visit the Toronto islands quite often in my salad days (friends of mine used to live there), but now it seems like I only ever go over there to witness bloated rock and roll spectacles.

Day One started ominously enough as cloud cover engulfed the sky on the ferry ride over. The first band of the day was the Midway State on the bigger of the two sidestages. My confidence wasn't bolstered by the fact the organizers didn't construct an additional footbridge to alleviate traffic and pressure on the single narrow pedestrian bridge between the sidestages and the mainstage as they had last year.

Collingwood upstarts The Midway State have been gradually building buzz through many local gigs and having one of their songs appear briefly on The O.C. Their adult-contempo rock would go over well with the Canadian Idol crowd and the small but appreciative audience seemed to enjoy it.

Headed over to the mainstage to get a good spot for local heroes The Constantines and caught the last moments of the forgettable Airborne Toxic Event.
As I write this, I barely even recall seeing them.

The Constantines were upgraded from their sidestage slot from last year and put on a solid set that brought the sun out from hiding. They never seem to disappoint and upped the ante for the bands to follow.

I quickly went back across to the sidestage to see what I could of Spiritualized.



However, the pedestrian bridge was becoming a logistical nightmare and I only caught a few minutes of feedback-laden space rock before deciding to head back to the mainstage for white-hot band du-jour, MGMT.
It should be noted that MGMT had the longest lineup I saw all day for the autograph tent and it was primarily female. These guys will never have a problem getting laid in the foreseeable future. Their blend of indie/psyche/dance rock on the other hand was somewhat of a letdown. I wasn't sure what to expect from them, and I'm still not sure what I got. It wasn't transcendent in any way and their set remains an enigma.

The bigger sidestage was running late so Scotland's The Fratellis went on a good twenty minutes past their scheduled start time. I didn't stick around as I decided to check out Florida punkers Against Me! instead. A curious choice to have at this festival, they seemed to go over well with the Foo Fighter crowd, they didn't really bring anything new to the table and for a while, it felt like I was at the Warped Tour as opposed to the Virgin Festival. The typical socially-aware lyrics and high-tempo stage act was a bit much for a lazy Saturday afternoon crowd.



Bloc Party seems to always play the coveted sunset slot whenever they play Olympic Island (as they did last time supporting Broken Social Scene). I hadn't seen them since then, so this was my first exposure to the A Weekend In The City material and choice selections from their forthcoming record, Intimacy. However, it was the classic material off 2005's Silent Alarm that really got things cooking. "Banquet", "Helicopter", "This Modern Love", "Hunting For Witches" and "Like Eating Glass" were all delivered with ferocity as drummer Matt Tong showed why he is arguably one of the best drummers in the world, period. However, their set was bogged down by technical issues with lead singer Kele Okereke's guitars and the momentum was difficult to maintain.




Just like the first time I saw them at Arrow Hall in 2003, the Foo Fighters opened their headlining set with "All My Life" and blasted through favourites like "Times Like These" and "Learn To Fly" while frontman Dave Grohl was a whirling dervish onstage. I admire the fact that Dave Grohl has treaded the line between mainstream sell-out and indie-cool for so long in the Foos that people forget the guy was in Nirvana.
An early run through of The Who's "Young Man Blues" turned into an unnecessary ten-minute jam session that wore patience thin and was only exacerbated when they did the same thing for "Stacked Actors" a couple songs later. They even played an obscure Nirvana b-side called "Marigold" that is the only Nirvana song to not be sung by Kurt Cobain. Things got back on track as they played more favourites like "Breakout", "Let It Die"; acoustic versions of "My Hero" and "Everlong" and wrapped things up with "Monkey Wrench" and "The Pretender".
During the encore of "Best Of You", I made my way to the ferry and thought that Day Two would be somewhat similar. Boy was I right (for the most part).

-----------------

Day Two started off even worse than Day One as a steady downpour dampened the early birds (including myself) and the mongoloids at Northwest Protection Services (the security company hired to handle searches) found new ways to annoy and frustrate me at the gate.

