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CMW 2011 Reviews: Wednesday, March 9
From March 9 to 13, Torontoist is covering the crap out of Canadian Music Week, with daily concert and film previews, reviews of the latest action, words with your favourite and soon-to-be-favourite bands, and more.
Montreal’s Half Moon Run were one of the best surprises of CMW’s first night. Photo courtesy of Half Moon Run.
So that weather sucked last night, hey? We went out to show hop anyway! Here’s what we saw.
Half Moon Run
We’re not sure why exactly we were planning on briefly popping in at the Drake Underground, catching a few songs by Half Moon Run, and then heading back out into the rainy yonder to catch more of the evening’s musical offerings. Maybe it was because they were one of the first bands up and we were itching for more, maybe it was because we had already heard of one too many male three-piece indie/pop/alternative bands playing the festival, or maybe it was because they looked a little too much like three teens skipping gym class to jam in their bedroom. But whatever the reasons, they’re forgotten now. They meshed their three-part harmonies with skill beyond their years, and managed to blend their relatively numerous instruments (three guitars, two drums, two keyboards, and two laptops for just the three of them) with other technical elements to create a dreamy yet energizing show. They still seemed like three best friends jamming in their bedroom, but in the best way possible.
Violent Kin
We understand the Kin part of the name⎯the duo of S.J. Kardash and Maygen Kardash are, you guessed it, siblings⎯but we would never call them “violent.” They delivered their electro/rock/dance music with enthusiasm and cheer, clearly loving what they play and who they do it with. Too bad they never quite resonated with the audience, who maybe weren’t sure what to do with bright pink dresses and electro inside the Horseshoe. Or maybe it was the vocals that couldn’t quite keep up to the harder, faster, instrumentals. The Saskatoon natives are turning their latest EP Velvet Hideout into a full-length album this year, so we’ll see if any sibling rivalry develops.
WAGONS
Toronto wasn’t kind to frontman Henry Wagons and his Melbournian bandmates on Wednesday. Through no fault of their own they were forced to start their set a half an hour late (a faux-pas for concert-goers with a strict schedule!), and 10:45 p.m. felt more like 2:45 in the afternoon to their southern hemisphere sleep patterns, and the torrential snow/slush/rain hyrbid soaked was hardly a nice welcome. But, drink in hand, Wagons and his crew weathered the tough times and rocked the Horseshoe with fast-paced twang and a steely sense of humour. Highlights included the track “Goodtown” and a cover of Kenny Rogers’s “The Gambler,” in which Wagons dragged innocent audience members into his seedy roulette play. Be sure to come back in the summer, WAGONS—we promise the weather will be much better.
Gentleman Reg
“There’s so many people here, oh my God. We should have played a bigger venue,” the dapper gent whined sarcastically into the microphone in the Gladstone’s North Ballroom. Okay, it was pretty empty for a headlining act, especially one like Gentleman Reg, a member of the Arts & Crafts team of superfriends and musical icon in the queer community. But alas, Canadians don’t like bad weather, and it’s too bad because Reg, back from a West Coast tour with Sarah Harmer, delivered some old favourites like “We’re In a Thunderstorm” and “How We Exit,” as well as two brand new tracks for a taste of his next album (we’re excited!). He was as captivating visually—dressed all in black to enhance his alabaster colouring, a gold necklace that matched a glass of Jameson in his hand—as he was musically. Reg was a master at bringing the audience up and getting them dancing for one song, then calming them again for touching songs like “Wild Heart” and a torturous version of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy,” accompanied by singer Kelly McMichael and a fabulous Batman muscle tee.