Recording: Wax Mannequin

Artist: Wax Mannequin

Song: The Quickening

Recorded at Christie Pits Park (Bloor Ossington Folk Festival – Day 2), September 18, 2016.

Wax Mannequin - The Quickening

Unsurprisingly, the fine sunny weather accompanying the festival's final day had the park feeling much more lively and animated with dog-walkers and playground patrons. The tent was also a lot busier from the get-go and as the warm sun held overhead, the rise of the hill beyond was soon filling as well. There was more of a poignant sad undertone to the day, with organizers, bands and audience members all dwelling a little more on the idea that this was the end of the line for the festival. But, as always, the music was a balm and a call to enjoy these moments while they last.

When I last saw Chris Adeney playing about five years ago, he was enhancing his folk-ish songs with some laptop beats to somewhat unsatisfying results. This time around, he just brought his guitar and his deadpan stories and that worked much better. Getting chatty and interactive with the crowd, he wasn't afraid to kick things up to absurdly goofy levels, such as in an extended song about basketball (that reminded the listener that basketball is, in fact, a good game to play when you want to win a trophy) as the balloons he'd tossed out were batted around and kept from touching the ground — a trick normally done in dank bars that worked quite well with the toddler contingent in the crowd.