Cadence Weapon at The Paragon
By this point, I'm about five days removed from actually having went to shows last Thursday night, so I'm going off my memory, plus some notes I made the day after. Let's get right to it:
Jenocide | @ The Paragon: this duo reminded me right off the bat of Crystal Castles. Nowhere near the stage presence or ominousness of that Toronto pair, but the same girl vocalist and silent mixer thing going on, plus of course the electronic nature of the whole thing. Whereas Crystal Castles has that dissonance between Alice Glass' shouts and the otherworldly hums, burrs and samples coming from Ethan Kath's various electronic instruments, Jenocide's a much more straightforward venture, in that they sound poppier, and lead singer Jen Clarke's voice is clear and complimentary to the tracks.
That didn't necessarily mean however that they were always needed. Jenocide's mix-maker Ed Renzi more than holds his own, ever-so-quietly providing killer beats for Jen to work with and around; when some of the loops dropped in, or an additional beat kicked up, they came harder than you'd expect for such a seemingly electro-pop outfit. How they tied in to Jen's vocals was almost strange: although her singing was great and her stage presence an integral part of the show (wandering down on more than one occasion to serenade the crowd of 20 to 30, both on the floor and from a strategically placed chair in front of the stage), you almost felt like Renzi's beats alone would be enough to start a party, and Clarke's lyrics just a sugary side dish to the main beat-centered course. Either way, the singing never took away from the quality of any of the tracks, so I'm not complaining here.
Jenocide - Fashion Icon
Old Folks Home | @ The Paragon: I first have to point out that I'm used to going to bigger shows, where you're lucky to even catch a full look at what the band members' faces all look like. Thursday night at The Paragon, the members of Old Folks Home were actually standing right beside me during Jenocide's show, unbeknownst to me until a stage manager came up behind them and said "they've got five more minutes and the stage is all yours after that." Definitely a different kind of vibe for the Halifax Pop Explosion shows I'd have to say, and the only time I can remember something like that happening was when my friend and I accidentally stole The Pack A.D.'s table before their show.
Anyways, Old Folks Home's set was definitely a smidgen darker than Jenocide's (the acts during these shows didn't always exactly follow the same genre I found) and provided lots of distortion, as well as drum and synth loops -- which was weird, considering they already had a drummer. That led however to pretty well-textured sound to their set, but also some awkward moments when the drummer just kinda sat there while the loop played for the first minute or so on some songs. Overall, the duo had a spacey sound, and the lead singer's voice was pretty good for a band that relied so much on distortion of instrumentation -- usually a sure sign they're trying to compensate for a singer's lacklustre vocals.
They killed their first two or three songs as far as I remember, but the pace and ferocity really slowed down after that, and never really recovered. During one of the tunes though, lovely local star Rebekah Higgs wandered out from backstage and lent her vocals, which was kinda cool. Overall though, I felt a little underwhelmed by these guys. The rest of the night in retrospect was upbeat and electro-driven; Old Folks Home had some of those elements in their show, but used them in a slower, more deliberate and probably "deeper" way. I wouldn't know for sure though, as I could barely make out most of the words being sung.
Funny aside: between songs, they mentioned their merch was all $5, to which a (drunk) female crowd member yelled what sounded like: "five dolla make you holla!"...but unfortunately, the lead singer must've heard something different, and responded by saying "no, five dollars makes YOU hotter!" in a jokey sort of way, but which elicited some "oohs" and a general uncomfortableness among the crowd. Thankfully, he realized his faux-pas, and proceeded to apologize, but it couldn't have felt too good.
Old Folks Home on MySpace
Think About Life | @ The Paragon: to quote the first line of my notes? "FUCKING KILLED IT." It was by far one of the most fun and exciting shows I'd been to all year. But before that, I'm gonna bore you a bit. As the band was tuning and setting up, there was a woman walking around in what looked like an awkward 90's pantsuit: it went up to her waist, she was rocking quite an unflattering top and a bowlish haircut straight out of some "how not-to" guide. She just looked completely out of place. Plus her shoes didn't match the rest of the suit. Anyway, I thought she was some understudy at soundcheck or general "stage-handing" and that they were kind of "letting" her do the show. I mean, she just looked like that to me. Lo and behold, she walked out with the three guys I'd seen in The Coast's pictures of Think About Life, and grabbed a spot in front of one of the mics. Go figure. She proceeded to provide some harmonies, a few vocals, and awkwardly nonrhythmic dance moves for the next half-hour or so. Even slapped some bass for a tune.