Once on the island however, things got better. the rain started to subside and I tried to focus on the music.



Up first were Prince Edward Islanders, Paper Lions on the big side stage. I can't say I was too enthused by their generic sounding adult-contemporary rock, but they had a sizable crowd who seemed to enjoy what they were doing (they've also scored the opening slot for Cake at numerous Canadian dates this year). Very reminiscent of The Midway State the previous afternoon.

I wanted to check out former Death From Above 1979 drummer Sebastien Grainger's new outfit, but as I already saw them last year at NxNE, I ultimately made the decision to head over to the mainstage and watch the ever entertaining local boy Danko Jones ("The Mango Kid!").
It was a smart move, as the single pedestrian bridge was already becoming congested and would only get worse as the day progressed.
It has been quite a few years since I last saw Danko rock out at the CNE Bandshell and this time around, you could tell he was purely in it for a paycheque.
However, it didn't stop him from berating the sun for emerging and enticing those in attendance to flip it the bird. He continually milked the audience for adulation in a half-serious, but joking manner and put on one of the more entertaining sets of the day.



Another Canadian act was up next as Winnipeg's the Weakerthans took the stage and weaved a set that went from alt-country to punk rock with subject matter ranging from Bigfoot ("Bigfoot!") to public transit ("Civil Twilight"). Other subjects included Antarctic exploration ("Our Retired Explorer") and a feline point of view ("Plea From A Cat Named Virtute"). Finishing off with favourites "The Reasons" and "Aside", the Weakerthans and modest frontman John K. Samson showed that Canada can produce bands on par or better than the supposed big names.

Los Angeles buzz-band Silversun Pickups was up next and promptly fell into a forgettable cacophony of noise-pop that was lost on the masses lying in the sun or drinking in the beer garden in anticipation of the Anglo-invasion later on. They seemed to only garner attention when they played their hit single "Lazy Eye", to close their set.
Personally, if they had been on the sidestage, they probably would've been better received, and I'll chalk up the audience indifference to poor scheduling.



As the afternoon slowly moved into evening and the shadows got longer, Welsh superstars Stereophonics sauntered onstage. I've always kept a distant interest in the Stereophonics since their minor North American breakthrough when Performance and Cocktails was released in 1999 and I had always wanted to see them, but for one reason or another never had after all these years. Since then, they've achieved mainstream popularity in their native UK and have released five straight number one albums over there. However, they never quite broke as big in North America and have enjoyed only moderate success over here (plateauing at the moderate theatre or large club level).

It was interesting to see them in what amounted to the large festival setting their accustomed to in the UK, but rarely have the luxury to play in Canada. The boisterous and numerous British fans in attendance seemed to finally wake up for the first in the triumvirate of their homeland heroes. They didn't disappoint either, opening with a surprising salvo of singles. "Bartender and the Thief", "A Thousand Trees", "Pick A Part That's New" and "Have A Nice Day" all had the die hards cheering and singing along while sating the casual fans (me) in attendance. Lead singer Kelly Jones has a gravelly voice that is nothing short of alienating, but is undoubtedly one of their defining characteristics - no more obvious than during his mid-set solo rendition of "Maybe Tomorrow" (arguably the highlight of their set).



The coveted sunset slot went to former Jam frontman and aging Modfather, Paul Weller. Despite the fact most of the audience were either toddlers or not even born (including myself) when the Jam played their last show in 1982, it didn't seem to matter to Weller, who put on an energetic and solid set for a man who just entered his fifth decade. The British fans ate it up and when he busted out Jam favourites "Town Called Malice" and "The Eton Rifles", they went ballistic. I can't say I'm familiar with anything else he's done, but his spirited set and overall good vibes did a much better job in setting up anticipation for the headliner than Bloc Party's technical nightmare the previous evening.



