Given the size and scope of Canada Music Week (CMW), I'm sure there are as many strategies for making the most of it as there are attendees.
I wouldn't normally put in a lengthy blog entry like this one, but I thought I'd include one person's perspective for those who may not have been to a CMW or NXNE before. As much as one can plan these things, you're inevitably re-directed at some point -- or several points -- as you'll see with my experience below. But it's all good!
First, although it's billed as a "week", the festival part (i.e. bands) are packed into Thursday through Saturday evenings. That makes for a tough call on what to see, and the logistics of getting between clubs when there are 20 minutes between acts. Mind you the March temperatures keep you moving pretty fast if you're walking between clubs.
This year I opted for a good mix music types, and a cross-section of groups I've seen and groups I haven't. And, to keep it simple, I stuck to clubs along Queen West.
First stop
Thursday night was Reverb for
Vailhalen.
This 7-piece Calgary band really impressed me with their tight, no-nonsense approach; although the concept of having two drummers has always been lost on me!
Toronto punkers,
Femme Generation, were up next at Reverb. They had a solid set, but I found that they really didn't have the energy I expect from hard core bands.
Magneta Lane was also a disappointment for me. I hadn't seen the group before, but read plenty of rave reviews. That led me over to the Horseshoe for their set.
Judging by the size of the crowd and the number of people who left promptly after they left the stage, I'd say that either the reviews were overdone or a lot of folks saw something in this pop chick trio that was lost on me. Mind you, the "eye candy" factor can't be ignored!
Regardless, all three of these ladies looked totally bored throughout their stage time; and so was I.
Tomi Swick came on after Magneta Lane at the 'Shoe. Born and raised in Hamilton, Swick attributes James Taylor and Jeff Buckley as major influences and that came through on Thursday night.
On Friday, I was back at the Reverb and stayed there this time... because I liked the looks of most of the line-up.
Belinda Bruce was the first act I saw that night. This Windsor-based lass performed a laid-back acoustic set, with her band mates adding a mix of bass, keyboard, trumpet and accordian as required. I hadn't seen Bruce before, but I'd definitely check her act out again.
I can't say I was overly impressed with the
Great Lake Swimmers, who came on next, but I wasn't disappointed either. Once again, the "popularity index" of people rushing in for that set, then drifting out right afterwards, says something about this folk-rock band.
Justin Rutledge was a hit with me. I hadn't seen him before or heard his stuff. This singer-songwriter has tons of potential.
I've seen
Luke Doucet (below) a number of times and he continues to put on an energetic show.
Friday Morning's Regret (on stage after Luke) turned out to be a "placeholder" for me, as I waited to hear NQ Arbuckle's set afterwards. In the line-up of great talent at the Reverb Friday evening, Friday Morning's Regret were regrettably bad.
NQ Arbuckle, like Luke Ducet, is someone I like to see live at least a couple times a year. On Friday he also featured Ford Pier on keyboards. (See Ford Pier at Sneaky Dee's in a January entry.)
Saturday, and guess where I am again? ...the Reverb (no they didn't offer me any incentives for hanging out there!). This time my master plan was to spend most of the evening at the Bovine, taking in the Gasoline Magazine Showcase; but I was mainly interested in the bands playing later on... Oliver Black, Redeemer, Illuminati.
In retrospect I guess I should have gone to the Bovine early and stayed there, but I started at the Reverb to mix it up a bit, and knew that Bovine was just across the street and up the block a bit.
As fate would have it, every time I headed over to the Bovine, there was a line-up outside that didn't appear to move, until someone came out... fire bylaw restrictions I assume. Suffice it to say that I wasn't destined to visit the Bovine that night.
Meanwhile, back at the Reverb,
For The Mathematics was the first act I saw on Saturday. The group is, not surprisingly, a
math rock band. Most people I know find this style of music intensely annoying. I guess I'm not one of those. I'm one of its fans. This group not only plays math rock, but acts it out with their seemingly random choreography (if that isn't an oxymoron). All band members (except the drummer, and even him sometimes) were bouncing around the stage in a chaotic fashion, often knocking against each other.
I really liked the effect, since it complemented the music so well, but it meant that practically every photo I took was a blur.
Dear Jane, I... were up next and put on a lively show. Self-described as a cross between punk and emo, that's pretty much what I heard and saw... though the punk side was maybe a bit tongue-in-cheek.
Rammer wrapped up the evening for me. They're a good solid thrash metal band.
Great stage presence and cranked up loud, the way it should be!
So, there's one take on CMW. I find that if I see three or four bands that I haven't seen before, but
would see again, it's all been worthwhile. If I see a couple more that I'm familiar with and they're still living up to previous standards, that's a bonus.
If you want to share your own comments on CMW 2006, add them here if they're brief; or take up as much space as you like in the Community Forum.
Their hard core sound came across well, but they could use a bit of work on improving their stage presence. Check out a few more pictures here.
I love masked bands, for whatever reason they choose to appear that way. The Tijuana Bibles come to mind with their Mexican wrestling masks; and of course, there's Toronto's original (one man-) masked band, Nash the Slash.
Judging by the size of the crowd and the number of people who left promptly after they left the stage, I'd say that either the reviews were overdone or a lot of folks saw something in this pop chick trio that was lost on me. Mind you, the "eye candy" factor can't be ignored!
Meanwhile, back at the Reverb, For The Mathematics was the first act I saw on Saturday. The group is, not surprisingly, a math rock band. Most people I know find this style of music intensely annoying. I guess I'm not one of those. I'm one of its fans. This group not only plays math rock, but acts it out with their seemingly random choreography (if that isn't an oxymoron). All band members (except the drummer, and even him sometimes) were bouncing around the stage in a chaotic fashion, often knocking against each other.
