Gig: The Dutchess and the Duke

The Dutchess and the Duke (Medication / RatTail)

Sneaky Dee's. Tuesday, January 12, 2009.

Some nights it's tough. After thinking it over a bit, decided to forgo seeing local heroes Final Fantasy/Diamond Rings at the Mod Club for some out-of-town visitors, figuring I'd have more chances to see the former again.¹ And also, last time they were in town, I walked into The Dutchess and the Duke's show not knowing who they were and left a convert, after a beautifully ragged set that was one of my favourite shows of the year. It's always a mug's game to hope that lightning will strike twice in unexpectedly transformative performances, but I reckoned at least to give the band a chance at it.

Early starters and local openers on this night were RatTail. Leading off with a new song that sounded not unlike Sonic Youth covering a track from the Shanghai Lounge Divas compilation, the band's unique mix of elements was immediately in effect. Guitarist Jasmyn Burke's vox, with a flattened monotone affect that veers off into yelps, are the most immediately arresting thing. They fit well against the lean post-punk groove of the music, with Ryan Mounsey's bass often seizing the melodic lead space against the slashing guitar lines. There were some technical difficulties as drummer Jesse Matthews kept dislodging his kick drum and had to adjust between songs until offered a cement block from the sound tech. Meanwhile, Mounsey passed the time by making a series of increasingly hyperbolic claims ("I'd just like to thank Molson Canadian... they recently voted us the greatest Canadian band of all time...") that nicely filled in the gaps. The band weren't taking themselves too seriously on stage, but that shouldn't be confused with excess casualness in their delivery — they were tight and talented players. Decent entertainers, too, including during the rather catchy "Polka Dots", when Burke put down the guitar to roam freely around the stage and the front of the dance floor, Minnie Mouse mask perched atop her head. I could well imagine that her vocals might be a deal-breaker for some, but on the whole, I was into it for the duration of the band's six song set.

Listen to a track from this set here.

After getting a level check on the guitars, soundtech Chantal asked, "any pedals?" "No pedals", was the response. And, leaning forward, I noted indeed that Medication were a band with about as basic a setup as you could imagine — drums plus two guitars, both plugged directly into their amps. And that serves as a pretty good base point for their sound — no frills rock'n'roll, in a slightly garage-punk vein. The guitar work was mostly uncomplicated stuff, chugging away with occasional bursts of riffing.

Although the band had a pretty straightforward sound, they do seem to like the idea of preserving a bit of rock'n'roll mystery about themselves, picking a moniker that seems to be shared with two or three other bands, for one thing.² The members were certainly no showmen, playing without any gestural swagger and saying as little as possible. Letting their music do the talking for them did take them a fairly long way, as their material was definitely good stuff. Showing that their place on this bill arose from some sort of musical kinship, Jesse Loritz of the night's headliners was at the front of the crowd for most of the set enjoying himself.

After a steady burst of five songs, a broken string led to a momentum-killing guitar switch, with the show stopping dead for two minutes, with no sort of banter or acknowledgement from the stage. That sort of took me out of it a bit — I mean, an understated stage presence is one thing, but this was verging on cold-fish asceticism. Still — I guess I shouldn't complain about a complete absence of attitude from a band. Taking them just for their music, then, a pleasing set.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Playing as an acoustic duo, The Dutchess and the Duke had a slow start to the show. What might have seemed to be a very simple setup — two mics, two acoustic guitars — was causing all kinds of trouble. Something in Kimberly Morrison's signal chain was causing an audible buzz, and switching cables and the DI box didn't help. It actually sounded like a connection in the pickup was coming loose, and in the end, after about ten minutes of soundchecking and attempted fixes the show just went ahead, buzz and all. Starting with the wonderfully melancholy "Scorpio", from the recent Sunset/Sunrise, the pair were putting their best foot forward, working without a setlist and running off a series of top-notch songs from both of their albums.

The "campfire punk" sound was stripped down compared to the full band I had seen them play with in the summer. Just listening to the songs, both live and on their recordings, I've found it interesting thinking on the positioning the band has chosen. With these exact same players and the exact same songs, they could very well be playing the folk circuit, bringing their music to a different kind of audience. Obviously, though, through their choice of labels and touring partners and where they play they feel more at home in the indie rock realm. It does make one wonder how that changes their audience and how their music is received.

And in this case, I certainly was less than thrilled with the crowd that had come out to see 'em. Worse than the people to my left having a prolonged conversation throughout the set, a trio of Inconsiderate Types ended up in front of me — one a tall, toque-wearing guy who apparently hadn't showered for a few days settling right in front of me, his friend a Dancing Woman who seemed content to bounce around in all directions with no real consideration of other people's space. During "Reservoir Park"³ things almost boiled over, Dancing Woman bumping into a woman in front of her one time too often, causing her to turn around and shriek an oath at Dancing Woman — for a moment I thought there was going to be a fight.

The band, meanwhile, kept moving forward. "I have a favour t'ask," Loritz drawled between songs. "Would somebody buy me a whiskey on the rocks, please? With a little splash of soda. If you get a chance." And by the end of the next song, said drink did indeed materialize. Their performance was fine, with the delicate guitar parts and vocal harmonies meshing nicely, but there just wasn't that ineffable magic about it. Plus, when you add the buzzing guitar still in the speaker and the less-than-ideal crowd, it was a bit of a recipe for taking me out of the moment. When the set got to the climactic "I Am Just a Ghost", the lift that I'd seen last time just wasn't there. "Come on the stage if you know this one," Loritz invited — and no one was willing to take him up on that. The song did get some of that energy (and no small amount of sing-along help from the crowd) in the end, but it was just reasonable immanence and not ramshackle transcendence. But so it goes.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Maybe because I was keenly aware of the show foregone for this one, but I walked away less than fully satisfied, although that faded a bit after the fact. On reflection, it was a reasonable show. Though they weren't compelling as showmen, Medication's music stuck with me afterwards, and Loritz' rakish fur hat and mellowly cool demeanour made me smile. And those songs by The Dutchess and the Duke are winners no matter what context they're in, and that's what's gonna stick with me most.

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¹ And indeed, as it turns out, the next Final Fantasy show has already been announced, albeit in the far-less-cozy confines of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

² Thankfully, they're most decidedly not the Medication that includes ex-members of Ugly Kid Joe. Of all the Medications, our lads' myspace can be found here. They also are cagey about names and so on, so I can't be much more specific in what I say about 'em.

³ "The supersonic jet plane taking people everywhere / Well, I wish that I could go there, I wish I could be somewhere / But I know I'm still right here / And I know here is still nowhere." — like the bulk of their songs we could hang the melancholy tag on this one, too.