After a surprisingly brief changeover (maybe twenty minutes?) the unmistakable drum beat and guitar riff of "Fuckin' In The Bushes" rang out over th PA system to signify the arrival of arguably the biggest band to come out of the UK in the last generation or so. The roar of the approximately 20,000 in attendance was almost deafening and the flag-waving, sing-along masses far outnumbered the ones who witnessed the general self-indulgent fuckery of the Foo Fighters the previous evening.
Obviously hyped-up after witnessing one of their heroes (Paul Weller), the lads from Manchester quickly strapped on their instruments, told the sound guy to nix the entrance music and launched into "Rock N' Roll Star" from 1994's Definitely Maybe. Having seen Oasis twice before, I had a rough idea of what to expect from the Gallagher brothers. They rely heavily on attitude and posturing - especially Liam - to get a crowd going as opposed to running around and belching into the microphone as Dave Grohl did.
Mixing in new tracks off their forthcoming album Dig Out Your Soul, like "The Shock of The Lightning" and "To Be Where There's Life" with old classics like "Cigarettes and Alcohol" and "Lyla", the band and crowd were feeding off each other like no other act had over the course of the weekend.
Of course, just when the momentum was reaching it's zenith during "Morning Glory", some douchebag runs onstage and ruins it all. We all know the story by now, so I won't go into detail about it, but this incident just adds to the myriad of problems this festival has had to endure over the last three years. Kudos goes to the band for coming back and finishing off with the favourites ("Wonderwall", "Supersonic" and "Don't Look Back In Anger") so as to not cause a riot. However, the rumoured Paul Weller cameo during "Champagne Supernova" was sadly cut from the set and Toronto was robbed of something truly memorable.

As they finished things up with a cover of the Beatles' "I Am The Walrus" (no encore), I made my way to the ferry dock and knew that even after all the mistakes and misfortunes this festival has endured, they still have a lot of work to do. The quality of the supporting acts needs to improve and they still need to find a more effective way of getting people between stages. If they expect people to continually shell out big money for what amounts to a second-rate festival posing as a first-class festival, then the organizers are sadly mistaken.
Whether I return (or even the festival for that matter) or not next year is a definite maybe.

Sloan @ MLS All-Star Jam (Exhibition Place), Toronto - 07/23/08

NxNE 2008: Day Three report (Saturday, June 14, 2008)

Due to work commitments and nightmarish traffic, I couldn’t get to any venue before the 11pm slot.

The Guest Bedroom @ Sneaky Dee’s: Wanting to secure a half-decent spot for Monotonix, I decided to check out the band scheduled before them. The Guest Bedroom are one of those bands where you either love them or hate them. I can’t say their nervous, spastic freak-out jams were terrible, and in fact, a couple were actually quite good. However, they’re just too polarizing a band to truly enjoy if you’re leaning on the “dislike” side.



Monotonix @ Sneaky Dee’s: In all the times that I’ve been to Sneaky’s, I’ve never seen the place fill up to the breaking-fire-code capacity as I did for Monotonix. Throughout the weekend, they were being hailed as the must-sees of the festival after outstanding sets at the Bovine Sex Club, the Reverb and an in-store at Sonic Boom that reportedly ended in the middle of Bloor Street.
I knew we were in for something special as the band dismissed the stage and set up in the middle of the floor. I didn’t know it was even possible for a band to perform in-the-round at Dee’s, but Monotonix weren’t to be denied. The hard-rockers from Israel instantly launched into a pummeling soundtrack as singer Ami Shalev literally climbed the walls, hung from the ceiling and generally threw himself around the venue with abandon.
The crowd worked itself into a frenzy that didn’t let up for the entire 20-minute set. At one point, everyone started pogoing in unison to the point where the floor was literally bouncing and I thought it was going to give way and everyone would fall to their deaths into the Tex-Mex restaurant below in a cornucopia of beer and nachos.

Thankfully that didn’t happen and the set was a rousing success (as evidenced by the line of people waiting outside who groaned in disappointment when informed the set was over). Unfortunately, during the insanity of Monotonix, I lost my NxNE bracelet and was mercifully forced to end my weekend and go home to get a decent night’s sleep.

