The ears are saying “let’s go” but man oh, man the body’s saying “no.” Pop Explosion is done and what a great one it was. Saturday’s show at the Marquee was definitely a highlight. No wonder CBC Radio 3 was broadcasting the whole damn thing across the nation.
After all my preaching, I missed all but 30 seconds of Pride Tiger’s set, though those 30 seconds were spectacular. Mother Mother, from Vancouver were a surprise winner on a night filled with great tunes. One of the Globe’s music columnist’s wrote a few months back about the lack of harmony and melody in so many of today’s hit songs. The emphasis has shifted to the beat he argued. Well than look no further than Mother Mother the twin female vocals mixed with male lead propel this band, creating a unique sound, that I really don’t know how to describe – check out their myspace page or pick up their debut disc like so many others did at this show. I missed Land of Talk in lieu of taking in Halifax’s own Rich Aucoin down stairs in Hell’s Kitchen. For any parties associated with the Dr. Seuss company Mr. Aucoin DID NOT play his “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” synch in its entirety to an enthusiastic and packed audience. Back upstairs after not seeing the Grinch sync for the first time, Montreal’s Miracle Fortress played a set of great indie-pop to a packed house. Though few seemed to actually know the band, many watched the set with acute interest.
Of course the most enthusiastic reception of the whole HPX was for the reunited Eric’s Trip who ripped through their set as if the past 11 years never happened. The band was tight and revved up. Although some in attendance felt the gig was nothing but a nostalgia trip, I thought they sounded more relevant now than ever – in an era in which everyband is dubbed indie-rock, no matter where they actually sit on the musical spectrum (or how much they spent on the recording studio), it was nice to hear a band that so emphatically embraced the indie ideals of the early 1990s. Has anyone listened to Love Tara recently? That album is so brilliantly low-fi, and so many bands spend so much $$ to sound like they recorded in their parents basement. But I digress.
So yeah, pop explosion was rad. If you missed it, you missed out my friend. Now a quick round up:
Number of bands seen – 26 in 5 daysAmount of money spent on band merch – $111 (3 shirts, 3 LPs, 2 CDs and 1 button – not bad if I do say so myself)Amount of money spent on between band beverages – I don’t even want to know.
Top Five Performances of the Festival5. Attack in Black – Friday at the Pavillion4. Rich Aucoin – Saturday at Hell’s Kitchen3. Small Sins – Thursday at Hell’s Kitchen2. Besnard Lakes – Wednesday at the Marquee 1. Brother Ali – Wednesday at the Attic
see you next year kids – Seacrest out!
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2007.