Recording: Pantayo

Artist: Pantayo

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 3), February 14, 2016.

Pantayo - unknown

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The Sunday-night pre-holiday show is usually the most Wavelength-y of nights, but this time out it felt a bit like the hangover from the preceding Saturday night party. A little less energy and it felt as if the festival eased to a gentle halt rather than finishing with a flash — but there were still some musical gems on the way there. On the whole, another successful festival, and kudos are due to the Wavelength crew for their savvy curation and the efforts made at building a more gender-balanced, diverse festival.

The night's openers were my fave set of the evening. I've already heaped enough superlatives on this local kulintang crew, so I'll just let the music — with some cool with call-and-response riffs — speak here.

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

Recording: Duchess Says

Artist: Duchess Says

Song: Narcisse

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2), February 13, 2016.

Duchess Says - Narcisse

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The festival's middle night saw the most rock action and the biggest crowd, packed in on a cold night to get sweaty. Some of the members of this long-running dance-punk unit have recently been focusing on Montréal side-project supergroup PyPy, but there wasn't any rust as they electrified the crowd to close out this night, sounding like a disreputable party that'd broken out after an explosion in a lab that was trying to crossbreed "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" with "Rabies (Baby's Got The)". Vocalist Annie-Claude Deschênes provided plenty of entertainment, leaning forward to get in the crowd's face before simply directing the audience to clear one section of the dancefloor for her to come down and take over. The favour'd later be returned with a dance-party crowd invasion on stage — a well-rehearsed series of gestures that still managed to work the room up into a frenzy.

Recording: Soupcans

Artist: Soupcans

Song: Nice Nife

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2), February 13, 2016.

Soupcans - Nice Nife

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The festival's middle night saw the most rock action and the biggest crowd, packed in on a cold night to get sweaty. Soupcans are well known for their vibe — spasmodic noisebursts and a sense of creeping menace — but this set was noteworthy for being one of the best sounding 'Cans outings I can remember. Perhaps still laser-focused with the recent Soft Party out of their systems — or maybe there's something in the water.

Recording: Beliefs

Artist: Beliefs

Song: Ghosts

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2), February 13, 2016.

Beliefs - Ghosts

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The festival's middle night saw the most rock action and the biggest crowd, packed in on a cold night to get sweaty. It's been a little while since I saw Beliefs — not since their sophomore Leaper album had dropped, consolidating some of the new songs that had been building up in their setlist for a while now. This time out, there were a couple familiar faces on stage stepping into the band, including Vallens' Robyn Phillips on guit and Fake Palms' Michael Le Riche on bass, supporting mainstays Jesse Crowe and Josh Korody. As always, though, there was a padded wall of glorious guitar sounds.

Recording: Partner

Artist: Partner

Songs: Hot Knives + Creature in the Sun

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2), February 13, 2016.

Partner - Hot Knives

Partner - Creature in the Sun

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The festival's middle night saw the most rock action and the biggest crowd, packed in on a cold night to get sweaty. After their afternoon acoustic set, Lucy Niles and Josée Caron were rejoined by their rhythm section to rock out in convincing style. Mixing Green Day-ish punk with Weezer-ish popcraft (and a bit of Team Dresch's desire-dramas) this was an enormously fun ride. Except for a slight overindulgence with an unnecessary vocal effect, this was pretty much spot-on and one of the highlights of the festival.

Recording: Versa

Artist: Versa

Song: V^*

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2), February 13, 2016.

Versa - V

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The festival's middle night saw the most rock action and the biggest crowd, packed in on a cold night to get sweaty. As much an art project as a band, Versa deploys Alex Ricci's bass grooves to physically vibrate Monika Hauck's water tank, which shimmers and creates patterns as she adds paint drops. The whole process is projected behind the band as visual accompaniment, and at its conclusion, each song is distilled into a unique art print.

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

Recording: Foxes In Fiction

Artist: Foxes In Fiction

Song: March 2011

Recorded at Markham House: City Building Lab (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2), February 13, 2016.

Foxes In Fiction - March 2011

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The lone excursion away from The Garrison came with this afternoon all-ages show in Markham Village — a cozy up-close-and-personal affair that offered a chance to sit on the floor and listen. The field trip vibe was completed with a school bus ride that shuttled attendees away to the evening show. As the afternoon ran out and daylight waned, the room became dark enough to deploy General Chaos' swirling projections, a perfect accompaniment to Warren Hildebrand's slowly-unfurling bedroom pop. This set opener includes an extended instrumental build at the beginning, a perfect bridge into Hildebrand's meticulously-constructed and assuredly-unhurried soundworld.

Recording: Merganzer

Artist: Merganzer

Song: Songs Without Words

Recorded at Markham House: City Building Lab (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2), February 13, 2016.

