This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, March/April 2006
These ramblings are my thoughts after each night of Canadian Music Week. I armed myself with a press pass, notebook, transit pass and camera. I stood, ready for rock and roll as Thursday hit. I made a decision; I could make this article a copy of last year’s, or I could do the smart thing and refuse to see any acts that I have seen before. Due to this decision I missed many great acts: Cuff The Duke, Peter Elkas, Gentleman Reg, The Meligrove Band and much more. As great as all these bands are, you can, and have read about them before in Being There, usually with me behind the pen. What’s the point of attending a festival, if not to discover new talent? Last year I found one of my favourite bands without an album, The Bicycles, and maybe this year I would find something similar.
Day 1, Thursday March 2, 2006
Who would have thought that when I saw the third act of the weekend, I’d have known that there wouldn’t be any acts that could compete? That’s getting ahead of myself. I had an itinerary to keep: six bands, six venues, one street. “Like a yo-yo,” said a photographer as we chatted between sets. I certainly felt like it, following Queen Street from Bathurst to Dufferin, back Spadina, over to Dufferin once again and ending up at Bathurst. Fortunately the frequent service of the Queen streetcar made this easy.
Each hour is usually filled with 30 different acts at 30 different venues, except for the opening hour at 8pm. There were about four bands to choose from and I went with a band called Shoot The Moon. I didn’t really know what to expect based on their website, but something about them struck me as familiar. I quickly realized what the recognition was; they were a rock band with a heavy Jewish influence. Klezmer and traditional prayers played a large role in their songs. Whether stealing a riff from a Passover song or just incorporating a lot of Klezmer style to their rock and roll, it’s a wonder I didn’t pick it up sooner. Though the songs, musicianship and vocals were rather unimpressive, I have to say, it’s nice to see baritone sax in bands.
Packed in the tiny bar that pretends to be a music venue, The Social, Shad sat on a stool, guitar in hand, with his friends providing beatbox, drums, bass and DJ all crammed together on the corner stage. Shad let out rhymes and beats, he created a melodic flow to his lyrics and the London, Ontario-bred rapper was able to freestyle without a problem. It was disappointing that his set was so short, he only got 20 minutes rather than the usual 45, but he was able to impress in such a short period of time.
A quick walk to The Gladstone Hotel and Pe’z, a Japanese jazz quintet were performing, yes a Japanese jazz quintet. Most people don’t seem to be able to take me seriously when I tell them that. The band was extremely tight and their performance was fantastic. Pe’z kept a high-energy jazz performance that had the half-filled Gladstone dancing and even a few people on the street looking in through the window. Their riff-driven jazz was addictive and fun, all five musicians are fabulous musicians and were a pleasant surprise. Trumpet, sax, keys, bass and drums filled their sound, as these five fabulous musicians created some of the best jazz I’ve heard in a long time.
I went to one venue to find a line-up, and not one for whom I expected. Apparently the schedule had changed, and I Mother Earth’s Brian Byrne was playing instead. I quickly ran away and found myself at Cameron House’s back room where The Blue Raincoats were playing… at least they were better than Brian Byrne, but their set wasn’t anything special and the songs were forgettable.
Travelling across Queen Street once again, this time heading to the Drake Hotel, the bastard child of Toronto’s music scene. It’s hated for the people who populate the ground floor lounge, but every once in a while The Drake brings in some great acts to the “Underground.” The Blue Van are a mod band from Denmark. The four piece group were a constant blur of motion, Per M. Jørgensen, Steffen Westmark, Allan Villadsen & Søren V. Christensen played high-energy ’60s influenced rock and roll reminiscent of bands like The Smoke or Strawberry Alarm Clock mixed with The Who with a dash of The Byrds for good measure. Included on stage was even a Leslie Cabinet for the organ. You can’t get much more ’60s than that. The band even got an encore, which is pretty rare for a showcase.
The encore made me late for Iron On, a heavy power-pop quartet from Australia. Their songs weren’t very good and their musicianship was sloppy. They seemed to take a bit more from grunge than necessary. The loud venue didn’t help much either.