Before the whole group materialized though, the guitarist stood by some of his electronics and started fiddling with them to create some really interesting atmospherics. After that however, Think About Life went on to bang out one song after another of pure. awesome. dance-inducing. party-starting. music. I cannot stress enough how much I immensely enjoyed their set. Unfortunately, a certain fellow in a plaid red shirt beside me (coulda been anyone considering how much plaid was being rocked over the weekend) seemed like he needed a few drugs to enjoy the show, and was writhing and dancing like a maniac for the first few tunes -- on top of delivering the most malicious elbow I've ever felt at a concert as he was trying to go by me, and this is from a guy who will literally let anyone by him if they wanna move up. After their first few initial tracks though, Think About Life had me dancing at a pace approaching his drug-induced level, so that's how that all ties in; just totally contagious, body-moving sounds.
At one point, I turned around to see Rebekah Higgs moving to the music with some of her friends, and looked across the floor and spotted Wednesday night's star Hannah Georgas similarly enjoying herself. Think About Life brought out that night's headliner Cadence Weapon to help out with the energetic "Sweet Sixteen," which had everyone shouting along the words and simultaneously jumping up and down to the stuttering beat. Cadence was just as into the show as Think About Life themselves, and it was one of the most engaging renditions of any song I've heard on the festival circuit this year so far. The crowd itself was so locked in to the performance that we started an instant call-and-response with lead singer Martin Cesar (aka "Dishwasher") from one off-key shout of "woo-oo!" Cesar even proceeded to come down into the now-packed crowd and get up close and personal with the raucous bunch.
Overall, Think About Life was one of the catchiest and best live groups I've ever seen, matching the same feeling of fun (though not quite the same deliriousness) I had during Crystal Castles' set at Osheaga in the summer. Their zest for their music and Cesar's indelible stage presence made every single second so full of energy and vigor that even a set twice as long would never be enough. Their style was completely unique, and I definitely can't wait for the next time they come through town. I was actually so taken by them that on my way out (I didn't stick around for Cadence Weapon's set) I bought one of the t-shirts the band had for sale at the merch table, something I've never actually done at any show. Oh yeah, we also cheered like crazy for an encore, but I guess only the headliners were allowed to come back out for one during Halifax Pop Explosion, so that was literally the only letdown associated with Think About Life on such a great night.
Think About Life - Havin' My Baby
Fox Jaws | @ Coconut Grove: I wound down my Thursday night with a visit to see these guys play where my roommate and his girlfriend were for the night: the nicer-than-expected Coconut Grove, a cozy little club with a low ceiling I'd always known about, but never been to. It was the kind of place that would be a perfect basement spot...if it wasn't on the top floor overlooking the infamous Pizza Corner, with its own patio and all. The place had a weird stage set-up inside, with the guitarist and singer on the floor, and the bassist and drummer on a small elevated platform in behind.
The first thing I noticed as soon as the set started was the sound: it was nowhere near as encompassing as The Paragon's -- but I'm now convinced that no venue in town has a sound system quite as great as that club's. At the Grove, there were only about 25-35 people taking in the show, but in a small venue like that, we were all pretty close in. I was told that the night's earlier acts - Yukon Blonde, The Paint Movement and Hot Panda - all put on a good show, so I was looking forward to a nice close to my night, a kind of wind-down from Think About Life's spirited set. Singer Carleigh Aikins (drummer Brandyn's sister evidently) has a great voice, with the slightest rasp to it, and she sounded great even when yelling some of the vocals, keeping good tone throughout.
Carleigh often had a tambourine in hand during the set, and although I'm not usually a fan of that instrument, Fox Jaws brought up a sax player for "Ahab's Ghost," a song which also featured a persistent guitar loop. On that latter point, I'd never been to so many concerts featuring as much sampling and looping as I had over those few days. It's probably more to do with the smallish size of the bands themselves and the genres of the music I was watching, but it was almost a mini-revelation to see how a lot of the music I like is done live.
Fox Jaws played a pretty all-out and rock-infused set, keeping up their intensity throughout. They were definitely deserving of a bigger crowd, and even their sound itself is built ready to tackle larger venues and sound systems, so it was a bit of a shame they were secluded to a sparsely-attended show at Coconut Grove. To temper that though, I wasn't particularly blown away by their music - it could've been me coming down from the amazing Think About Life set, my creeping tiredness, or my general need to grab a slice of pizza - and we ended up leaving early to grab a bit of said pizza and head home.
