This blog is coming to you, live n direct, from me lying supine on a futon. What a doozer of a couple of days folks. I’m so happy and tired and hung over and I can’t believe it’s over already. Lots to cover so let’s get to it.
FRIDAY
After a slow-ish start to the day, we rolled down to Tribeca and abandoned the car downtown, where it remained for the next two days, amazingly unmolested and un-ticketed (thanks to the HPX gods). I was pretty excited to start the night with Rattail, a Toronto weird pop threesome that I previously caught during Long Live the Queen at Gus’. I loved their strange energy and Jasmyn Burke’s inimitable, beautiful voice. Burke admitted at the beginning of the set that they were coming off a long drive from Toronto and the fatigue seemed to be taking its toll on bassist Tim Fagan, who seemed to be in a heavier trance than usual and kept grabbing the mic to make comments about the Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” (“Ch-ch-chinese chicken!”) and other moments of fragmented singing/mumbling. Then they played songs like “In Bloom” and none of that other stuff mattered. At their best, Rattail is soooo pretty and ever so slightly twisted.
Kuato was up next with moody, colourful light filters and lovely instrumental squall. They are tight and extremely focused. I also liked overhearing people trying to pronounce their name all night – “Qweeto? Quatto?”
Then it was SECRET GUEST TIME with much-beloved New Jersey anthem-punkers Titus Andronicus. In hindsight this show feels bittersweet, as guitarist Amy Klein just wrote a beautifully-worded and very classy piece on her Tumblr today about quitting the band. Klein was the best part of the show for me – she spent the entire set jumping, grinning beatifically and swinging her guitar with major swagger – so I’m really happy that I got a chance to see her while I could. The entire band played with enormous heart and ardor and just the right amount of who-gives-a-fuck. They were a joy to watch from beginning to end.
Next up – the Palace for something completely different: fewer guitars, more dancing. The three siblings in Kidstreet hail from Waterloo, Ontario and play a sweet, sparkly sort of electro. I was most impressed with their flame-haired singer, who had the breathy-sexy sort of voice that lends itself perfectly to this type of music (see Esthero, Lamb’s Lou Rhodes, etc.) Meanwhile, the brother that wasn’t playing drums was going nuts – jumping all over the stage, wailing on a bass drum, yipping into a microphone. It was way fun but also made me feel slightly old. This would not be the last time that I would feel this way, spoiler alert.
Twin Shadow came highly recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust implicitly. “Basically Twin Shadow is the best type of music to have on in the background at a party,” he said. The music comes with Pitchfork and Rolling Stone endorsements; the band also toured with Florence and the Machine. Twin Shadow manifests itself in the form of an alarmingly handsome George Lewis Jr, sporting a bowler-type hat, a furred jacket and an intricate-looking chain. He plays guitar and is backed by other similarly attractive and well-dressed people. The music was beautiful – dark wave with an R & B twist. Lewis boasted serious vocal and guitar chops. He’s a little like a mellower Prince. After a few songs I felt so chilled out that I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up, and I wanted to see Shotgun Jimmie at the Pigeon Row 5-year birthday show at Gus’, so we moved on.
Unsurprisingly, given Shotgun Jimmie and headliner Dog Day’s beloved status in Halifax (and the fact it was a Friday I guess) Gus’ was JAMMED. Like wall to wall people. I heard there were over 320 people there maybe, with a lineup of about 20 people outdoors. I wriggled in just in time to see Shotgun Jimmie take the stage. He played a similar set to one I saw a few months ago, featuring the back-up duo of Klarka Weinwurm on bass and Jon McKiel on drums. They are a great backing band – super focused and happy to quietly and heavily churn out the set while Jimmie charms the shit out of everyone. (Pigeon Row birthday boy Matt Charlton also sat behind the kit for a song.) The set was heavy on Transistor Sister material and closed off with my favorite song “Swamp Magic.” And well, it was magic. Everyone was singing, Jimmie looked thrilled and flabbergasted (this is the biggest non-Sappyfest show I’d ever seen him play, for sure) and it was rowdy and happy and everyone was so adorable, even though the air smelled like old beer and farts. He’s just the best. I took a shitty video of the end of “Swamp Magic” – see below. Then I went to bed and snuggled with my cat and watched Buffy and it was also the best.
A recap of the epic 18-hour Saturday coming at you soon. I need a nap.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.