Day 2, Friday March 3, 2006
Tonight began with a trip to The Drake Hotel to see Society, a rock and roll band with alt.country leanings. The three-piece band provided solid harmonies and skilled musicianship. What they were lacking however was much of a stage presence. The band had some good songs, but nothing that stood out. Having come all the way from Great Britian, I wonder if it was worthwhile to be stuck with an opening slot.
After a bit of a hike to Rancho Relaxo, I saw a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Their Majesties. They performed pop-rock that was very reminiscent of their predecessors from the ’90s such as Sloan, The Super Friendz and Thrush Hermit. While those three had some really great songs, Their Majesties only had good songs and worse musicianship. The band were off key on their harmony vocals, and their playing was sloppy, but by the end of their set, they got better and were a fun band. Sometimes musicianship shouldn’t stand in the way of good music. The songs weren’t strong enough for me to keep an eye out for them in the future, but with time, they might create something worthwhile.
A semi-local band (from Guelph, Ontario) was playing The Silver Dollar, and after a good dozen times of saying that I would see them, I finally got to witness a performance by The Barmitzvah Brothers. Fronted by Jenny Mitchell and Geordie Gordon, the two swap instruments frequently, going between keyboard, to a toy banjo, bass guitar, guitar and other toy instruments. Technical problems were causing a lot of annoyances, and Gordon had just had jaw surgery and couldn’t open his mouth much, but was still able to sing wonderfully. There were so many technical problems and some other problems from the band that couldn’t seem to remember their songs at times. When the songs finally got played, The Barmitzvah Brothers played great twee-pop songs that would make Belle & Sebastian look like rockers. I’m still confused with the comment “This is from our Christmas album.”
Audiotransparent is a Dutch ambient-jazz-rock band, with some very strong songs. The songs tended to melt together as one as their set went on however. Their special mic that intentionally distorted the vocals got old after a while, but the songs have a lot of potential. There wasn’t a lot to their stage-show, just the music, as these five men from the Netherlands played soothing atmospheric music that would make a perfect soundtrack for a lazy day in. They were able to pack the tiny venue located on the top floor of a building with four different rooms. Holy Joe’s is the tiny lounge filled with couches that have seen better days and seems to get filled with some of the best acts during festivals, and some of the worst during the rest of the year.
A quick walk down the street to The Bovine Sex Club found an Australian quartet getting ready for their performance. Soak The Sin are a proper punk band. Listening to their performance you can tell that the band is well versed in the classics; Clash, Sex Pistols and The Ramones I’m sure are frequent spins for these four women. They even added some pop sensibilities to the their influences, but don’t be afraid of pop-punk, Avril Lavigne fortunately had no impact on them. Their songs were good and powerful pop songs. Their performance was definitely a highlight of the festival.
Ending the night was Junk TV at The Cameron House. Solid pop songs that you’d expect to come from the British. Their songs were laced with influences from Travis to Oasis, Beatles to Hollies and beyond. Though their set was plagued by the problems of The Cameron House, they were able to get across their great songs. Unfortunately, the small venue has a cramped stage, bad sound and even worse lighting, and that’s not getting into the audience’s seating. The songs were a highlight to the night, but technical problems kept them down, silence hit the stage frequently during these interludes, including changing strings, but fortunately Will Kevans and Martin Riley had a great rapport on stage.
Day 3, Saturday March 4, 2006
My plans for Saturday’s events were completely thrown off when I arrived at the Revival to find out that the former-cellist for Belle & Sebastian, Isobel Campbell, would not be able to make it to Toronto to open her first North American tour at Canadian Music Week. Illness had kept her home in Scotland. So my schedule had to be modified, and in a quick scramble I figured out who I thought I would like the most of those performing that night. I changed things up a little. Rather than running throughout the entire city, I would instead find a couple of venues and enjoy their showcases.
