Photograph by Dan Stack
August 28, 2010 – Though my day was spent eyeing Lieutenant Commander Worf and Chewbacca from afar, my night was yet again spent at the Horseshoe Tavern, this time to see Wye Oak, who captured my interest when I first heard their cover of the Kinks’ ‘Strangers’ from the AV Club’s Undercover series. Following that I discovered The Knot, an album that would have definitely made my 2009 best of list. Needless to say, I was excited. Female-fronted Toronto band the Caraways opened, providing a genre-hopping start to the evening. What began as a sort of alt-country vibe morphed into something completely different during the set. Still, what captured my eye the most was the drummer’s odd kit setup.
Following a brief interlude, Wye Oak took the stage. For the uninitiated, Wye Oak is a made up of Jenn Wassner and Andy Stack. While Wassner handles vocals and guitars, Stack is on drums AND keyboard bass. This multi-tasking makes them far more complex than your typical duo, and I have to applaud the lack of a backing track. You would think drumming one-handed would bring limitations, but Stack performs ably while Wassner thrashes about. Material was largely drawn from The Knot and this year’s EP My Neighbour/My Creator, along with a pair of songs from their upcoming album. Following Wassner’s plea for a Canadian husband (“I’m available!”), Wye Oak made their exit.
Though I was mostly there for Wye Oak, it was clear from the chants of “Lou!” who everyone was there to see. Not knowing much of Lou Barlow, but knowing that he was a member of Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and the Folk Implosion, I felt a certain reverence towards him. As one of the more influential artists I’ve seen, it struck me as odd that he was manning his own merch table, kindly signing anything fans brought. Given his huge back catalogue, I had no idea what to expect from his setlist. I had already ruled out any Dinosaur Jr., but I wasn’t sure if there would be a focus on his recent release with the Minutemen. As soon as he reached the stage, Barlow outlined the plan for the night: an acoustic set by him, followed by an electric set joined by backing band the Minutemen, followed by another acoustic set incorporating his ukulele.
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Arcade Fire on Olympic Island in Toronto effectively closed out this summer concert season. Our first trip to the island saw Beach House, Band of Horses, Broken Social Scene, and Pavement serenade Torontonians as we rushed between shows at NXNE and Island Fest. A few weeks later and for roughly the same ticket price – barring a donation to Partners in Health – the Sadies, Janelle Monáe and Arcade Fire welcomed us. A torrent of whispers in line for the ferry argued the value of Win Butler and company, some chastising Arcade Fire for charging such exorbitant fees while others refuting that the Canadian faces of indie were worth each penny. I believe Arcade Fire had a deeper motivation than aggrandizing their sense of self-worth: to disseminate their latest record, The Suburbs. What better way than to fill an island with well-to-do cosmopolitans and charge a price we could all too easily afford. In terms of gathering a target audience to sing-along to the “emotional hopelessness of being a privileged young person in a developed country,” as Sabrina put it, the band hit the bulls eye. But if your heart is set on seeing Arcade Fire, whether you’re there for the message or the music, it matters little if they charge ten dollars or a hundred; when it comes down to it, the band knows how to put on a fine show.
Janelle Monáe served as a curious choice for an opener as it was hard to imagine any musician on Bad Boy Records opening for a group of Québécois baroque singers. The audience received Monáe’s mix of afro-punk and hip-hop enthusiastically as her beehive-like hairstyle bobbed in harmony with each strut and shimmy. As her set wrapped up and the sun dipped lower on the city skyline a sea of black and white balloons floated through the crowd and into their untimely demise at the hands of the “Balloon Guy,” who was determined to purge the island of inflatables. Arcade Fire’s intricate set rose from the rubbery remains with a life-size projection of twisting highway serving as a backdrop for an array of floodlights.
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Photograph by Tim Snow
Maybe I’m getting too old for festival concerts. Between slathering myself with SPF60, eating $5 hot dogs, running spastically between stages, cursing the overlapping schedule, being inundated with corporate sponsorship and drinking watery beer, I was caught between disillusionment and laughter toward the predictable pattern of music fests.
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival is in its fifth year, and has swelled from 25,000 to over 50,000 attendees. Despite my opening tirade, Osheaga has plenty to offer: a grassy hill with convenient stage view, venues of varying size (from cozy small sets to mega concerts), performances for many tastes (from small Quebecois bands to…Snoop Dogg?), the ability to walk freely with your drinks (goodbye, beer tent!) and free underwear to anyone willing to provide American Apparel with their email address.
When surrounded by so much chaos, I seem to morph into a reactionary skeptic. I should subtitle this post “The Festival Concert in which Sabrina Becomes a Huge Indie Music Cynic.” So, I apologize ahead of time if any readers take my grumbling opinion personally. But here it is, Osheaga 2010.
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August 3, 2010 – Toronto does not like Molson Canadian. However, we do like Blitzen Trapper. That was the consensus drawn by a fairly full Opera House on Tuesday night. When guitarist Marty Marquis raised his tall boy of Molson Canadian and proclaimed it as the best beer Canada had to offer, he was met with a series of boos. But they were friendly boos, and he was only saying what the ad had told him. That said, the rest of the night was all cheers.
Blitzen Trapper took the stage and kicked off with ‘Fire and Fast Bullets’, an appropriate opener to an evening that felt like it could have happened just the same back in 1970. Part of Blitzen Trapper’s appeal has always been that good old fashioned rock and roll feeling you get when you listen to Bob Dylan and The Band, but they don’t get close enough to it to feel unoriginal. Lead singer Eric Earley has his own unique writing style, which was showcased throughout the night.
About halfway through the show they got into a mainly acoustic set. Eric Earley’s songwriting was demonstrated on songs like, ‘Lady on the Water’ and ‘The Man Who Would Speak True’. Though they could have used a more attentive audience, Earley’s voice shined loud and clear in the Opera House, eyes wide open to those paying attention. The highlight of the night was when they finally got around to ‘Furr’. That song is already a classic that will be around forever, and everyone there knew it. It was a full on foot stomping sing along, and drew the biggest ovation of the night.
By the end of the show Marty had learned of Moosehead Lager, the option of the flask, and that we have much more to offer than Molson Canadian. And those in the Opera House learned that classic rock is still happening in 2010, and it’s just as good as it ever was.
Blitzen Trapper – Dragon’s Song
Blitzen Trapper – Lady on the Water
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All Photographs by Levin Samuel
On July 14, Titus Andronicus took the Horseshoe Tavern by storm, delivering an energetic performance that got the crowd just as into it as the band. They covered favourites from both their debut The Airing of Grievances and their latest The Monitor. From start to finish, Titus delivered rip-roaring vocals, balls to the wall guitar tone with anthemic sing-a-longs that made their performance one for the books.
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