Old World Vulture (Ostrich Tuning / Epigram)
The Boat. Thursday, February 10, 2011.
It'd been a while since I'd been out to The Boat in Kensington Market — word on the street was that it had closed down for a little while — but its comforting dankness seemed the same as it ever was. It was too cold a night to putter around before heading to the show, so I arrived in the early going. In the empty-ish room, a scratchy copy of Alien Lanes was on the turntable and Keith Hamilton, in a Phaneuf jersey, was in the back corner, thinkin' for himself and watching the Leafs.
Soon enough Epigram were stirring and getting ready to play. From what I gathered, they were the ones who had put the night together, brought along the drumkit and had even put up a table for Second Harvest to try and get some twonies from those in attendance. When they got going, they started off with what I remembered most about the band — a glide-y sound with plenty of e-bow. Mostly playing tracks from sophomore album Reverie, the first two songs, each about five minutes long, were of a piece with what I had seem 'em do before. The spaciousness of the quiet interludes is my favourite thing about the band, and I dig how they can shimmer and coast along without always relying on a big explosion.
Not that there wasn't some sonic expansiveness. The band mixed things up by bringing up Trevor Townsend on extra percussion. His shaker and glockenspiel added a nice touch to the next song. And for an interesting sort of gravitas, the following one began with the band playing over some sampled dialogue of Del and Neal's hotel-room argument from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, bringing into play a large marching-band type drum on the stage. Enjoyable stuff, and good to see the band expanding their bag of tricks.
Listen to a song from this set here.
Although also playing instrumental music, Old World Vulture don't bring such a post-rock angle. With fewer quiet parts, they deal less in subtle, shifting dynamics, aiming instead for more of a sleeker sound. Devin Hughes' keyboards are the main melodic voice here, with Mike Costanzo (guit) and Anthony Perri (bass) providing texture or thrust as required.
The band played some songs from an album they were then in the process of recording1 including new songs like "You're Exotic" and "Last Kicks of a Dying Horse", the latter offering some pretty tasty shifts. Aggressive without being too monolithic, the band brought volume and a smoke machine. And also a variety of musical imperatives underlying the songs — one actually had a good beat you could dance to. Even when Hughes' keyb got a bit balky mid-set, the band kept pushing forward. Overall, a good time.
Listen to a song from this set here.
In the minor-est of minor observations, I'd note that it's not too often that you get two bands whose names start with "O" on the same bill. Ostrich Tuning were, name synchronicity aside, an interesting fit in this lineup. They can stretch out instrumentally as much of the other two bands that played, but no matter how far they push their excursions, they still come back to a "song" sensibility, with vocals and hooks and all those accoutrements. It also just so happens that they're in the upper tier of the city's bands, even if their occasionally drone-y propensities might not be something for everyone's taste.
The early part of the set included stuff from their self-titled debut album, which is a cracker of a disc, well worth chasing down. The unseasonal instrumental fanfare "We Like Summer" led into the catchy "Gender Trouble/Bodies That Matter". Masters of slowburning hazy drift, Ostrich Tuning's songs tend to segue in and out of each other, and "Bodies That Matter" — part of a three-song suite on the album — faded into another song, then returned for a mutated reprise. The band alternates lead vocals along with instrumental roles, but the vox tend to stay pretty low in the mix — another reason you can't be sure when one song has melted into another. At its best, the band's music can go from simmer to boil in subtle gradations — you're getting pleasantly mellowed out until suddenly you realize your face is melting.
Amongst the seven-ish songs (again, a bit hard to count) in a forty-five minute span there was also a newer one with an uptempo, Sonic Youth-y rhythm. But even that stretched out a bit — Ostrich Tuning aren't ever in too much of a rush. On the whole, excellent stuff.2
Listen to a song from this set here.
1 A recent dispatch from the band notes that the album is now being mastered, so keep an eye out for it soon.
2 Ostrich Tuning will be playing tomorrow (Thursday, August 25, 2011) at The Boat, kicking off the weekend-long Optical Sounds/Hoa Hoa's celebration. Not to be missed.
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