Recording: Santa Guerrilla

Artist: Santa Guerrilla

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Drake Underground, December 9, 2010.

Santa Guerrilla - unknown

My notes for this set can be found here.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Gig: Hooded Fang

Hooded Fang (Santa Guerrilla / Doldrums)

The Drake Underground. Thursday, December 9, 2010.

Sometimes the smaller details can be the most telling. As advocates of a hands-on DIY approach to art, it wasn't too surprising to note that the ticket for Hooded Fang's album release show wasn't your standard ducat. Instead, the band had used old baseball cards¹, with an attached sticker giving the usual details. Clearly, the band was making an effort to create a special night.

That impression would be bolstered on seeing the elaborate stage backdrop the band had put together, playing further on the album's Honest Ed's-styled Doug Kerr artwork and adding several figures by graffiti artist Elicser. As the room filled up, the DJ's pumped out a mix of 90's vintage boom-bap. I smiled to myself — how often do I hear a hip-hop mix where I know all the songs? All told, it was a livelier vibe than the last time I had seen Hooded Fang in these digs.

There was an interesting line-up for the show, too. Rather than worrying about finding bands with a complementary sound, the openers were kindred DIY spirits. And, more directly, one could trace the origins of this bill back to the DAPS All Ages shows that HF members April Aliermo and Daniel Lee have been putting together, where both openers had previously appeared.

The first of those was Airick Woodhead's Doldrums project, a swirling one-man mix of knob-twisting experimental pop. Having crossed paths with Doldrums a few times already, I sort of knew what to expect — but also figured that this set would run counter to my expectations, as Woodhead's vision tends to become subject to new tangents every time it seems to be coming into focus. Here, as he took the stage, I wasn't sure when the looped and layered vocals — the main ingredient in the mix here — actually coalesced into a "song". And once it did, it was hard to tell where one thing ended and the next began, with a constantly morphing sonic backdrop that would segue from one vibe to the next. Whispy layers of gauzy vox would suddenly give way to beatz and zworping synths.

I have no doubt that this chopped-pop is a little bit self-indulgent, and certainly some of the "songs" didn't quite gel. And on this night, Woodhead seemed a bit more interested the slo-jamz, which can be less engaging than some his more animated stuff. But having seen this develop over the course of the year, I'm stuck with the notion that there is a vision behind it all. There are a few places where it doesn't quite work, but I think of Woodhead as aiming for a higher slugging percentage instead of a safe batting average.

Though Woodhead's hazy pop deconstructions were received with polite-but-restrained applause, there was at least the sense that it was on the same general wavelength of the crowd at hand. That wasn't as much the case for Santa Guerrilla, whose ultimate sonic destination is a hip-hop informed funky flow, even if it gets there by less-familiar means. The most immediately striking thing about the band is their use of kulintang gongs, native to the Philippines.² Most of the eight members rotated around, taking on different percussive roles to go along with the drums and Alexander The (also of Times Neue Roman) on keyb.

His gear was a bit balky at the start of the set, and while he tested his connections, the rest of the band to eased into the set, vamping until it got fixed. Better than just standing around staring at the crowd, but it was less attention-grabbing than a bold, kick-ass opening would have been. That gave the semi-curious in the crowd a bit more licence to lose focus, and it never really felt like the band "had" the room as much as they could have.

That said, once they got rolling, I was enjoying this a lot. Although the music all comes from one place, they're exploring a nice range within it, from some more atmospheric stuff to tasty pop. Plus, the quick set ended with "Ang Musica", which remains pretty damn fantastic. Perhaps because it was at a bit of an angle to Hooded Fang's more straight-ahead fare, some of the crowd seemed unsure of how to take this, but I remain convinced that this crew are really on to something.³

Listen to a track from this set here.

Hooded Fang's music has its share of intriguing tensions — not only between the restrained nature of the lead vocals from Daniel Lee (and sometimes Lorna Wright) and the bouncy rhythms of the music, but also in how the lyrics are often far less sunny than the upbeat musical settings would suggest. But of course, with the immediate appeal to sing along and/or dance, you never have to think about any of this. And on this night, the band was doing all the could to bolster their zazz, with all seven members wearing silver trim. And in addition to their striking stage decoration (which could have passed as a backdrop for one of the musical theatre productions that member Nick Hune writes tunes for) there were also 8mm projections by Craig Orrett.

