Benefit: The C is for Cure (evening show)

The C is for Cure (evening show) (feat. Timber Timbre / Austra / Evening Hymns)

The Music Gallery. Saturday, January 29, 2011.

Following the warm'n'folksy matinée show there was time to stretch the legs out and then find some friends in the Music Gallery's fellowship room before it was time for the nightcap. It too was organized by Bruce Peninsula's Matt Cully as a fundraiser for his bandmate and friend Neil Haverty, who had been diagnosed with leukemia a few months previously. This show was a ticketed affair which had sold out pretty quickly, given that a couple of the bands might normally be seen in larger venues.

Leading off the evening was Jonas Bonnetta's Evening Hymns, who were slightly upsized from when I had seen them just a couple weeks before. Bonnetta (vox/guit) was joined by mainstay Sylvie Smith (backing vox/bass) as well as Tim Bruton (also of Matters and Forest City Lovers) on electric piano.

Now back from their journey north to Perth, Ontario to record their second album Spectral Dusk, Bonnetta's mind was mostly on his new songs. There was only "Cedars" to represent debut album Spirit Guides, and after that the set focused on the fresh stuff. There was more familiarity and confidence in the delivery of the new songs — "Arrows", for one, sounded a little more lived-in — but this was evidence that there hadn't been a radical change in Bonetta's approach, with his plaintive, emotional appeals burnished by Smith's warm voice.

There was one break from the new material for a cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe", and that fit in just fine. Owing to his treatment schedule, Neil Haverty wasn't able to be at the show, but as Bonnetta closed with a solo rendition of "Spectral Dusk", sent out as a dedication, it was easy to believe that the vibrations would resonate his way.¹

There was a very different vibe and some tangible excitement in the crowd for the show's middle act. For although Katie Stelmanis was well-known locally for her various projects — including a stint in Bruce Peninsula's choir — this was a first chance for most to see her Austra project in full force. Although those keeping an eye out had plenty of chances to see the band evolving from a "solo" project to a band, the news that Austra had signed to Domino Records and the unleashing of single "Beat and the Pulse" in the preceding couple weeks meant that there was suddenly a lot of buzz around the group and the expectation of something new.

The set, however, started with a moment that could have fit with her former musical incarnations, as Stelmanis emerged alone to take a seat behind the Music Gallery's grand piano. Lyrically though, it was almost like a manifesto, descriptive of what was about to come: "The morning I was born again / I was made into a beast". That complete, the rest of the band emerged while Stelmanis moved centre stage beside her keyboard. And as they launched into "Lose It", she revealed what sort of beast she had become.

All at once, there were lights flashing and beats pulsing and a massive amount of throbbing energy from the stage. Comparing this to the "Private Life" band of a year before is rather instructive — these are mostly the same players and mostly the same songs, but the sound and attitude are something else entirely. For one thing, the band's leader had become as emboldened as her music. I remember seeing Stelmanis a few times around the time her debut album Join Us came out. Especially vivid in my memory is seeing her open for Fucked Up, Hallowe'en '08 — in those days, playing mostly alone, even while pumping out her operatic tracks Stelmanis would often be up on stage in plaid and a trucker's hat, looking down at her keyboards, closed in on herself. Now, her look was totally different — bold, eyes on the crowd, with long hair unfurled and wearing check-me-out nylons with a long run down the left leg.

Her band were also visually striking, starting with the Tasseomancy twins (Romi and Sari Lightman) flanking her. Everyone was covered in glitter, even the shirtless Dorian Wolf on bass. The band was rather striking musically, as well, propelled by the thunderous force of Maya Postepski on drums and Ryan Wonsiak on synths tucked behind Stelmanis. And, at the centre of it all, that voice. When "Lose It" finished, such was the shock/impact that the crowd was silent for a second, breaking into applause only as the next track (b-side "Young and Gay") began.

It was one of those rare moments where I thought to myself, "oh — well, this could get rather big." It definitely crossed my mind that this might be my only chance to see the band this close up — never mind in a sit-down environment. "Beat and the Pulse"² — the only song from the band that was widely heard at this point — was greeted with loud cheers, but they were well-deserved, as the performance was totally convincing. In a final unexpected twist, the set closed with a dark-disco version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" — given the pervading sense of ominousness in the rest of the set, perhaps it was meant as a lighter touch for the the audience to go out on.

