Photograph by Sam Javanrouh
There’s a day in June that occupies a special place in Torontonians hearts every year. Originally known as the Olympic Island Festival, the recently re-named Toronto Island Concert, is what many of my friends call their “favourite day of the summer”. Curated by Broken Social Scene and their label Arts&Crafts, the day-long mini-fest takes place South of the city, just a few kilometres off-shore from Toronto’s modest and un-scenic harbourfront, on one of the city’s most heavily protected natural gems, Olympic Island. With only a community in the hundreds that inhabits the Toronto Islands, their parks are some of the city’s most beautiful, their few domiciles are some of the city’s most demanded and their concert is one of the city’s most memorable.
After a two-year break from any performances on the island, one because of an unfortunate scheduling conflict last year, and the other unexplained the year previous, the memories of the day are starting to get fuzzy. Remember the year when Feist opened and played all of ‘The Reminder’ before anyone knew that ‘1,2,3,4’ would be a Sesame Street jam? Or how about that year when Canada’s music scene was finally en vogue internationally, after over a decade of indie rock triumphs domestically? Remember how this celebration was marked by Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene being on the same bill, collectively shouting back at the world “the kings are taking back their throne,” a phrase which packed so much punch, years before it found its home on Neon Bible’s ‘Intervention’? Oh, and then there was the time that J. Mascis joined a stage ramshackled-full of 8 electric guitarists and three drummers, spilling out into the audience, and played a song to close the night called ‘Guitar Symphony’ which has never seen the light of day, but was perhaps the strongest reminder of the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll the city has ever seen.
Indeed, the day-long festival has been home to some of the most memorable and important moments in Toronto’s music history. It’s also been home to some of the most memorable and important moments for this writer, personally. One way or another, the Island Concert marks a moment in the Summer around which old friends plan trips back to the city and everyone finds each other, ready to celebrate anything they can. The reunions start early in the day over beers and hugs, and end with the back-drop of a lit-up city, slow-dancing as long as you can before running to make the last ferry back to mainland.
Pavement – Cut Your Hair
Broken Social Scene – Cause = Time
Band of Horses – Our Swords
Beach House – Zebra
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Photographs by Fred Loek
A little over a year ago, I was sitting in my room listening to Fleet Foxes’ full-length debut when I discovered something in the LP’s sleeve for the first time. Printed on a large piece of parchment was an anecdote which captured the essence of why I love music like nothing I had read before. In it, the writer cautions us of photographs, which he claims are almost like fake representations of what we think to be memories. Do you really remember your third birthday, or has a picture that you’ve seen repeatedly, mixed with accounts of the day from people who were there, created a false sense of memory, now almost indistinguishable from the real thing? The authenticity of a memory is definitely questionable when it has been cognitively inserted into your thoughts through photos and their accompanying captions. Music, on the other hand, claimed the writer, has the ability to evoke much more genuine memories, taking you to the time when you heard a song, what you felt then and what was around you:
“Ask anyone who loves music and they’ll tell you that certain albums and songs remind them of particular places and people; loved ones who may now be gone, good and bad times, or particular evenings spent driving for the sake of wanderlust all somehow take sustenance from the songs that accompanied them. The trick is that the memories enhanced by the music come to life more readily and with more force than memories triggered in any other way.”
Music can take you to places. Now I know I haven’t shed any new light on this special but well-known dimension of music, but I will say that there are few albums and bands which can evoke this journey for me – especially in this era of music over-consumption that we’re in. Fleet Foxes are definitely one of them and I discovered another this past Fall when I was invited to go see a new band called Make Your Exit play an album release event in Toronto.
Make Your Exit – Leave This Town
Make Your Exit – Kids
Make Your Exit – Smokes and Lint
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Photograph by David Waldman
Recently, we at Ca Va Cool turned to our crystal ball to foresee the winner of this year’s Polaris Music Prize. In a choice that can be described as coming out of left field, the 2009 Polaris Music Prize has been awarded to Toronto hardcore group Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life.
When the shortlist was released, our general consensus was that Chad VanGaalen was the clear winner, but the grand jury chose to award the $20,000 (CAD) prize to a group that is completely different from previous winners Final Fantasy, Patrick Watson and Caribou. Perhaps giving the award to a band that has twice trashed MTV Canada’s studio by rocking out way too hard is a sign that the panel is becoming more open to new genres. There were several deserving acts on the shortlist, but it’s difficult to argue with this pick. After all, Joel Plaskett could have won.
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Cherry Chapstick hail from Kingston, Ontario and consist of Julian Flavin, Evan Mullen and Nigel Ward. The trio celebrated the release of their debut EP Silencer last weekend at the Wolfe Island Music Festival where I had the opportunity to meet up with the guys and talk about what’s going on.
The band were open, humble and really excited to be there; in my mind all of the necessary hallmarks of great musicians or great-musicians-to-be. These guys have been playing together for a few years – in fact, they met back in high school, but have only existed as Cherry Chapstick for the past three months. Three months isn’t long, but while the rest of us were playing in the sun, the trio have been busy writing and recording an their excellent EP, booking shows and winning lots of hearts. Including mine.
The music is incredibly well-mixed, well-balanced shoegaze or electronic indie dance. A couple of tracks have a touch of a disco beat which have won me over heart and soul. The band cite Fred Falke, Daft Punk, the Radio Dept, M83, French House, and the 80s in general among their influences. In short, they’ve got taste.
For now, Chapstick are going to be taking an eight month hiatus come September (something about education and future careers), but will be back sooner than we know it with a full album that will be knocking us off our feet and taking our breath away. “We’re planning for World Tour oh-eleven,” Evan told me, and I’m going to hold him to it. By then they’ll hopefully be able to incorporate some new sounds including one from a crazy synth Nigel told me about that “sounds like a tiger or a chainsaw, just more major.”
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If his website is accurate, Travis Morrison, former frontman of the late, great Dismemberment Plan, has retired from the music scene. Whether this is permanent remains to be seen, but it’s a loss that still gets me down. After all, how many people would name their band after a throwaway line from the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day? His solo material after the ‘Plan disbanded wasn’t exactly critically lauded. His debut solo disc Travistan received a whopping zero from the geniuses at Pitchfork, which effectively killed his career in the internet age. How ironic, they killed his career then report on its death. To have him leave the scene completely seems a shame, but at the same time, he’s left behind a respectable back catalogue of some pretty awesome music. Kudos to you Travis Morrison, enjoy your retirement, and don’t hesitate to reform the band if you get bored.
The Dismemberment Plan – Superpowers
Travis Morrison – Any Open Door
Travis Morrison Hellfighters – I’m Not Supposed to Like You (But)
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