NxNE 2008: Day Two report (Friday, June 13, 2008)

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists @ Yonge-Dundas Square: Unlike their set at the Mod Club the previous night, Ted Leo and his band actually seemed eager to play. Bolstered by a large and enthusiastic gathering of both fans and casual passer-bys, Leo responded by launching into his catalogue with more vigour and energy. One of the highlights of the festival for me was Leo working in a few verses of Daft Punk's "One More Time" during an extended rendition of "Little Dawn". However, about three quarters into his hour-long set, the sky opened up and a trickle turned into a drizzle and almost instantly turned into a thunderous downpour that brought the set to a surprisingly abrupt halt. To their credit, the band wanted to play on, but the rain threatened to cause electrical damage as technicians scrambled to protect the equipment.



Action Makes @ The Silver Dollar: Due to the thundershowers and incredibly lagging public transit, I didn’t arrive at the Dollar until two-thirds through Action Makes’ set. Unlike the previous night, the Dollar was surprisingly full and there wasn’t a fight to be seen. From what I saw of the band, their low-fi boogie rock went over quite well with the crowd, despite technical problems and a malfunctioning guitar.



Julie Doiron @ The Horseshoe Tavern: Arguably better known for her stint in East Coast indie heroes Eric’s Trip, the case can be made that Julie Doiron solo is just as good, if not better as her previous outfit. After seeing her set and listening to her voice, it’s inevitable that Doiron could be easily mistaken for iPod it-girl, Feist.
Although she predates the Feisty one by about a decade, Doiron hasn’t attained the level of swooning her contemporary indie-starlet has received. Her songs aren’t bad, but they don’t have the hooks and chorouses necessary to achieve mainstream adulation. However, I doubt that is her ultimate goal as she’s very capable of doing that if she wanted to. Accompanied by just her guitar and a drummer, Doiron’s songs are more intimate and almost whimsical (if that’s even possible) than Feist’s bedroom anthems and don’t have the Broken Social Scene juggernaut at their disposal to lend them any heft.
If she ever decided to write herself some hits, the iPod nation might just have another star in the making.



The Meligrove Band @ The Reverb: It’s been a while since I last saw the pride of Mississauga in action. Personally, I felt Planets Conspire was one the better albums to be released over the last couple of years and I was looking forward to seeing them debut some new material.
Because the night was being broadcast on CBC Radio 3, the musical lineup at this particular venue was an indie-hipster’s wet dream: Great Lake Swimmers, Laura Barrett, Justin Rutledge and The Priddle Concern featuring ex-Treble Charger and sometimes Broken Social Scenester Bill Priddle. This made for an unusually boisterous (and young) audience that gave the usually dour Reverb a welcoming, positive atmosphere.
Choosing a mixture of new material and some of the lesser-known tracks off of Planets Conspire, the band (now currently down to a power trio after the departure of one of their guitarists), blew through their 35 minute set at a blistering pace. As they launched into the opening chords of “Our Love Will Make The World Go Round” to end their set, the crowd erupted and turned the song into a communal sing-along that will go down as one of the highlights of the festival.



The Diableros @ The Silver Dollar: At this point, the skies had eased off to a drizzle, however they opened up again as I was walking along College Street towards the Dollar. The onslaught forced me to seek refuge at a pizza joint and wait it out (I’m not really a fan of the new makeover job at Massimo’s by the way; if you actually know of that place – but at least the slices are still decent). After 15 minutes, the rain didn’t appear ready to let up, so I decided to make a run for it, lest I miss The Diableros entirely. Sopping wet, I got to the Dollar with about 10 minutes left in their set and caught the last three songs. I wanted to check out We Are Wolves at Sneaky’s, but I was too cold, wet and exhausted so I headed home.

NxNE 2008: Day One report (Thursday, June 12, 2008)

Hospital Bombers @ The Mod Club: Arrived halfway through their set and was surprised at how sparsely populated the venue was (I was afraid they had already reached their wristband allowance limit). Nothing extraordinary. Mid-tempo indie-pop with some competent harmonies and basic chords.