In taking her penchant for operatic pop and marrying it to dancefloor-friendly beats, Stelmanis has clearly given herself a bigger canvas to paint upon — something that a lot more people can "get" right off the bat that still allows her to deploy her striking talents. We spend a lot of time talking about artists "developing", and often it happens incrementally right in front of us, but it's rather satisfying to be there when something like this gels into something greater than the previous sum of its parts.³

Listen to a track from this set here.

After a final burst of MC'ing from Matt Cully, drawing winners in the day's raffles, the room was plunged into darkness as Taylor Kirk, flashlight in hand, made his way to the stage. He hung the flashlight on his mic stand, shining down on his pedals, but there was no other illumination at all. It was so dark in the sanctuary that cars passing outside cast moving brakelight streaks across the ceiling — bringing to mind childhood memories of being tucked into bed, waiting for a sliver of moonlight to provide some comfort from the night's un-namable terrors.

That would probably be about the right state of mind for a Timber Timbre gig, given Kirk's fondness for ooky-spooky evil couched in a bluesy vernacular. Having seen only his gear on stage I wasn't surprised that this was a solo set, but it is an unusual occurrence these days, as he normally performs as a trio with Simon Trottier and Mika Posen. "I haven't done this for a really long time like this, by myself," he confirmed near the start, noting it was now a somewhat discomforting experience to face the songs and the audience on his own.

After opening with "No Bold Villain" (from 2008's self-titled breakthrough), he focused on new material from the then-forthcoming (and awesomely-titled) Creep On Creepin' On, including the title track and "Bad Ritual". Playing with just his guitar, he did receive a boost from his pedals, allowing for a harmony effect on his voice in the choruses of "Black Water". "All I need is some sunshine," he sings in that song, albeit in the voice of someone who seems pretty clear that it's not forthcoming. Complementing the dark mood established by the sentiments like that, Kirk would occasionally take a pull from a skull-shaped bottle between songs. It was no surprise that he exhibited a macabre sense of humour to match:

Taylor Kirk: When I get cancer I want a festival just like this. [peering out into the crowd] Matt?

Matt Cully [from somewhere in the back]: I'm on it. [beat] Please don't get cancer.

TK: I think I'm gettin'... [gestures] I think I feel something.

MC: A sore throat is not cancer.

TK: [long pause] Cancer jokes are not funny. Forgive me. [beat] Neil would laugh.

That would serve as the lead-in to the death-obsessed "Demon Host". Closing out the main set, "Lay Down In The Tall Grass" led into "Under Your Spell" (from 2007's debut Medicinals), which ended with some wild stomping causing splattery amplifier echos. Called back for an encore, Kirk did one more old one, the thematically perfect "There is a Cure". After that, Matt Cully had only to come up to the stage and ask the crowd to give a round of applause for Neil to close out a pretty memorable night.⁴

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹There's no release date for Spectral Dusk yet, but I imagine we'll be hearing something once summer's warmth starts to fade. The band will be playing an evening show on the first day of the ALL CAPS! festival on Toronto Island, Saturday, August 13, 2011.

² In an album where four songs begin with the definite article, it always throws me off that this isn't one of them.

³ After a buzz-explosion festival appearance and an album-release show at Lee's, Austra's upward trajectory continues with a homecoming show at the Phoenix on Thursday, December 1, 2011. Tasseomancy, whose Ulalume album is coming out in August, will be doing double duty in opening the show.

⁴ Time, in this case, has allowed for more of a happy ending than the slightly-awkward cæsura at the moment of this show. Responding well to treatment, Neil Haverty has been able to rejoin his bandmates, who made a return to live duty at the NXNE festival. They'll be playing again on Thursday August 11, 2011 at the Lower Ossington Theatre as part of the SummerWorks festival, when they'll be previewing tracks from sophomore album Open Flames. After hanging in limbo for most of this year, word is that it will be coming out on October 4th, 2011 — and following a tour there'll be a proper local release show for it on October 27th, 2011 at Lee’s Palace. Go and see the bands you love while they're still with us, and give them a fond hug while you have a chance — none of us can take our tomorrows for granted.