Lots going on for an enthusiastic, hooting crowd out to celebrate the album. Unfortunately, it was also a rather yappy crowd as well, but the chatterers couldn't overpower the songs, starting with "Laughing". The band was busily celebrating the album, but also dipped back to their debut EP for the catchy "Circles n Blocks".

There were extra strings from Mika Posen (of Timber Timbre) and Anissa Hart (of Ohbijou) for an excellent "Mutant Bear", which was a slow-dance partner with "The Pageant". That was a mid-set breather before things got even more extravagent. During an extended "Green River" three space aliens in funky toxic waste suits appeared at the back of the room to bust some moves. They shimmied up through the crowd, tossing glitter along the way, to make their way up to the stage. As the song ended, one crowd-surfed back to the far end of the room. Quite the spectacle!

The band closed out the main set with "Love Song", but quickly returned for an encore, playing the newer "Almost Done" before going out with a couple of their oldest songs ("Land of Giants" and "Fall Leaves"). On the home stretch the band got pretty loose and celebratory, going out with a big clapalong. That would make for an hour-long set, consisting of almost everything in the band's catalogue — and indeed, the whole of the album save one song would get an airing.

So a good night all around, and a worthy celebration to send Hooded Fang's Album into the world.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ My ticket was a '91 Craig Grebeck card. Though best remembered in these parts as a respectable utility infielder with the late '90's Blue Jays, on the card the youthful Grebek, in White Sox duds, seems to be looking forward to a bright future, on the cusp of a rookie season where he'd put up a 136 OPS+ in part-time action.

² I was amused to note that the large gongs were hanging from what was, in fact, a portable coat rack — a tidy home-made solution to the problem of getting them on and off the stage expeditiously.

³ For those that would like to investigate further, the band now has a mixtape for sale in their bandcamp page.

Recording: Santa Guerrilla

Artist: Santa Guerrilla

Song: Ang Musica^*

Recorded at Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture — Daps All-Ages Concert Vol. IV, January 16, 2010.

Santa Guerrilla - Ang Musica

My notes for this set can be found here.

^* Thanks to Romeo for passing along the title to this one.

Gig: Daps All-Ages Concert Vol. IV

Daps All-Ages Concert Vol. IV (feat. Ruzan Orkestar, Sean Nicholas Savage, The Miles, Santa Guerrilla, Casey Mecija)

Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture. Saturday, January 16, 2010.

All praise to the Daps Duo! Dan and April of Hooded Fang have a nice sideline in inclusive, fun matinées presenting bands across a range of genres. With the shuttering of Rolly's Garage, their spiritual home base, the latest show landed in Kensington Market, in the friendly basement confines of the Kapisanan Philippine Centre. A long, narrow room, low-ceilinged, with the bands set up on a low stage at the far end. Back by the entrance, there was a merch table and hot chocolate for sale, and the long walls were covered with drawing paper, encouraging all comers to add their marks. A nice crowd on hand, mostly younger, but pretty much all Good Attendees, dancing when called for and quiet and attentive when that was required.¹

"Hi Everyone... we're Ruzan Orkestar, and this is our last show ever," announced Patricia Auchterlonie at the start of their set — is a bit of a bummer, as far as introductions to bands go. Don't get too attached and all that. On the other hand, the understated melancholy of that greeting nicely set up their first piece of music, a Dirty Three-esque violin-led dirge rather appropriately entitled "Elegy". The band's stock-in-trade was Godspeed-like instrumentals, and perhaps the stuff here wasn't breaking new ground in that regard, but the band showed talent in their compositions. "Stay Golden, Pony Boy", with Egin Kongoli's shouty vocals, was a bit of a departure — feeling a bit like Slint atavistically lurching back into Squirrel Bait — and in this context a little bit jarring compared to the music around it. Auchterlonie's wordless vocalisations on "Emmett's Blood" were a better fit.

Featuring a fill-in drummer stepping in for his departed predecessor, it was clear that this band was a learning experience for all involved right up to the end, and though it seems this project has run its course, it looks like we'll be seeing more from some of the members again in new capacities. The band were selling a two CD-R set of their complete recordings after the show and I picked one up, so I guess they'll now be in the "gone, but not forgotten" drawer.

The band has a link to a download of their set at their myspace, or you could listen to a track from my recording here.

