Edmonton Folk Fest: Friday Shows

Friday ended up being a short day for me, as I missed some of the acts that played earlier in the evening. Two beers in, however, I found myself couched in front of the iconic Loudon Wainwright III. Yeah, Rufus, Lucy and Martha's Faja. 63 and still rocking hard. While he didn't play my favourites ("Rufus is a Tit Man", "I wish I Was a Lesbian"), his set was replete with his standard humorist-styled songs. He's one of those artists you didn't know you knew: to be expected, as his 21 albums have spanned nearly 40 years and countless movies and TV shows. Perhaps the humorist-folk answer to Nico Muhly. Wainwright had his audience chuckling and singing along for the whole set. It was interesting watching the looks of sudden recognition on people's faces as they made the connection between one of Loudon's songs and something they'd heard before. It was a short performance, but a wonderful warm-up for the rest of my evening. Photo Borrowed from CBC. My camera was dead this weekend.

After another hour in the beer gardens, I got myself situated at the main stage for perhaps the most exciting (and anticipated, for me) show of the entire weekend. Lovely, lovely Miss Neko Case. I think I expected a certain kind of exuberance from Case, as every release I'd ever heard from her had been passionate and full of energy. Don't take this the wrong way, Neko sings with passion in her live show. But she doesn't talk much. Her back-up singer did all the crowd-pleasing speaking stuff for her... Case just focused on blowing us away musically. It was a really interesting dynamic between the two, and, I suppose, not entirely surprising. In addition to Middle Cyclone jems, Neko regaled her crowd with samples from Blacklisted - mon favouri - and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. The live renditions of "The Tigers Have Spoken" and "Deep Red Bells" were most certainly the highlights in an absolutely amazing set. My only complaint is that it was entirely too short. Count me in the line up next time she comes even remotely close to Edmonton (be it with The Sadies, The New Pornographers, or on her own. I will be there).


Friday was short, but intense. And the rest of the weekend would continue at the same pace.

Edmonton Folk Festival: Wednesday

My very first Edmonton Folk Fest was a fabulous experience. Glad I had a seasoned folk-fester take me by the hand for the duration, or I would have been ill-prepared for the bring-your-own-seating, dance barefoot in the grass celebration that the weekend is.

The festival didn't officially get underway until Thursday (august 6th), but there was a kick-off show on Wednesday with the cool premise of creating an endowment fund with the ticket sales from the extra evening. That way, next time Edmonton hits a cycle of economic crap, there would always been money put aside to make sure Folk Fests continue to happen unhindered. Absolutely wonderful approach to festival sustainability.

But how to convince FFsters to shell out even more cash for one more night?

Simple. Give them a line-up of performers that they'd be stupid to pass up.

First on the main stage was East Coast darling Meaghan Smith. I'd never heard the chanteuse, but my roommate assured me it would be love at first sight. And damnit, she was right.

Meaghan managed to earworm my brain right off the hop with the track "Five More Minutes"" a flashback to a childhood where one begged for the privilege to stay up later when the summer nights began to get unreasonably long, and children were tucked away long before sunlight left the skies. It certainly contains more adult connotations for me, as well. It leaves me in the haze of recall of weekday mornings: longing for five more minutes in bed with the person I love. It's a real testament to her versatility that such obvious lyrics can stir up such contrasting memories.

After Meaghan had the crowd pumped up on her sassy neo-50's bluesy crooning, Clevelander Tracy Chapman took the stage. Chapman's liberal-politiking music found fabulous footing in front of Edmonton's folksters (I had to do it...). She delighted crowds with tracks old and new. "Fast Cars" and "Gimme one Reason" were clearly fan favourites, while renditions of songs (which I admittedly had not heard prior) like "Material World" and "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" tended to tug on the heartstrings. I wasn't sure exactly what I had been expecting from Tracy's performance, but I did end up thoroughly enjoying it. She was emotive and sincere... one of the best live solo performances I had seen in some time (Minor spoiler alert: this was just a taste of what was to come for me over the weekend). There's something sexy about a woman in a leather jacket, alone with her guitar.

Headlining the evening was Canada's beloved Sarah McLachlan. Full disclaimer, I've been a fan of Sarah since her '93 release Fumbling Towards Ecstasy - which, much to the chagrin of my family, I played often and played loud. So you can imagine how much anticipation was bubbling inside of me; this would be the first time I'd ever seen what amounts to my musical hero live. She did not disappoint. Her stage banter was warm, friendly, and oft hilarious. She played everything from the iconic Fumbling album, to a brand new track she has yet to release (I can't for the life of me remember the name, though I do know it's an optimistic love song? What?) and everything in between. A consummate professional, she never faltered tickling those ivories, interspersing the set with jokes about breastfeeding her two kids, bringing back Lilith Fair next year (You heard it here first, people) and fond memories of the last Lilith show in Edmonton. There was the expected audience-participation for the live version of "Ice Cream", and slow dances to "World On Fire". Everything I was hoping for. A decade + of high expectations for an artist is a difficult pedestal to perform from - just ask Axel Rose... [too soon?] - but she did it with a poise I will remember for years to come. It was just as magical for me as it was for her.