Think About Life - Ahab's Ghost
Jenocide | @ The Paragon: this duo reminded me right off the bat of Crystal Castles. Nowhere near the stage presence or ominousness of that Toronto pair, but the same girl vocalist and silent mixer thing going on, plus of course the electronic nature of the whole thing. Whereas Crystal Castles has that dissonance between Alice Glass' shouts and the otherworldly hums, burrs and samples coming from Ethan Kath's various electronic instruments, Jenocide's a much more straightforward venture, in that they sound poppier, and lead singer Jen Clarke's voice is clear and complimentary to the tracks.
That didn't necessarily mean however that they were always needed. Jenocide's mix-maker Ed Renzi more than holds his own, ever-so-quietly providing killer beats for Jen to work with and around; when some of the loops dropped in, or an additional beat kicked up, they came harder than you'd expect for such a seemingly electro-pop outfit. How they tied in to Jen's vocals was almost strange: although her singing was great and her stage presence an integral part of the show (wandering down on more than one occasion to serenade the crowd of 20 to 30, both on the floor and from a strategically placed chair in front of the stage), you almost felt like Renzi's beats alone would be enough to start a party, and Clarke's lyrics just a sugary side dish to the main beat-centered course. Either way, the singing never took away from the quality of any of the tracks, so I'm not complaining here.
Jenocide - Fashion Icon
Old Folks Home | @ The Paragon: I first have to point out that I'm used to going to bigger shows, where you're lucky to even catch a full look at what the band members' faces all look like. Thursday night at The Paragon, the members of Old Folks Home were actually standing right beside me during Jenocide's show, unbeknownst to me until a stage manager came up behind them and said "they've got five more minutes and the stage is all yours after that." Definitely a different kind of vibe for the Halifax Pop Explosion shows I'd have to say, and the only time I can remember something like that happening was when my friend and I accidentally stole The Pack A.D.'s table before their show.
Anyways, Old Folks Home's set was definitely a smidgen darker than Jenocide's (the acts during these shows didn't always exactly follow the same genre I found) and provided lots of distortion, as well as drum and synth loops -- which was weird, considering they already had a drummer. That led however to pretty well-textured sound to their set, but also some awkward moments when the drummer just kinda sat there while the loop played for the first minute or so on some songs. Overall, the duo had a spacey sound, and the lead singer's voice was pretty good for a band that relied so much on distortion of instrumentation -- usually a sure sign they're trying to compensate for a singer's lacklustre vocals.
They killed their first two or three songs as far as I remember, but the pace and ferocity really slowed down after that, and never really recovered. During one of the tunes though, lovely local star Rebekah Higgs wandered out from backstage and lent her vocals, which was kinda cool. Overall though, I felt a little underwhelmed by these guys. The rest of the night in retrospect was upbeat and electro-driven; Old Folks Home had some of those elements in their show, but used them in a slower, more deliberate and probably "deeper" way. I wouldn't know for sure though, as I could barely make out most of the words being sung.
Funny aside: between songs, they mentioned their merch was all $5, to which a (drunk) female crowd member yelled what sounded like: "five dolla make you holla!"...but unfortunately, the lead singer must've heard something different, and responded by saying "no, five dollars makes YOU hotter!" in a jokey sort of way, but which elicited some "oohs" and a general uncomfortableness among the crowd. Thankfully, he realized his faux-pas, and proceeded to apologize, but it couldn't have felt too good.
Old Folks Home on MySpace
Think About Life | @ The Paragon: to quote the first line of my notes? "FUCKING KILLED IT." It was by far one of the most fun and exciting shows I'd been to all year. But before that, I'm gonna bore you a bit. As the band was tuning and setting up, there was a woman walking around in what looked like an awkward 90's pantsuit: it went up to her waist, she was rocking quite an unflattering top and a bowlish haircut straight out of some "how not-to" guide. She just looked completely out of place. Plus her shoes didn't match the rest of the suit. Anyway, I thought she was some understudy at soundcheck or general "stage-handing" and that they were kind of "letting" her do the show. I mean, she just looked like that to me. Lo and behold, she walked out with the three guys I'd seen in The Coast's pictures of Think About Life, and grabbed a spot in front of one of the mics. Go figure. She proceeded to provide some harmonies, a few vocals, and awkwardly nonrhythmic dance moves for the next half-hour or so. Even slapped some bass for a tune.
