Tag: Live

(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. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)

Artist: Broken Social Scene
When: September 15th, 2017
Where: Main stage, CityFolk, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Context: Broken Social Scene were a big part of the Canadian indie rock renaissance of the mid-2000s and really epitomized the sense of community and collaboration of that scene. They truly were a collective, built around the core of Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, but boasting upwards of close to twenty members at different points in their history, including members of Stars, Metric, Apostles of Hustle, and many others. But to be honest, I couldn’t actually get into them back then, always claiming that they were a band with whom I preferred their parts to their sum. Somewhere along the way, though, I gained an appreciation for them and finally got a chance to see them as part of the line up for the 2017 edition of Ottawa’s CityFolk festival. As with many collectives of this ilk, you never know whom you might see perform with them on any given night. We were lucky enough to have Stars members and husband/wife duo of Evan Cranley and Amy Millan make the two-hour drive up from Montreal, partly as a way to celebrate Cranley’s belated birthday with his musician friends. It was an incredible show and so amazing to see so many talented musicians trade instruments and vocals and contribute to a huge and cohesive sound. I was so impressed that I saw them again six months later and would definitely jump at the chance to do so again.
Point of reference song: “Protest song”

(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. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)

Artist: Wintersleep
When: July 12th, 2012
Where: River stage, RBC Bluesfest, Ottawa
Context: I attended Ottawa Bluesfest for the fourth year in a row back in 2012 but it was the first year that I purchased the festival pass and took full advantage of it. By the final day of its 10 day duration, I was pretty tired but headed down to the grounds anyway to enjoy a great slate of Canadian indie bands. Wintersleep, a five member indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a late, yet very welcome addition to the Bluesfest schedule for me because I had never before seen them live. Their 7:30pm set time on the River stage was bright and energetic, supercharged with wicked drum beats care of Loel Campbell (who is also really fun to watch) and the easily identifiable singing voice of Paul Murphy. You can really tell by watching them that Wintersleep are serious about their music. You almost get the feeling that when they hit their stride and they’re deep into their jam, it doesn’t matter whether the audience is big or small or even there at all. That’s not to say they don’t appreciate their fans but their dedication to their craft is obvious by the way they throw everything into their performance. I thoroughly enjoyed this set, especially their renditions of my favourite track, the anthemic “Weighty ghost” and new song (at that time) “In came the flood”. I would highly recommend seeing them live.
Point of reference song: “In came the flood”