This year’s CMW programming was lacklustre and unfocused, but you wouldn’t know that from our glowing reviews. Turns out we’re pretty good at finding gold in a mountain of mediocrity (or maybe they’re lacing writers’ beer with Xanax).
With the exception of a few big-ticket American acts, most of our favourites were Canadian. That’s as much a comment on how uninspiring most of the headliners were as it is on the strength of our homegrown scene.
And once again, the rain-drenched festival-goers we ran into were as confused about whether to call the thing CMW or CMF as we were. Judging from the poll we ran online, the organizers still have a long way to go in rebranding the music fest portion.
Wednesday, March 9
MOTHER MOTHER at the Phoenix Rating: NNN
Stepping onstage to a roaring ovation, Vancouver’s Mother Mother wasted no time getting fans on side at the sold-out Phoenix. Jaunty frontman Ryan Guldemond and his harmonic counterpoint/sister, Molly, launched into the snappy 2008 singles O My Heart and Hayloft. Hitting the crowd with two of their best-known tunes created plenty of energy early on, but then the show hit a lull, especially since songs from their impending Eureka have yet to soak in. Still, a strutting new tune called The Stand picked up the pace near the end.
JASON KELLER
BIRDS OF TOKYO at the Phoenix Rating: NN
Despite considerable success in their native Australia, Birds of Tokyo don’t seem poised to take flight over our shores. Their plodding mid-tempo rock sound is about as visceral as Keane, Razorlight or any of those other unthreatening British indie bands. The crowd indulged BOT with smatterings of polite applause, but no one raced to the merch table once the Aussies howled their last hard-driving dirge.
JK
Thursday, March 10
YOUNG EMPIRES at the Great Hall Rating: NNNN
The CBC/Windish party peaked early, thanks to a fun, high-energy set by quickly rising local synth rockers Young Empires. The trio’s glossy blend of retro post-punk and thumping electro is the perfect pump-up music for a night out. Bodies were moving on the dance floor, and everyone sang along to the ?infectious chorus of Rain Of Gold, a hit in the making.
JORDAN BIMM
Zack Slootsky
MODERN SUPERSTITIONS at the Horseshoe Rating: NNNN
A distinctive blend of 60s girl group drama and new wave fun, Modern Superstitions wooed a crowd that grew steadily throughout their early set. But while singer Nyssa Rosaleen has a sugar-and-sandpaper voice that makes the hair on your arms stand on end, an occasional hesitance in her delivery holds her back. A really good band that could be incredible.
JOANNE HUFFA
SUN WIZARD at the Supermarket Rating: NNNN
In a haze of possibly unwanted dry ice, Vancouver four-piece Sun Wizard kicked out melodic jams at the first of two CMW showcases. Their woodsmen-chic vibe and laid-back, classic-rock-inspired sound evoke Yukon Blonde, but heavy doses of Strokesy guitar riffery and syncopation add a contemporary twist.
Surprisingly, each time talented co-singer/guitarist James Younger offered up amusing banter, out came an English accent. For real? Their publicist confirmed it is indeed. Watch for their debut album, out March 29.
CARLA GILLIS
METZ at Wrongbar Rating: NNNN
Few bands in Toronto bring as much energy – and volume – to the stage as Metz. Despite sound problems that made the vocals all but inaudible, the trio got the audience moving during a brief, brutal set that left us wanting more. The beauty of Metz is that their songs are well ?crafted and hook-filled, providing structure for all that face-melting feedback.
JH
LAKE OF STEW at the Dakota Tavern Rating: NNNN
Not a single patch cord or DI was in use as the six-piece Montreal bluegrass team Lake of Stew sang about buses, love and graffiti to an enthusiastic crowd. The members took turns leading, with scrappy-voiced Richard Rigby and near-yodeller Brad Levia most often at the helm. Producer Ken Whiteley guested on mandolin and a maple syrup jug, and washtub bass player Julia Narveson’s old-timey voice shone on Hey Bully. They played an encore at 3 am.
SARAH GREENE
1977 at Hard Luck Bar Rating: NNN
Toronto singer/songwriter Julie Kendall (aka 1977) put out a great album of sunny Beach Boysish pop last year that snagged her a Juno nomination despite floating below most people’s radar. She’s about to put out another, and judging from the sound of her new band, we can expect it to be more surf rock than surf pop. Too bad a horrible sound mix buried both her vocals and keys during her whole Hard Luck set the little we could hear sounded promising.
BENJAMIN BOLES
AUSTRA at Wrongbar Rating: NNNN
Technical problems delayed Austra’s set for so long that Katie Stelmanis gave up on getting all of her band’s synths going. But you’d never have guessed they were a keyboard short their sound was huge and lush. Newer dance-floor-friendly material went over great, and getting the warbling identical twins from Tasseomancy on backup vocals was a highly effective way to enhance Stelmanis’s own formidable pipes.
BB
Friday, March 11
PAT JORDACHE at the Drake Hotel Rating: NNN
Pat Jordache is the solo project of Montreal’s Patrick Gregoire, whom some might know from Islands, Sister Suvi and Tune-Yards. His newer material has more of a damaged 80s soft rock vibe compared to his earlier Afro-pop- and dub-influenced tracks. He had a four-piece band for this appearance, and there was a lot of swapping instruments. In fact, too much fussing around between songs killed the momentum and made the set feel a bit too casual.
BB
JAMES VINCENT MORROW at the Great Hall Rating: NNN
Armed with just an acoustic guitar and his affecting falsetto cry, a jet-lagged James Vincent McMorrow took the stage prior to Kurt Vile and J Mascis, unfurling songs from his haunting Early In The Morning album with hushed intensity.