Merganzer - Songs Without Words

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The lone excursion away from The Garrison came with this afternoon all-ages show in Markham Village — a cozy up-close-and-personal affair that offered a chance to sit on the floor and listen. The field trip vibe was completed with a school bus ride that shuttled attendees away to the evening show. Since the last time I saw Mika Posen presenting her solo songs she has been joined by Katie Hurdon on keyb and vox. A key addition as their voices blended effortlessly and beautifully, adding even more depth to Posen's chamber-pop pieces, occasionally held together by ghostly fragments of looped violin. (And also, since the last time I saw Posen playing, these songs have been released as an album.)

Recording: Steven Lambke

Artist: Steven Lambke

Song: Hummingbird

Recorded at Markham House: City Building Lab (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2), February 13, 2016.

Steven Lambke - Hummingbird

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The lone excursion away from The Garrison came with this afternoon all-ages show in Markham Village — a cozy up-close-and-personal affair that offered a chance to sit on the floor and listen. The field trip vibe was completed with a school bus ride that shuttled attendees away to the evening show. Like a Baby Eagle leaving the nest, Steven Lambke's recent album manifested under his given name. The delicately-hushed approach is the same, however, leading to the afternoon's quietest set, played to an attentive audience that settled in on the floor. For a good chunk of the set Lambke was joined by The Weather Station's Tamara Lindeman, giving them a chance to re-visit some of their duets. And on this one, Mika Posen (who'd play her own set right after) adds some violin as well.

Recording: Partner

Artist: Partner

Song: Let The Chips Fall Where They May [acoustic version]

Recorded at Markham House: City Building Lab (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2), February 13, 2016.

Partner - Let The Chips Fall Where They May

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The lone excursion away from The Garrison came with this afternoon all-ages show in Markham Village — a cozy up-close-and-personal affair that offered a chance to sit on the floor and listen. The field trip vibe was completed with a school bus ride that shuttled attendees away to the evening show. This Sackville duo, still riding the hype of their recent viral video, supplemented their main evening set with this acoustic amuse-bouche. Working as much as a slacker comedy tag-team, Lucy Niles and Josée Caron punctuated their songs with oodles of personality. There'd be more "shred" in the mix later in the day, but stripping the songs back revealed hints of Veruca Salt and a soupçon of Plumtree.

Recording: FOXTROTT

Artist: FOXTROTT

Song: Beyond Our Means

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1), February 12, 2016.

FOXTROTT - Beyond Our Means

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. Montréal's Marie-Helene Delorme issued her A Taller Us album in the prestigious One Little Indian label last year. Live, the project manifested as a somewhat-unconventional trio, with Delorme backed by a drummer and french horn player, hashing out as dance-pop delivered with an intensity similar to Austra's Katie Stelmanis.

Recording: Calvin Love

Artist: Calvin Love

Song: Creepin

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1), February 12, 2016.

Calvin Love - Creepin

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. Sporting silver designs on his cheeks (looking, coincidentally, like Wavelength-celebrating W's), Edmonton's Calvin Love and band looked to be settled into a road-tested groove, rockin' up a series of cuts from last year's Super Future.

Recording: Keita Juma

Artist: Keita Juma

Song: GRILL$

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1), February 12, 2016.

Keita Juma - GRILL$

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. It's always a good sign when an artist's strongest live material is the newest stuff and at this show, the tracks from the recent Nights In Space were particularly sizzling. Equally adept at creating excellent beats and holding an audience in the palm of his hand, KJ remains the local rapper that I'm most excited to see live. This was the most energizing set of the night and one of the weekend's best.

Recording: Blunt Chunks

Artist: Blunt Chunks

Song: Waste of the Sea

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1), February 12, 2016.

Blunt Chunks - Waste of the Sea

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The work from Caitlin Woelfle O'Brien's solo project that I've featured here so far has mostly focused on her experimental/ambient side, but her work in building abstract vocal sculptures is matched by her work as a songwriter. This track shows how she balances the two, with the lovely song melting away at its coda into something more ethereal. Added to the festival as a last-minute replacement, this set showed an artist who is getting stronger on stage, sharing her musical language with increasing confidence.

Recording: Organ Mood

Artist: Organ Mood

Song: Expérience cybernétique des signes de la main

Recorded at The Garrison (Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1), February 12, 2016.

Organ Mood - Expérience cybernétique des signes de la main

Wavelength's sixteenth anniversary festival was a little less adventurous than last year's sesquidecade spectacular. For the first time in recent memory, the festival settled into one home base for three nights (along with one daytime excursion off-site) and the programming eschewed retrospective turns for a future-focused weekend, daring audiences to invest in the musical here-and-now. The opening night was cleverly-constructed in its use of the space, at first pulling everyone in to the centre of the room before letting it fill into the usual crowd/stage layout. Organ Mood (Montréalers Christophe Lamarche and Mathieu Jacques) hung a large ceiling-to-floor screen in front of the stage and set up shop in the middle of the room, mixing old-school overhead projector-based visuals with electronic tracks enhanced by a series of interactive elements (including sampling an audience member's heartbeat and playing a duet with a volunteer from the crowd on a custom instrument/MIDI controller). The result was a sort of homespun spectacle, giving a DIY Jean Michel Jarre vibe.