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Live music galleries

Live music galleries: Flogging Molly [2013]

(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.)

Flogging Molly @ Osheaga 2013

Artist: Flogging Molly
When: August 3rd, 2013
Where: River stage, Osheaga, Jean Drapeau Park, Montreal
Context: Ten years ago this summer, I attended Montreal’s Osheaga arts and music festival with my good friends Tim and Mark. It was an unforgettable weekend and we saw countless amazing performances over the festival’s three days. I’ve already posted photos* from some of the weekend’s sets and plan to share a few more of these in the months leading up to this year’s edition, which I will sadly not be attending. Some of these posts will have fewer photos than my normal galleries, but this should not be taken to be indicative of the quality of the performances, but of the difficulty of obtaining quality pics while being so completely in the moment.

Flogging Molly was on the River stage mid-afternoon on the second day of the festival and the three of us were unanimous in not wanting to miss it. Like the Dropkick Murphys, when I saw them two years beforehand, I knew this band’s set would be worth seeing, despite not being all that familiar with their material. Frontman Dave King set the tone early in the set with a raucous, “Alright you bastards!”, and then taking a big swig off his Irish breakfast (aka Guinness). Mining the Celtic punk sound made famous by The Pogues, they got the crowd all riled up and ready to party. After their set, Tim remarked that should have waited to have breakfast with them (referring to the singer’s can of Guinness) and Mark’s response was that he would “love a f@*king drink with Flogging Molly”. Good times indeed.
Point of reference song: Don’t shut ’em down

Dave King and Bridget Regan of Flogging Molly
George Schwindt and Bob Schmidt of Flogging Molly
Nathen Maxwell and Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly
View from a crowd in bliss
Dave King taking a break from drinking a guinness to play some tunes

*Past galleries from this festival weekend have included the following:

Categories
Live music galleries

Live music galleries: Daughter [2013]

(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.)

Daughter performing at Osheaga 2013

Artist: Daughter
When: August 2nd, 2013
Where: Mountain stage, Osheaga, Jean Drapeau Park, Montreal
Context: Ten years ago this summer, I attended Montreal’s Osheaga arts and music festival with my good friends Tim and Mark. It was an unforgettable weekend and we saw countless amazing performances over the festival’s three days. I’ve already posted photos* from some of the weekend’s sets and plan to share a few more of these in the months leading up to this year’s edition, which I will sadly not be attending. Some of these posts will have fewer photos than my normal galleries, including today’s, but this should not be taken to be indicative of the quality of the performances, but of the difficulty of obtaining quality pics while being so completely in the moment.

I had been listening to Daughter’s debut long player, “If you leave”, pretty much on repeat leading up to and in anticipation of the weekend and it grew on me by leaps and bounds with each listen. Its haunting melodies and soft tones seem perfect for early mornings, especially those accoutred with a thick layer of fog. Indeed, the album is awash in subtleties, the guitars and drums understated, as if played in a vacuous space, and frontwoman Elena Tonra’s delicate vocals exude just the right hint of sadness. Tonra was all smiles that afternoon, however, apparently not expecting such a large crowd so early in the afternoon. Listening, you could have floated away on the breeze, like the bubbles someone in the crowd kept blowing. They finished with their excellent single, “Youth” (see below), to crashing crescendos on a gathering wind. Tim likened them to a cross between Florence and the Machine and shoegazey type music and Mark described it as “Lovely, ethereal yummy.”
Point of reference song: Youth

Elena Tonra and Remi Aguilella of Daughter
Igor Haefeli and touring member Luke Saunders
Elena flashing another one of those smiles

*Past galleries from this festival weekend have included the following:

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #21 Dream Wife “Hasta la vista”

<< #22    |    #20 >>

From what I’ve read, London-based Dream Wife started from an art school project in which its three principal members portrayed a 90’s alt rock influenced band in a Spinal Tap-like mockumentary*. Rakel Mjöll, Alice Go, and Bella Podpadec (along with drummer Alex Paveley) still seem to be having fun but now, they’re damned serious as well. They are well-known for their electric live shows, not shying away from tough subjects in their lyrics and their unwavering support of women and non-binary, especially in terms of their underrepresentation.

I came upon the group after the release of their sophomore album, “So when you gonna…”, in 2020 and I made the immediate and obvious comparison to the riot grrl** punk acts that emerged out of the early nineties. But I also noted that it wasn’t all about the rage, hearing a certain embrace of melodic pop and felt there were whiffs of bands like Elastica and Sleeper and Echobelly from the Britpop era. To be honest, it was this latter element that led me towards repeat listens because as counterintuitive as it might sound, the introduction of pop elements to the harder edge suggested a willingness to expand and experiment.

I still haven’t gone back to explore the self-titled debut but I certainly will make the time, just as I plan to give their upcoming third album, “Social lubrication”, a go. “So when you gonna…”, though, is an enduring listen to my ears and the album’s second single, “Hasta la vista”, is all kinds of fun. But don’t be fooled by the title that smacks of the old Schwarzenegger tagline. Gimmicky, this song is not. The giddy-up bassline and ticky-tack drums get you moving and the synths just hang out there in the background, a humming wash, setting a warm tone. The guitars dance a pogo and frontwoman Rakel Mjöll softly bemoans and at the same time, celebrates relationships lost and never to be re-discovered. The band has admitted that “Hasta la vista” was the first song to be written for the new album after returning from a long period of the touring and coming home to find everything changed.

“Remember me in the morning light
Remember none of the wrong, just the right
Remember all the joy we gave
Remember that it paved the way”

This is a sentiment with which many can appreciate and identify. And now, they can dance to it as well.

*I loved Spinal Tap so I’d be curious to check it out, though I have no idea if it’s available anywhere online.

**As well other all female bands with a similar sound and aesthetic that had been mislabelled as such, like L7 and Hole.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.