THE BLOW with DOC PICKLES , GHOSTLIGHT , TWO KOREAS and the BACKTHEFUCKUPS as part of WAVELENGTH’s FIFTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL at Sneaky Dee’s, February 13. Tickets: pwyc. Attendance: sold out. Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
After bearing witness to Final Fantasy’s concoction of heart-wrenching vocals and resplendent violin loops at the Music Gallery the night before, I went to Sneaky Dee’s last Sunday (night four of Wavelength zine/music series’s fifth anniversary fest) thinking that nothing short of Pavarotti showing up on acid and covering Xiu Xiu until he was hauled offstage could have topped it.
But damn it all if the final night’s love-in didn’t come close.
By 11 pm, a who’s who of the indie rock A-list, including Gentleman Reg , Emily Haines , Kevin Drew and Jay Ferguson , had arrived to show respect to the event at which many had cut their teeth back in Wavelength’s halcyon days at Ted’s Wrecking Yard. Projections of early Wavelength zine covers on a wall aided the trip down memory lane.
Following sets by Doc Pickles , whose rendition of Wesley Willis’s Rock N’ Roll McDonald’s broke the ice, Ghostlight and Two Koreas , Portland’s the Blow took the stage.
Band mastermind/leader Khaela Maricich seemed to think that the eve of Valentine’s Day was more cause for celebration than Wavelength’s fifth anniversary.
Her stage persona exemplified that inherently indie, affectedly quirky juxtaposition of shyness and confidence.
The “conceptual artist” sang over a combination of live instruments and primitive laptop beats, but fun was definitely the keyword as she and her backup boys engaged in a unifying theme of courtship between the Blow and Toronto.
“Toronto, we love you,” Maricich panted, “even though there was that weird thing that happened last night, but you were really cool about it.” Cute.
She passed around construction-paper hearts inscribed with odd phrases. Mine read “Hessian Obsession,” which is the name of a witty rock zine that didn’t survive past the late 90s.
By the end of the Blow’s set, silver ribbon wound through the audience (signifying the “ring” the Blow used to “marry” Toronto), paper rolls flew and balloons bounced, leaving the floor ready for an uplifting set by backup band the BackTheFuckUps , who ended Wavelength 250 with a set of guest singers kicking out Wavelength-centric jams.
Highlights included SS Cardiacs’ Jessie Stein , who did swift justice to a Constantines number, the raw energy of Blocks Blocks Blocks magnate Steve Kado and the you-cover-my-band, I’ll-cover-yours magic of Lullabye Arkestra and the Pauls .
Let’s hope it’ll be followed by years and years and years of Wavelength productions.