Playing an old acoustic twelve-string, Montréal's Sean Nicholas Savage vamped a bit and sang a few taroola-lays while waiting to see if the sound guy could throw some reverb on his voice.² Proceeding without, he started to sing in an utterly non-rock'n'roll manner, all high and quavery — sort of like a twee, folksy Roy Orbison. Playing ten songs over a half hour, not all of the selections were winners, but it was pleasingly refreshing stuff from a distinctive voice. In fact, I'd say this was the sort of set that grew on me more after the fact, so I wouldn't object to further exposure.

Listen to a track from this set here.

When I saw The Miles last spring, I was impressed: "like a boys' varsity B-52's" was my summary. A second time round, they remain impressive — and, if anything, tighter and more confident than previously. Looking like private school boys toying with the notion of running away to join the rock'n'roll circus, perhaps some of my admiration stems from the fact that a younger me would have been totally thrilled by/jealous of them, what with their looking bookish but not nerdy, and able to, like, impress girls with their rock moves. Their new wave surf party tunes (mostly about being interested in/tired of girls) aren't yet winning any nobel prizes for originality, but they're delivered with such groovy gusto that that just doesn't matter. Delivering some of the highlights from their album³, including "Stingray", "Trash" and the incredibly hummable/danceable "Can I Speak to Shawna?", these lads continue to leave a tasty impression.

Linking up the location and the music, Santa Guerrilla — the resident music collective at the Kapisanan Centre, with the members rotating to learn all of the instruments — brought the Pinoy vibe. There was a familiar face on the stage in the form of Alexander The, who has previously shown his pop skills in Times Neue Roman. Here he added Korg-y keyb sweetening to the to percussion-based ensemble. Rocking the kulintang (racked gong chime) and agung (large gong), the sounds blended well into a hip-hop sensibility, with the crew adding rhymes to the traditional sounds. Totally unexpected and highly delightful — this is music that deserves to be heard beyond the walls of the Philippine Cultural Centre.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Casey Mecija has apparently been working on her one-woman-band skills, bringing along a small kickdrum/cymbal combo to accompany herself. And for additional safety in numbers, she was joined by her sister Jenny and Anissa Hart on strings — a configuration that was pleasingly intimate without sounding sparse. We had a chance to hear stories about incentives at childhood recitals (a trip to Wendy's, or Arby's if things went really well) along with some lovely new tunes that will possibly be surfacing on the next Ohbijou album.

Leading off with a lovely cover of Nathan Lawr's "Barking At Your Door", the set included a couple old favourites — "Black Ice", plus a version of "The Otherside" where, in the overlapping vocal section at the end, Casey was so caught up in listening to Jenny's part they ended up harmonizing the same lines with each other instead of alternating them. "I honestly thought your voice was my voice," Casey laughed at the end. "No Arby's!" someone in the audience shouted back. The crowd, mostly sitting on the floor, was raptly quiet, right up to the final selection, a very pretty love song ("true one / we've only begun") that Casey played solo. A fine capper to the afternoon.

Listen to a track from this set here.

And then, out at about quarter after six, time a-plenty yet to enjoy the evening. A very well-organized day and smartly put together. You'd be well advised to keep your eyes open for the date for Volume V.⁴

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¹ It's nice to have a reminder that it's not young people, per se, that are ill-mannered distractions at shows. It's the booze that's the problem, really, when folks hit that age of majority and suddenly have licence to go out and drink and be loud and inconsiderate, because — and I can certainly identify with this some — it's generally assumed that the booze makes other people loud and inconsiderate, but it makes me fun and as charming as anything.

Thinking more about this, I also wonder if attentive, sober underagers become loud, talky bar patrons just because, on the whole, shows in bars are way less interesting than shows like this. If I had been lucky enough to have grown up on a diet of extraordinarily cool all-ages shows before I was old enough to drink, I would have found the transition to dark and oft-dire clubs to be as depressing as hell.

² Savage's music gave the impression that he was utterly mis-named. Perhaps "Cardigan" or "Bramble" would serve as truth-in-advertising surnames, though I guess that might be a bit too obvious.

³ Their album's title, Blood on My Blazer, contributes to their Max Fischer-esque image, and comes in a nifty hand-made package with the CD backed against a silkscreened old 7" single — mine is a Philles Records pressing of "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers. Quite nifty.

⁴ Word on the street is you should keep March 27 April 10 open in that regard.