CMW 2009 Report Card: The Good, The Bad, and The Boring
Another year, another 500+ bands, another week of intense TTC-battling getting from gig-to-gig and I am officially exhausted. It was a fruitful festival for me -- and hopefully for you, too! -- so let's rundown the bands worth noting (and the ones worth forgetting) in the upcoming year.
THE LOVELY FEATHERS – HORSESHOE TAVERN – THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH
Where have they been? Several years ago they topped Chartattack’s Top 10 list for NXNE 2005, but they’ve been laying low as of late. Toronto has not forgotten the pop sprites, though, as their 8pm (early for the festival) set on Queen West was easily three-quarters full. Bound to make a splash in 2009 if they get that next album of theirs out by summertime as they promised.
GRADE: 85%
THE RIVER PHOENIX – CENTRAL BAR – THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH
Central Bar on Markham Street became the North American debut show for Denmark’s The River Phoenix. Despite being restricted by a narrow, cramped stage, the quintet cranked out their British-epic-influenced pop rock, frontmant Kristian Kristensen hailing the stars and smallish audience with one guitar-pick-weilding hand. Dramatic and energetic, but not quite ready for the big leagues.
GRADE: 70%
THE NOVAKS – LEE’S PALACE – THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH
I have waited almost four years for this Newfoundland powerhouse to play live, and they have lived up to every expectation I have been envisioning. Tighter than your brother’s spandex jogging shorts in the 80’s, the trio exploded the roof off Lee’s by introducing all-new material before playing favourite songs from their debut album.
A mix of 60’s garage rock grit and classic pop sensibilities, The Novaks won over the room with their non-chalant Martime charm. Their 2nd LP is due sometime in 2009, but if we’re lucky it will be sooner rather than later, and these St. Johns boys will be back in T.O. before long.
GRADE: 100%
CHAD VANGAALEN – HORSESHOE TAVERN – THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH
He’s a perennial Toronto favourite, so it was no surprise to find the ‘Shoe packed for his 11pm set. Sporting an “Eric’s Trip” tee (now defunct 90’s pop outfit from New Brunswick), VanGaalen was flanked by a full band, proving he is to Alberta what Joel Plaskett is to Nova Scotia with his natural charisma. Faithful fans chanted “One More Song!” well after VanGaalen had finished, ignoring the fruitlessness of such an action in a festival setting.
GRADE: 85%
QUEST FOR FIRE – HORSESHOE TAVERN – THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH
My photos of this band never do them justice as Quest For Fire (herein, “Q4F”) are a band of experiments with sound rather than visuals. You can’t understand the gravity of their shows unless you’ve been there. Hypnotic and encompassing, the Toronto trio provided a cocktail of 70’s epic rock, 90’s stoner rock, early 00’s trance-scapes, and raw magnetism.
GRADE: 90%
BILLY THE KID – RIVOLI – FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH
Former frontwoman for Vancouver punk group Billy and The Lost Boys, Billy Pettinger is coming into her own as a confident singer-songwriter and solo artist. Last year saw the release of her full-length debut, “The Lost Cause” (produced by Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida), a stylish and soulful “Urban Cowgirl” style of folk-rock. Don’t let the colourful tattoos fool you; Pettinger is the real deal – She hypnotized the stiff suits at the Rivoli.
GRADE: 90%
TOM COCHRANE – MOD CLUB – FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH
What can be said about Mr. “Life-Is-A-Highway”? He still has the chops and the vocals. His appearance at the Sirius Songwriter’s Café was packed with fans of all ages (all of whom knew every lyric), and his wrinkles are only there to show how many times he’s gone back-and-forth across this wide country.
GRADE: 80%
RANDY BACHMAN – MOD CLUB – FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH
Mr. Bachman was a last-minute replacement for Burton Cumming’s numerous appearances at CMW, including this set at the Songwriter’s Café. He is less ample physically than he was in past years, but is no less ample in voice and brightness. Hearing him tell the stories behind some of the biggest Guess Who and BTO hit singles was just as entertaining and gratifying as hearing the man himself sing the songs acoustically a mere 4 meters from me.
GRADE: 90%
INCURA – RIVOLI – FRIDAY, MARCH 13th
They call themselves “Metal/Progressive/Rock”, according to their Myspace, but I call them boring. Vancouver’s Incura have rabid fans (at least half a dozen individuals there actually flew out from BC for the CMW set), but the most interesting part of their show for me was watching the drunk wanna-be-B-Boy attempt a very sloppy headspin and destroy several beer bottles at the front of the stage (Go, Stupidity!).
GRADE: 60%
CHRIS CADDELL – RIVOLI – FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH
He looks like Jimi Hendrix; he sounds like Ben Harper. If I wasn’t so tired, I would have stayed for his whole set. Caddell’s roots-rock outfit was a treat after Incura. There is no posing and no costumes to cover up lack of talent. Caddell has it in spades and he’s not afraid to show it.
GRADE: 85%
WE SEE LIGHTS – BREAD & CIRCUS – SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH
AWWWWW!!! Scotland should be so damn proud to have given birth to Adora-pop darlings We See Lights. Most UK bands will hide or smooth out their accents (often to make themselves sound more like London-ites), but WSL are proud of their heritage and it adds an entirely new, interesting layer to their songs. Glokenspiels, bells, keyboards and light guitars bring out the shape of the melody, but it is the vocal harmony that truly shines.
GRADE: 80%
SOFIA LATVIK – BREAD & CIRCUS – SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH
I get the impression she’s very popular in her home country of Sweden, but Ms. Latvik seems to be mostly a pretty package that's lacking in substance. The blonde beauty has extremely simple folk-pop songs that she actually can play (ie. She actually uses her guitar, not just owns it), but close your eyes and her voice is thin and lacking in expression and warmth.
GRADE: 65%
LIBRARY VOICES – EL MOCAMBO – SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH
My new favourite pop pleasure, LV boasted only (!) 9 members at their Saturday set, but the musical veterans had the crowd on their feet and at the lip of the stage by the end of their second song. Although only forming a year ago, the members of this Regina group have been playing and performing for at least a decade in their own respective bands and groups. They have an intuitive sense for rhythm and melody that plays out like a single organism onstage. Spin magazine are already calling them an “Undiscovered Band You Need To Hear Now”, and I call them The Next Big Canadian Thing.
GRADE: 100%
SIGHTS & SOUNDS – SNEAKY DEE’S – SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH
Two brothers, two friends, one city, and a whole lot of musical tension was the beginning of Sights&Sounds. Winnipeg’s “sensitive” hardcore quartet features members of Comeback Kid, Sick City, The Getaway, and Figure Four, and their live show is just as cinematic as it is ear-splitting. Vocalist Andrew Neufeld has a penchant for violently screamed poetry and the crowd was having nothing but the best of them that night. Sights & Sounds are set to release their first full-length album (after 2007’s S/T EP) early in 2009.
GRADE: 90%
THE HOLLY SPRINGS DISASTER – SNEAKY DEE’S – SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH
Don’t blink or you’ll miss them! They crawl like a sleazy stalker, thrash like a punk on speed, and grind like the evilest of Norwegian metal, but Moose Jaw’s (yes, another Saskatchewan act!) Holly Springs Disaster (herein, HSD) are their own breed of metal-math-core. Fans were foaming at the mouth as HSD took the stage to play not only all our favourites off 2007’s “Motion Sickness Love”, but also a handful of new tunes from their upcoming sophomore release on Underground Operations. I never miss these kids when they come through town. They’re always worth at least twice what I pay at the door.
GRADE: 95%
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