Live music galleries – My (life in) music lists

November 15, 2018November 15, 2018

Live music galleries: Alvvays [2016]

(I got the idea for this new series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop*. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Like my ‘Vinyl love’ series, these posts will be more photos than words but that doesn’t mean I won’t welcome your thoughts and comments. And of course, until I get around to the next week, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts of page.)

Alvvays live @ Dragonboat Festival in 2016

Artist: Alvvays
When: June 25th, 2016
Where: Ottawa Dragonboat Festival, Ottawa
Context: I had already seen thIs Toronto-based indie pop band just the previous year and though they were good live, they weren’t so mind-blowing that I would’ve gone out of my way to see them again so soon. However, they were announced as headliner for one of the nights of the Ottawa Dragonboat Festival’s free concert series and I just couldn’t turn that down. Indeed, I’m not sure how they continue to do it but this festival continually books some of Canada’s hottest acts and does so without charging a cent for admission. Anyhow, a year of touring definitely agreed with Molly Rankin and her band Alvvays (pronounced “Always”) because they were phenomenal this time around, playing the hell out of their buzz-worthy, self-titled debut and pleasing to no end the indie kids up front with the album’s hits (like the one below).
Point of reference song: “Archie, marry me”

Kerrri MacLellan, Brian Murphy, and Phil MacIsaac of Alvvays

Alec O’Hanley and Molly Rankin of Alvvays

Molly Rankin, Brian Murphy, and Phil MacIssac of Alvvays

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018

Live music galleries: Young Galaxy [2012]

Artist: Young Galaxy
When: August 4th, 2012
Where: Trees stage, Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, Montreal
Context: Young Galaxy played their last show for the foreseeable future this past weekend in Ottawa, having recently announced an indefinite hiatus. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the show because I was in Toronto for the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, so instead, I’ll reminisce a bit and post pics about the time I saw them six years ago at Osheaga. It was one of the excruciating schedule conflicts I had to navigate that weekend: see The Raveonettes for the first time or see Young Galaxy in their hometown. I’ve never regretted my decision. They’re not only one of my favourite Canadian bands but one of my faves from all time and they’ve always been great live. This performance was the year after “Shapeshifting”, their first collaboration with Dan Lissvik, was released and signalled a shift towards a more electronic sound. Brilliant show, all told.
Point of reference song: “We have everything”

Andrea Silver and Stephen Kamp of Young Galaxy

Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless of Young Galaxy

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018

Live music galleries: 54-40 (unplugged) [2018]

(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Like my ‘Vinyl love’ series, these posts will be more photos than words but that doesn’t mean I won’t welcome your thoughts and comments. And of course, until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts of page.)

Artist: 54-40 (unplugged)
When: September 14th, 2018
Where: City Stage, CityFolk Festival, Ottawa
Context: If you’re Canadian and came of age in the 80s or 90s, the chances are excellent that you’ve heard of 54-40. I, myself, have never considered myself a huge fan but always enjoyed their music when I heard it on the radio, which was considerably often, given Canadian Content rules. I remember hearing them from my back deck, shortly after moving to Ottawa in 2001, when they were playing an outdoor show downtown and I realized that I knew a great deal of their songs. So when they were added to this year’s CityFolk, I flagged their set as one to see and well, it was a great time. It was an “unplugged” show, which meant they rearranged and performed their tunes with acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins, and fiddles rather than electric guitars, and of course, their hits made up three quarters of the set. Thus, it was a rollicking singalong.
Point of reference song: “Baby ran”