A filthy hotel filled with hookers and drug addicts plays the neighbour of two venues, The Silver Dollar and The Comfort Zone. Though not officially a part of the festival, local promoter Dan Burke scheduled the “Anti-CMW” at the blacklight infested Comfort Zone. Beginning the evening was Goodbye Parker, a band that I can only equate to a high school band. Fortunately I left high school six years ago and no longer have to endure these terrible bands that think of themselves as the next Neil Young. Their songs were painful and boring, and seemed to have no charisma on stage.
Did I mention charisma? Well, you may remember when Being There hit CMW last year and I saw the wonderful Brown Hornets, who can make you dance and laugh at the same time. A few months later, I dragged Being There editor Adam D. Miller and managing editor Cari Crosby to their North by Northeast showcase. You might also remember that I had previously promised that I would not see any acts that I had seen previously; well I broke that promise when my original schedule went out the window.
The Brown Hornets are a four piece from Newcastle, Ontario. Fronted by Danny Walters (on keys, percussion and various fruit) and Mike Tomlinson (on guitar), The Brown Hornets are a mesh between fifties rock, blues and seventies punk. The simplistic music is perfectly infectious and will stick in your head for days. At the same time, Walters’ insanity on stage will have you in stitches. Whether it involves giving the audience marshmallows, fruit or even bowling a cantaloupe at ten empties Walters knows how to make the show fun.
Tomlinson, a damn fine guitarist, adds much of the musical element to The Brown Hornets’ show. His fantastic work with a slide and ability to outshow a master showman like Walters is what allows The Brown Hornets’ absurdity to last while still making some great music. Rounding out the band in their rhythm section are new additions, Justin Hemming (bass) and Robin Mason (drums) providing a solid beat for some great covers and originals. Bananas, pineapples, beer bottles and cowbells were also among the many props that make The Brown Hornets one of the most entertaining bands around.
I decided I didn’t want to stick around for Horsey Craze, The Constantines doing Neil Young songs, because if I don’t like The Constantines doing original material, why would I enjoy this more? Apparently however I missed a one-time reunion of Rick and the Skins to see The Bad Band Revolution.
The Boat was ambushed by a series of bad bands coming together to prove that bad music can make great entertainment. The show seemed more to be an excuse for friends to gather and dance rather than any real attempt at reaching a greater audience, the usual goal of bands at CMW. Oddly enough it seemed that the Bad Band Revolution succeeded more than most showcases, with national press coverage of the brutal assault of music. At least it was funny.
I expected to be at least four bands into the showcase when I arrived, but due to complications, the show was running late. I had arrived in time for the third act of the night, Statutory Apes. Sigh. At least there wasn’t much pretence; bad band, bad band name. They were a twosome, “singing” over a pre-recorded track while one of the two would occasionally strum his guitar. Nothing to write home about, but the crowd seemed to like it, I was perplexed, but fortunately Statutory Apes knew when to call it quits and ended their set after only 20 minutes. My ears were thankful.
The next act, Robocopp, were another duo screaming over the loud industrial-electronica songs playing on the sound system. I was confused as the line between stage and audience disappeared and people appeared to enjoy it. The biggest turn-off to this “band” was that at some point I realized that it was a DJ set in between acts and Robocopp had finished. I wasn’t quite sure what happened, but they seemed to finish their act without anyone noticing, including those dancing on the stage. Perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was just the lack of sleep at the end of this three-day festival, but the show started to become really funny.
It was particularly funny as the soundman pressed play for the next group. Again “singing” to a pre-recorded track, Pyramid Culture are four young women singing off key about locations in the world of pyramids, parasitic foetal twins and many other important social issues.
Dollarama closed the night. I had once before seen Dollarama playing and couldn’t stop laughing as they banged their “instruments” over and over again stopping only to yell “Chris Murphy!” Well, this wasn’t the Sloan tribute show, and Dollarama were free to play their songs. The band spends $25 before each gig at Dollarama and uses their finds for instruments at the show. Using a cheese grater as percussion or a speak ‘n’ spell. Dollarama wasn’t as funny the second time around. The humour still held, but not l