Despite the Dublin singer/songwriter’s immaculate delivery and striking lyrics, he seemed withdrawn and perhaps not entirely into it. Interestingly, Vile was also more subdued than expected.
CG
Nic Pouliot
J MASCIS at the Great Hall Rating: NNNN
It takes a lot for a solo acoustic performance to hold the attention of a large crowd, but it was no problem for J Mascis at the Great Hall. The Dinosaur Jr. leader was without his signature Fender Jazzmaster, but even seated with an acoustic he oozed his distinctive laconic style.
Delivering tracks from his debut solo record and acoustic versions of Dinosaur classics, Mascis kept the crowd energized. And those looking for guitar solos weren’t disappointed an overworked fuzz pedal allowed him to indulge.
RICHARD TRAPUNSKI
HOLGER at the Drake Hotel Rating: NNN
Brazil’s Holger looked thrilled to be onstage at the Drake, and won us over with their enthusiasm. Their marriage of classic indie guitar rock with Brazilian rhythms and melodies is like a more dance-floor-friendly Vampire Weekend. They don’t really have a defined frontman, as all members sing most of the time. A fun party band, they sometimes seemed a little too eager to please and got a bit cheeseball here and there.
BB
Saturday, March 12
JANET JACKSON at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Rating: NNNN
Freed from a major label and an over-sexed image, Janet Jackson rallied long-time fans during her intimate Up Close And Personal tour stop, a fun, feel-good trip through three decades of pop and R&B hits. The veteran performer revived classic choreography moves and jammed nearly 30 songs into a briskly paced 90 minutes. A relaxed pro, she connected with fans through her emotive, upbeat performance style, those influential dance routines and cleavage visible from outer space.
KEVIN RITCHIE
THE BARR BROTHERS at Czehoski Rating: NNNN
Montreal friends told me not to miss the Barr Brothers, and despite technical difficulties – blown fuses, feedback, delayed start time – they were right. Brad and Andrew Barr (formerly of the Slip) along with harpist Sarah Page and multi-tasking Andres Vial put on a show that defied categorization. Too bad Czehoski was uncomfortably packed and people talked through a set that ran the gamut of folk, blues and prog rock.
SG
DIGITS at the El Mocambo Rating: NNNN
Alt Altman’s (aka Digits) breezy bedroom synth-pop was the perfect intro to 2+2 Management’s impressive showcase of buzzy indie dance bands. Uniting bits of retro new wave and eclectic 00s electro, Altman’s tracks benefit from strong songwriting, meticulous production and thumping beats. But it’s his catchy, chilled-out vocals and thoughtful lyrics that separate him from the solo laptop set. Singing, playing two synths and at times donning an electric bass, he impressed a large early crowd with moody gems that land somewhere between Hot Chip and Harold Faltermeyer.
JB
TY SEGALL at Wrongbar Rating: NNNNN
The curse of cross-armed Toronto crowds doesn’t apply to Ty Segall. On record, the San Francisco garage rocker’s reverby tunes are most notable for their sun-drenched 60s hooks, but in a live setting they’re all about bratty punk swagger. There are much heavier bands out there, but the capacity Wrongbar crowd practically treated Ty Segall like Black Flag. Segall himself got into it, sacrificing his guitar to the sea of moshing, surfing, beer-spraying bodies. He had to finish the set with a guitar borrowed from openers Heavy Cream, yet never missed a beat.
RT
JAY ELECTRONICA at the Phoenix Rating: NNNN
Jay Electronica once again gave Toronto’s hip-hop heads something to talk about. His lyrics loaded with historical and contemporary injustices, the charismatic New Orleans MC fired up the audience with incendiary a cappellas, offered a not ?so eloquent rebuke (“Suck my dick!”) to critics of his ?infamous rough-sex comments made at a gig here last fall and tore a strip off security for trying to evacuate fans he’d invited onstage. By the end, half the crowd was onstage and Electronica was on the floor, thrilling frenzied fans amidst a whirlpool of outstretched arms and glowing smartphones.
KR
Zack Slootsky
HANDS & TEETH at the Comfort Zone Rating: NNN
It’s not unusual for lead vocals to shift between several members over the course of a song by Hands & Teeth, but the results aren’t as jarring as you’d think. The band’s best moments, however, happen when everyone sings together that impressive big-group power can’t be matched. The Toronto quintet offered up catchy tunes and good stage presence, and pulled off classic soul rock vibes better than their stabs at contemporary indie rock.
BB
THE MERCY NOW at the Comfort Zone Rating: NNNN
Toronto hard-rock quartet the Mercy Now don’t yield to modern alt/indie trends, and there’s something refreshing about the unabashed retro tendencies of their high-octane boogie riffs. And while they look like they’d be more comfortable living in the 70s, they bring so much energy to the stage that it’s surprisingly easy to ignore the throwback aspects. It also helps that their grooves are a lot sexier than most classic rock acts manage.
BB
Sunday, March 13
RATTAIL at the Horseshoe Rating: NNN
Unofficially closing out CMW in the final slot of a surprisingly strong Sunday-night lineup at the Horseshoe, Toronto’s RatTail were suitably low-key. The trio’s repetitive, ?warm three-chord grunge-folk was weirdly lulling, even when singer Jasmyn Burke stretched her deep Karen O-ish vocals into an almost guttural scream. It’s Burke’s unique voice and quirky, jovial stage presence that make the band so persuasive live, but they would have benefited from a longer, better-attended showcase.
RT
