"Friends in Bellwoods 2" release party (Saturday) (Featuring: Bellewoods, Lisa Bozikovic, Kids On TV, Emma McKenna, Germans, Snowblink, The Acorn)
Tranzac. Saturday, August 29, 2009.
You can catch the first part of the day here.
Throughout the afternoon, the size of the crowd waxed and waned a bit, especially between acts, when many would head out for a smoke or duck out to the side to check out the action in the barbeque zone. There was a weirdly sedate late-late night vibe throughout the afternoon, a drowsy sense that it could be four in the morning and the end of a bender — until a bright shaft of light from outside from someone opening the side door suggested it was, indeed, actually four in the afternoon. Needing a bit of a jolt a couple times between acts I simply headed out the front door and went for brisk, short Annex-y walks to get some air in my lungs and clear the cobwebs.
As afternoon became evening, there was a quicker uptick in the size of the crowd, giving the impression of an actual Saturday night from about the time Germans were playing forward. But through it all, it should be noted, the busy organizers from the Ohbijou camp were always close at hand — James or Casey came up to introduce nearly every act as they took the stage, all day long.
Bellewoods: Chris White's foursome launched into their set with "Kneel On The Apron", just a sleepy acoustic guitar and voice for a couple minutes before the opening up from there. Impressed by the crowd's quiet attentiveness, he followed it up with an even quieter number. Hurtin' heart introverted mope-rock, I found it more likeable when the rhythm section tried to illustrate the sturm-und-drang a bit more proactively. Probably better suited for days with grey skies and mixed emotions about the world.
Lisa Bozikovic: Starting solo at the keyb, at first I thought I might be getting something similar to what I'd heard just the other day. But once James Bunton (drums) and Anissa Hart (cello) joined in, it turned out that even though I'd be hearing most of the same songs, this time they were more fleshed out, which certainly made a difference. Added background vox added even more pleasant texture. And a set-ending accordion cover of Ina unt Ina's "Teacher" — a techno song about a teenage crush on a teacher — was a fun wrap-up.
Kids On TV: With new stagewear and projector in tow, the KoTV crew took the stage. Absolutely the most visually interesting of the day's bands, they also managed to boost the energy in the room up a couple notches. Four songs from their current setlist, the aces were once again "Dazzler" and comp cut "Poison". This being the, what — fourth? — time I've seen them in not such a long stretch, I feel a bit like a scholar observing minute details within the songs. But for the less devoted, you merely have to show up and soak in the spectacle and the fun.1 Also nice to note that the crew wasn't plagued by any technical gremlins outside their control this time, just for jams in bang-bang fashion.
Emma McKenna: This was a name I've been hearing a fair amount lately, mostly in that, "Oh, you haven't heard her?" kind of tone people reserve for when they think they're the first on the block on to something new and special. Playing solo with electric guitar,2 McKenna played five quick songs that were definitely intriguing. Plainspoken yet declamatory, with a trilling voice that could occasionally twist a word into a little shiv of unexpectedly stretched syllables. The crowd, building up to its evening's fullness, was starting to get a bit chatter-y in the background, which was about the only blot on this set. Good stuff, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more.
Listen to a track from this set here.
Germans: Another band that I missed out on when people were calling them one of the city's best a couple years ago, Germans are back together after some hiatus time.3 The band played a new wave-inflected sort of 90's alt. rock — which is to say their dominant tempo was "chugging", and the sound relied as much as keybs as squally guitars. This was generically okay, but it didn't leave a strong impression on me. Maybe the band's current lineup needs some more time to gel, or possibly not entirely my thing, I'll reserve judgment for now and see what I see if I encounter them again.
Snowblink: For a band that had more or less completely failed to impress me the first time I saw 'em, I was slightly surprised by the sense of reverence in the room as Snowblink prepared to play. Perhaps it was vocalist Daniela Gesundheit walking around the room, handing out bells for everyone to play or Casey Mecija introducing the band with a stern warning for those at the back to hush up and listen before going right down in front of the stage to claim a space on the floor but there was a palpably expectant vibe. So as I listened to the songs — performed by Gesundheit on antler-enhanced guit plus Dan Goldman on guit/vox/keyb/effects — I quickly concluded I'd been wrong the first time around. Wrong. An elegant voice and folk-songs embracing the subtle technological tweaks of the musicians — maybe the vibe in the room was infectious, but I was pretty captivated. The sets were stretching out a bit by this point in the evening, and the five songs in twenty-five minutes were quite fabulous.
Listen to a track from this set here.
The Acorn: Closing things out was probably the biggest "name" of the night in The Acorn out of Ottawa. Playing on this night as a bass-less trio, the band started out with the gentle "Slippery When Wet" and maintained a mellow vibe with a some new material, "Misplaced" particularly making an impression. The set ended with a cover of Gowan's "Strange Animal", which I must confess made me wince initially, but the band imbued it with a new-wave energy.4
Listen to a track from this set here.
And then, about quarter to midnight, the whole thing was over. There were some other good shows going on around town, but I was feeling way too punchy to even think I could be up for more. Time to head home. Not something you'd want to do every Saturday, it felt like a bit of an endurance test a few times,5 but it was quite a day, and a nice way to mark a special occasion. And also, I'm guessing, the sort of thing one will look back on with a satisfied sense of, "I was there!".
1 Excitingly, John mentioned that KoTV will be having an EP release party September 24th at the Gladstone, so that total might go up again.
2 Although for the first song, she was also stomping a ring of bells 'round her ankle as well.
3 Although they didn't get back together in time to place a track on the compilation.
4 Was that Police-like reggae shuffle always there in the verses? I don't really want to go back to the source to check on it.
5 And by about the third time through the compilation being played as between-set music, I think I started to feel like I was in a sort of Friends in Bellwoods 2 indoctrination camp.
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