Thursday, July 21, 2016

Recording: Doomsquad and Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Artist: Doomsquad and Not The Wind, Not The Flag

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Prairie Drive Park (Feast in the East 58), July 9, 2016.

Doomsquad and Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [excerpt 1]

Doomsquad and Not The Wind, Not The Flag - [excerpt 2]

A beautiful day out in Scarborough. Thanks to Toronto Arts Foundation's Arts in The Parks, Feast In The East received the resources to host this free event which brought art, food and music to the rolling hills of Prairie Drive Park. By offering a free meal and inviting park patrons of all ages to explore and interact with the installations, this felt like a most gracious imposition on the normal order of the park, which is obviously well-loved and well-used by inhabitants of the neighbouring highrises — a sharing of the space instead of a culture blitz from outside. An excellent day out, this had a mellow and friendly vibe. Toronto needs so much more of this: having "culture" dispersed more widely throughout this sprawling city, giving locals a chance to see something that might not normally happen in their neighbourhood while giving seekers a chance to hang out in hitherto-unexplored pockets. It makes the city feel bigger and more cozy all at once.

As night fell, some of the kids and families drifted away, and the park shifted into a zone of amiable nocturnal prowling, energized by the dance-groove from this joint set. When I previously saw Brandon Valdivia and Colin Fisher playing with Doomsquad they were a bit more in the mode of supporting players — here it felt like a more even-handed collaboration. It also had a different vibe, exchanging gallery goth-darkness for outdoor get-free optimism. Joy vibes aplenty, and by the time Lido Pimienta joined in at the end, the sky couldn't hold off any longer, letting loose a spiritual sprinkling that turned into a torrent as the band finished off.

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