So I come to close of this gushing and unabashed obsession disguised as a review to say this: my first night at Folk Fest was more than worth the extra 90 bucks. Let's get together and do this again next year.

Meaghan Smith - Here Comes Your Man

Saskatoon's Volcanoless in Canada gets some love on CBC's T.O.D.

Check out the track Mexican Circus (March to the Holly Dome) off their new album "The Way Forward". (which you can grab here, if you love it. And I think you will...)

They'll be at the Regina Folk Festival August 7-9, which I am sadly missing - lousy unemployment. If you have a chance to check it out, do: the line-up is enviable. Then you can tell me all about it, and I can live vicariously through you. It's a win-win, people.

Swap, swap, swap.

We'll now interrupt the regular programming with a blog swap. Sorry dear readers, today you won't be getting goodies to caress your auditory senses from Chels, but something completely different from Adorably Bitter. Consider yourself warned...

Because the thing is, in my daily life I am not really an active music-listener. I can pretty much put up with anything as long as it is there, in the background, not interrupting me. That is why I tend to gravitate towards jazz and blues - it creates an atmosphere without attacking your eardrums (makes me sound like a bitter 70-year old grandfather, doesn't it?) and playing it actually requires talent and effort. And I am all for supporting talent and effort. One of the few names I can come up with to suggest you is Torsten Goods, for example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwXYxIJmfhE

Now, if you are a musician and expect me to actually pay attention to your beloved creation, you better come up with either very good lyrics or an interesting twist to your arrangement. And The Streets have both of that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EntNNddAnw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUi-ATRnMwI

However, there is a field in my life where my views on music turn 180 degrees. No, I do not turn into a music-critic-superhero after the sunset roaming the streets of my city and unplugging the microphones of all the terrible musicians in our pubs. Although I might save that plan to fill my days after retirement. But right now I am an oriental dance student. And dance is all about visualizing music - for yourself and for those who watch you dance. I literally spend hours listening to pieces from Egyptian classics to Saudi folklore, trying to figure out instruments and practising the rhythm patterns on my zills. So, here I present you some of my favourites.

A beautiful piece from the golden era of Egyptian cinema - Ya msafer Wahdak by Mohammed Abdel Wahab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZNCVtk0c4

And a fun drum solo Serena's Step from Hossam Ramzy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5v1XFhIQ9U

Love and light,

Adorably Bitter

The Great Saskatchewan Mix Tape.

I don't know a single person who hasn't been enjoying the indie music coming out of Canada for the last couple of years. Well... let me rephrase that. People have been enjoying the indie music coming out of Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal [myself included]. A real crime has been committed in overlooking the talent in the more sparsely-populated provinces that make up this great nation.

So, my Canadian Mix Tape project has begun: the plan is to pick a province, and dig through it's respective talent pool to showcase the other Canadiana sound that isn't rolling out of that musical clown-car we call Montreal.

First up to plate is Saskatchewan. I may be an Alberta girl now, but that misunderstood prairie province is where I transitioned from a love of the Backstreet Boys to an obsession with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - insane, right? It's where all my magic happened. It only seems right to start this project there.

Library Voices is a Regina band I caught for the first time in February (on one of my frequent jaunts back to Saskatoon). Once I absorbed the fact that LV boasts a 10-member ensemble, I became enamored with their sound: something like the 306's answer to Broken Social Scene... or maybe The Most Serene Republic. And their live show pretty much kicks ass.

Library Voices - Drinking Games

My 22nd birthday treat to myself was an Amigos show featuring Golden Smoke, with openers The Vicious Crystals. They both do a kind of psychedelic rock that reminds me of the more experimental phases of the Stones. That was a gooood birthday.

Golden Smoke - The King of Blindness

The Vicious Crystals - Tidal Wave

Carbon Dating Service will forever remind me of University. The first tracks I ever heard of theirs all revolved around the Synchrotron (which I saw everyday on my hikes to and from campus). Their Shoegaze-pop was part of the soundtrack to my textbook toting years.

Carbon Dating Service - Terraform Mars

Recently reformed, Junior Pantherz are a well-known staple in the SK music scene, and we're so happy they're putting out tunes again. I really dig the vaguely BRMC sound of this track:

Junior Panthers - Ballistics

Fronted by past Canadian Idol contestant Josh Palmer, comes Saskatoon's The Rebellion. These guys can write a catchy fucking pop hook and between the three of them, have a pretty freaking bad-ass backstory.

The Rebellion - One Night Hero

For the times I need some chilled out alt-country with a touch of indie-rock, I'll throw on some Slow Down, Molasses. These guys are pretty much a pillar of the Saskatoon scene. Now you're in the know.

Slow Down, Molasses - I'm an Old Believer

Be ready to switch gears in a hurry, because next is prog-metal band Adolyne. These guys were my very first show at Amigos after moving to S'toon, and subsequently taught me that earplugs at live shows are a great, great investment. Read: play them loud.