Ted Leo & The Pharmacists @ The Mod Club: It was a little strange seeing the veteran New Jersey punk-rocker opening for a band like Sloan - considering he could easily headline the Mod Club on his own (which he did, twice, last year). Undoubtedly, the local Ted Leo faithful were holding off for his free headlining show at Yonge-Dundas Square the following evening; which left a somewhat indifferent and lackluster crowd for this show (this being essentially a corporate gig: a sneaker company was celebrating its centennial). The chatter at the rear of the venue almost equaled the volume coming out of the amps and Leo was clearly perturbed, although he gamely played on without letting it on.
Luckily for those actually interested in the show, Leo and his band still let it rip for 40 minutes with both old and new material and no doubt left many in attendance converted.



Sloan @ The Mod Club: For guys nearing their forties, I’m not surprised that their musical oeuvre has slowed down over the last couple of albums. Not in terms of proficiency (if 2006’s rambling double-disc Never Hear The End Of It is any indication), but in terms of musical tempo. The set was mostly culled from the just-released Parallel Play (their ninth studio album) and featured many a mid-tempo number that had the crowd nodding in appreciation, but not much else. The only throwback during the main set was “Everything You’ve Done Wrong” from 1996’s One Chord To Another that garnered a hearty sing-along.
Guitarist Jay Ferguson was apparently suffering from a “sore throat” so singing duties were left mainly to bassist Chris Murphy and guitarist Patrick Pentland while drummer Andrew Scott got an extended turn at the mic for a few songs.
The band (and the crowd) finally showed some enthusiasm during a rowdy encore of crowd-favourites “The Good In Everyone” and “She Says What She Means”.
Nonetheless, you have to admire Sloan for at least realizing where their bread is buttered and sticking out for this long. The songs haven't really gone down in quality, just sort of plateau-ed. I doubt we’ll get a classic album like Twice Removed from them ever again, but at least they’re still going.



Morning Electric @ The Silver Dollar: Sometimes during these festivals, I find myself with an open slot where no one in particular that I want to see is playing. Usually I hit up a nearby venue and take a random stab at an act in hopes they’ll surprise me.
These guys were pretty unremarkable and the gig is more memorable for other reasons. I had just stepped inside and began taking pictures when security dragged an unwilling patron past me and out the door. However, not before legendary Silver Dollar promoter Dan Burke (who was standing directly in front of me) launched a few haymakers into the dude’s face for good measure on his way out. It’s good to know that I can spend less than ninety seconds inside the Dollar and get to see an altercation.




Dr. Draw @ Tattoo Rock Parlour: My original plan of catching the Rural Alberta Advantage at the Boat was thwarted when I showed up and discovered the venue was already at capacity. Thus, I had to scramble for Plan B.
I (foolishly) balked at seeing Monotonix at the Reverb as I would be seeing them on Saturday (more on that in my Day Three report), so I hiked to the nearby Tattoo Rock Parlour to catch Dr. Draw.
I had seen his impressive rock/classical fusion many times before, but never in such an intimate setting. The crowd was small, but fervently supportive and most walked out knowing they had seen one of the better sets of the festival.



People In Planes @ The Reverb: I haven’t heard much from these guys since their initial hype surrounding their debut album, As Far As The Eye Can See, a couple years ago. At the time (January 2006), I had interviewed them and saw them play at the packed Mercury Lounge in New York City. Back then, it could’ve easily have been projected that they would climb the proverbial ladder and been a much bigger band than they are now. However, it’s interesting to see how they’ve settled into being nothing more than an above-average rock band (at best) with middling popularity. It was also interesting to note their omittance of their most popular single, “If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)” from the setlist in favour of more unremarkable cuts from their upcoming album.



Flash Lightnin @ The Horseshoe Tavern: At this point in the night, I was starting to tire and wear down, so I decided to catch one more band and call it a night. Luckily the Horseshoe wasn’t as full as I had anticipated and I got a good look at one of the hidden gems of the local scene, Flash Lightnin. Their blues inspired arena-riffage would’ve made them superstars back in the 70’s and this was one of the more pleasantly surprising sets of the festival.