Gig: CMW (Saturday)

CMW: Jon-Rae Fletcher / Young Galaxy / Les Handclaps / The Hoa-Hoa's / The Beekeepers / The Disraelis

Lee's Palace / The Horseshoe / Rancho Relaxo / The Silver Dollar. Saturday, March 14, 2009.

My normal approach to these sorts of things usually involves pre-planning/ arriving early/ staying put. But with nothing seriously top-to-bottom compelling me, I decided, for a change, to wing it and use my wristband to its full advantage, with just a copy of eye to give me some idea where I was heading.

9 P.M.: Jon-Rae Fletcher @ Lee's Palace

His in-store performance rekindling my interest, decided I'd better not miss his full band set. So got into Lee's a few minutes before nine.¹ There were a respectable number of people inside for that early in the night, and it certainly looked like there were a few number of people who came early to get seats and were settled in for the evening. The band actually came on before the top of the hour and launched right into a set again dominated by Oh, Maria. Jon-Rae was backed by a three-piece unit, travelling, I guess, without the keyb and trombone that added a bit of extra texture to the recording. The backing was generally decent — although the guit player missed a couple notes, he had the right vibe. Playing to a room mostly there for other bands, there was reasonable applause for the numbers, plus a small cadre whooping out and shouting requests clearly there to hear Jon-Rae. Honouring that bunch, the band left for a few solo numbers from the back catalogue, including "Fire" again, and a partial take on "Just One More" where the spirit was willing, but memory of the lyrics was weak. It was a fine performance, and my hope now is that Jon-Rae can reconcile with some more of his old songs and mix up his setlist a bit.²

The place had filled in even more during the set, and as I made my way out, I was taken aback by the length of the line stretching down the sidewalk outside the club. Was everyone out to see Elliott Brood and Cuff the Duke, or was it going to be like this everywhere?

10:10 P.M.: Young Galaxy @ The Horseshoe

As it turned out, I had no problem getting into the 'Shoe, which was well-filled, but not packed. Just had time to grab a drink and head towards the stage as Young Galaxy came on. I had liked their album okey, but I had been truly sold on them in these same digs in the fall of '07, where in a smeary wall of guitars and smoke-machine haze, they totally blew headliners Besnard Lakes off the stage. I was hoping for some of that same live spark, as well as some new material, which is exactly what I got. The band, in fact, played only a couple songs from the debut album, giving the bulk of the set over new stuff. It was all good, and some of it (especially a trio of songs led by Catherine McCandless' vox) were a cut above that. One in particular (possibly called "Burning Heart") was jaw-droppingly excellent, a sort of shoegazing slow-dance number. Plus, some style points for frontman Stephan Ramsay, who thoughtfully despoited his guitar on the overhead pipes before leaving the stage. The new stuff seemed pretty warmly received and it certainly whetted my appetite for their forthcoming album, going a long way towards ensuring that I'll be seeing them again when they hit town for a full show.³

11 P.M.: Les Handclaps @ Rancho Relaxo

I knew I was aiming to make the Silver Dollar my ultimate destination for the night, but the blurb for the eleven o'clock band wasn't compelling, so I decided to take a random detour to check out Rancho Relaxo. As I walked up the stairs and into the room I noted that the floor was covered with shiny confetti, and I was briefly worried that Peachcake, who had been first on the bill there that night, had somehow imploded, leaving only a residue of sparkling glitter.⁴ As I flashed my wristband, my mind was struggling with two things: a) is that, in fact, "Pump Up the Jam"? and b) hey, is that Mitsou?

The answers were "yes", and "not quite". I had walked into a room of people dancing to a Technotronic cover. This was Les Handclaps, who turned out to be a sort of electro-rappin' yé-yé combo, backing tracks augmented by dudes on keyb and guit, and fronted by Lorraine Muller, who indeed looked not unlike Mitsou's older sister clad in fetish gear. Their music, mostly en français, was a sexy dancin' good time, and the mostly-younger crowd were really into it. Of all the random acts I could have wandered into, this was a pretty good result, the sort of thing I might not go out of my way for in my usual manner of things, but greatly energizing fun to take in.

12:30 A.M.: The Hoa Hoa's @ Silver Dollar

Thusly pumped up, I headed 'round the corner and into the Silver Dollar in time to catch a song and a half by Picturesound, enough to make me feel sure I'd been right to give them a miss. Nothing particularly wrong with them (though the singer seemed a little weak), but their Madchester-styled choons seemed like a rehash I wasn't looking for.

A bit of a wait, then, but fortunately the club was much less packed than it'd been twenty-four hour previously⁵, and I was able to find a seat and relax until The Hoa Hoa's⁶ came on, which turned out to be quite a treat. They managed to press the exact buttons to excite me, playing songs that sounded like Nuggets singles played at 33 1/3, with the chorus cut out and the instrumental break occupying the bulk of the real estate. Which is to say the focus wasn't so much on the songs (which featured the vox pretty low in the mix, as one more sonic element rather than a featured attraction) but on the rhythmic interplay — though not in a "jamming" kind of way: more like the musical equivalent of watching someone working out a logic puzzle, resolving how the psych leanings bump up against something more austere and exacting. Very exciting, and I am on the lookout now for their disc and another chance to see if they sound like that all the time.

1:30 A.M.: The Beekeepers

Apparently fulfilling some sort of quota, The Beekeepers occupied the same "cute collective" slot occupied by The Ghost is Dancing the night before, to not much better results. Again the constant shuffling around between instruments, again the props.⁷ And songs that weren't particularly interesting, all dressed up and overarranged. Not for me.

2:30 A.M.: The Disraelis

Waiting through The Beekeepers turned out to be worth it, though. A trio sharing a drummer with The Hoa Hoa's, The Disraelis had a more stripped-down and shoegazing sound, with the guitar textures playing up against briskly-played bass. Not quite as mesmerizing, but I did like their sound quite a bit. Well worth seeing, and a good way to end to the night and the festival.⁸

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¹ Though I still like seeing a show at Lee's, the rigmarole at the door, staffed by oft-surly bouncers, is getting off-putting. To get in, everyone had to queue up, show I.D. and get a bag check — none of which happened anywhere else I went for CMW.

² Even an Annie Lennox cover would be appreciated.

³ Random note: as I was leaving, Jeff Cohen (with whom I am apparently becoming weirdly fascinated) was working the front door, monitoring capacity. He paused in counting patrons off to quickly remark, "Hey, Anti-Flag! Cool shirt!" to the guy in front of me.

⁴ It's also possible that they travel by teleportation, and this was some sort of by-product of their departure.

⁵ Though still well-populated by loud, drunk, spastically-dancing types. Dag.

⁶ Pronounced "wah wahs".

⁷ In this case: a bubble-blowing machine, and a mannequin torso mounted on a turntable. Whimsical! (Or, possibly, evoking some sort of cultural commentary that I'm missing out on.)

⁸ I heard later from K., who I nodded at on the way out (chatting up a conference-badge-wearing fellow) that the subsequent band's performance involved a mosh pit. I feel fine for having missed that.