Adolyne - Otaku

Quite and unassuming in person, and forces to be reckoned with on stage, is Saskatoon's best kept secret: The Fjords. They also happened to provide the background to a pretty awesome date I went on... I'll keep the music + experience = tied memories rambling to a minimum. Have a listen!

The Fjords - Cool my Desire

You may have heard him before, as the introductory track to Live on CBC Radio 3 with Grant Lawrence. That's SK's Maybe Smith! And we really, really love him. Too bad he's always touring in Japan and stuff. I still haven't had a chance to see this guy live.

Edit: turns out he's playing at the Brixx in Edmonton on July 8th. I love how I ask and then receive, as of late. ^^

Maybe Smith - Hearts Like Bears

Full disclosure: this next band is composed of some friends of mine. Don't let that detract from their awesomeness. Ready to drop their second effort, is Volcanoless in Canada. If you have the chance to see them live, do it: there ain't no party like a ViC party. For reals. I've had the bruises to prove it.

Volcanoless in Canada - We Win

Even though I've talked about them before, they deserve another mention. Deep Dark Woods is kicking ass and taking names lately. Blame it on the recession... their alt country twang is perfect for the dark days.

Deep Dark Woods - By The Light of The Moon

This is just the sampler plate of Saskatchewan's offerings to Canada's amazing music scene... tapas, if you will. Hopefully it has whet your appetite.

Two Brooklyn Bands come to Edmonton and leave with my heart: TVotR and Dirty Projectors

Easily one of the best shows I've had the opportunity to catch this year has been TV on the Radio, with their guests, Dirty projectors. I didn't know what to expect going in: it was at a venue I'd never been to that I'd heard horrible things about (in the West Edmonton mall?), I had no idea who was opening, and I really hadn't listened to much of TVotR's material beforehand.

I'm starting to think that's the best way to walk into a show... because when I'm blown away, it's always been in an epic manner. This show was one of those.

Dirty Projectors started their set with just two band members. My natural assumption at that point was that they were going to be a mellow opener. Just a guy, a girl, and their guitars.Holy crap, was I horribly mistaken. After the blissfully pretty Two Doves, out tumbled the other 4 members of the 6 piece group, ready to melt faces. The rest of their set was mind-bending time signatures, inventive guitar riffs and amazing harmonies. The girls had the latter down so perfectly for the live show that at points I couldn't believe that sound was being created sans-laptop - mind you, there was a laptop... it just wasn't being put to use to tweak their vocal work. Those same three rocked out vocal acrobatics bouncing over ranges so fluidly that it would have made Mariah Carey blush (shut up... I loved her when I was 11). I think I stood for their entire set wide-eyed with my jaw on the floor, poking at my friend every time the group did something else that took my breath away. She may or may not have had horribly bruised arms by the end of the show. Looking out over the crowd, I could see my reaction mirrored in the faces of a handful of other people. Dirty Projectors: You blew my freaking mind. Pretty much an awesome reason to go visit Brooklyn again. After four full-length albums, this might be the one that makes everyone sit up and listen. Even though it's only June, Bitte Orca is seriously contending for a spot on my inevitable "favourites of 2009" list (which you can pick up HERE and HERE, btw).

(See how entranced they are?)

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

Dirty Projectors - No Intention

On to the main event: I would be more inclined to call this a religious experience than a rock show. Don't jump all over me for the comparison: rather than "it changed my life, I'm a TVotR die-hard forever and ever now" kind of experience, it was the atmosphere of the whole production. Energetic, euphoric, and overwhelming at points... like something you'd experience in a Southern Baptist church; but with more alcohol and better dressed young people. I really felt like TVotR's live sound is miles away from what you hear on their albums (well, at least what I'd heard on Return to Cookie Mountain). Rather than the mellow(er), trip-hopish sound that I'd grown accustomed to, the live sound was pure, instrument-driven rock. The focus was intense guitars, hammering drums, and my love of all loves: saxophone and clarinet. If they'd left the mix table at home, I wouldn't have even noticed. And dancing! Oh my god, every time Tunde Adebimpe starting hopping, swaying and bouncing all over the stage, I was seriously disinclined to keep my feet planted in one spot (considering the space I had to move in, this may have caused me some issues throughout the night). The last song of the encore, Satellite, brought out members of Dirty Projectors for a climaxing cacophony of glorious sound. Oh, my ears were happy... until the following day, when they wouldn't stop ringing. The intensity of the night left the band with a broken floor tom - from a rendition of Young Liars - and the crowd exhausted and satiated, despite the questionable venue. I really wish my batteries had lasted long enough to get a good video clip, because the words just don't seem to measure up to the experience (apologies for the shaky camera work!)




They're on tour all over the place until the end of August, so for sure check them out if they stop anywhere close to you. You can grab a copy of their newest release Dear Science (or any album, for that matter), from their label Interscope Records, or any decent music store.

TVotR - Wolf Like Me

Just a little reminder...

... only 5 days until the new release from Phoenix drops.

Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy. 

Phoenix - 1901