Before the whole group materialized though, the guitarist stood by some of his electronics and started fiddling with them to create some really interesting atmospherics. After that however, Think About Life went on to bang out one song after another of pure. awesome. dance-inducing. party-starting. music. I cannot stress enough how much I immensely enjoyed their set. Unfortunately, a certain fellow in a plaid red shirt beside me (coulda been anyone considering how much plaid was being rocked over the weekend) seemed like he needed a few drugs to enjoy the show, and was writhing and dancing like a maniac for the first few tunes -- on top of delivering the most malicious elbow I've ever felt at a concert as he was trying to go by me, and this is from a guy who will literally let anyone by him if they wanna move up. After their first few initial tracks though, Think About Life had me dancing at a pace approaching his drug-induced level, so that's how that all ties in; just totally contagious, body-moving sounds.
At one point, I turned around to see Rebekah Higgs moving to the music with some of her friends, and looked across the floor and spotted Wednesday night's star Hannah Georgas similarly enjoying herself. Think About Life brought out that night's headliner Cadence Weapon to help out with the energetic "Sweet Sixteen," which had everyone shouting along the words and simultaneously jumping up and down to the stuttering beat. Cadence was just as into the show as Think About Life themselves, and it was one of the most engaging renditions of any song I've heard on the festival circuit this year so far. The crowd itself was so locked in to the performance that we started an instant call-and-response with lead singer Martin Cesar (aka "Dishwasher") from one off-key shout of "woo-oo!" Cesar even proceeded to come down into the now-packed crowd and get up close and personal with the raucous bunch.
Overall, Think About Life was one of the catchiest and best live groups I've ever seen, matching the same feeling of fun (though not quite the same deliriousness) I had during Crystal Castles' set at Osheaga in the summer. Their zest for their music and Cesar's indelible stage presence made every single second so full of energy and vigor that even a set twice as long would never be enough. Their style was completely unique, and I definitely can't wait for the next time they come through town. I was actually so taken by them that on my way out (I didn't stick around for Cadence Weapon's set) I bought one of the t-shirts the band had for sale at the merch table, something I've never actually done at any show. Oh yeah, we also cheered like crazy for an encore, but I guess only the headliners were allowed to come back out for one during Halifax Pop Explosion, so that was literally the only letdown associated with Think About Life on such a great night.
Think About Life - Havin' My Baby
Fox Jaws | @ Coconut Grove: I wound down my Thursday night with a visit to see these guys play where my roommate and his girlfriend were for the night: the nicer-than-expected Coconut Grove, a cozy little club with a low ceiling I'd always known about, but never been to. It was the kind of place that would be a perfect basement spot...if it wasn't on the top floor overlooking the infamous Pizza Corner, with its own patio and all. The place had a weird stage set-up inside, with the guitarist and singer on the floor, and the bassist and drummer on a small elevated platform in behind.
The first thing I noticed as soon as the set started was the sound: it was nowhere near as encompassing as The Paragon's -- but I'm now convinced that no venue in town has a sound system quite as great as that club's. At the Grove, there were only about 25-35 people taking in the show, but in a small venue like that, we were all pretty close in. I was told that the night's earlier acts - Yukon Blonde, The Paint Movement and Hot Panda - all put on a good show, so I was looking forward to a nice close to my night, a kind of wind-down from Think About Life's spirited set. Singer Carleigh Aikins (drummer Brandyn's sister evidently) has a great voice, with the slightest rasp to it, and she sounded great even when yelling some of the vocals, keeping good tone throughout.
Carleigh often had a tambourine in hand during the set, and although I'm not usually a fan of that instrument, Fox Jaws brought up a sax player for "Ahab's Ghost," a song which also featured a persistent guitar loop. On that latter point, I'd never been to so many concerts featuring as much sampling and looping as I had over those few days. It's probably more to do with the smallish size of the bands themselves and the genres of the music I was watching, but it was almost a mini-revelation to see how a lot of the music I like is done live.
Fox Jaws played a pretty all-out and rock-infused set, keeping up their intensity throughout. They were definitely deserving of a bigger crowd, and even their sound itself is built ready to tackle larger venues and sound systems, so it was a bit of a shame they were secluded to a sparsely-attended show at Coconut Grove. To temper that though, I wasn't particularly blown away by their music - it could've been me coming down from the amazing Think About Life set, my creeping tiredness, or my general need to grab a slice of pizza - and we ended up leaving early to grab a bit of said pizza and head home.
Think About Life - Ahab's Ghost
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