You can be forgiven if the festival of music festivals this past weekend had you scratching your head. Between the corporate-backed Canadian Music Week, Dan Burke’s infamous NExT protest showcase, and Keith Hamilton’s new DIY all-star indie venture, the Pitter Patter Music Festival, the list of great gigs worth attending was definitely longer than in years past. At various points over the last few months, the three fests had flirted with every conceivable combination of partnerships, with CMW’s dedicated programmer Phil Klygo trying to bring all booked acts under one umbrella. His bid ultimately failed, with Burke renaming his festival NExT Vs. CMW: Payback, and Hamilton deciding to focus exclusively on the bands and their fans. The main issue that both Hamilton and Burke (and many local musicians) have with the festival component of CMW is its lack of love for the artists.
While CMW bills itself first as an industry conference, it is the music festival part (and the bands who play it) that receives the lion’s share of media attention. That being said, CMW charges a non-refundable $50.00 application fee from every band that applies to play, and keeps 100 per cent of the door from the festival shows, resulting in a humbling “pay-to-play” scenario for the artists. Even though Klygo kindly offered to bend these rules in exchange for integrating the impressive Pitter Patter Festival lineup (featuring heavy hitters like The Mark Inside, Diableros and Fjord Rowboat) into CMW, Hamilton, upon consulting with several bands, decided to keep his homegrown artist-friendly-ethos (every band gets paid, most shows were PWYC) separate from the massive industry machine. Competition aside, each festival had its great gigs. Here are some highlights of the scene that was The Fest of Fests.-Jordan Bimm
WEDNESDAY MARCH 7
Intransit, Scarlett Affection, and Your Volunteer @ The Supermarket [Pitter Patter]
The Pitter Patter Festival kicked off with an eclectic mix of talent on a relaxed Wednesday evening at the Supermarket in Kensington Market. Openers Intransit overcame illness to deliver a very tight set of reverb-washed guitar rock and passionate vocals.
Last-minute additions Scarlett Affection consisted of two Australian sisters on their first North American tour. On a night that had initially promised nothing but fast rock n’ roll, their set of folk rock and piano ballads was an unexpected yet welcome surprise. Your Volunteer closed the evening with their awe-inspiring musicianship. To understand this act fully, one must picture three guys on stage moving seamlessly between seven instruments, including a drummer who often played keyboards while continuing to lay down a steady beat. Overall, this impressive evening demonstrated just how wide the variety of talent was for this festival, and set the bar for the nights to come.-RD
Rating: VVVV
THURSDAY MARCH 8
Uncut @ The Silver Dollar, Midnight [CMW]
Playing a small, dirty club like The Silver Dollar can sometimes bring out the best in bands. For their show on Thursday night, the local Paper Bag-rockers, who have filled venues like Lee’s Palace and The Mod Club with their dark, intense songs, mirrored their venue with a loud, powerful punk set. Guitarist Ian Worang replaced his usual chanting with strained screams, which worked remarkably well, and gave songs like “Breaking Glass” an added sense of urgency. With the exception of a cool version of “Copilot,” which replaced the original’s keyboard part with a driving guitar riff, and the catchy garage rock of “Intentions Change,” the band stuck to songs off their new Pitchfork-approved album, Modern Currencies. The highlight of the show was “Chain Fight,” an incendiary track from that album that only got better live, and featured incredible work from drummer Jon Drew.-LH
Rating: VVVVv
FRIDAY MARCH 9
Apache Beat @ The Boat, 10 p.m. [Pitter Patter]
It’s sad how getting screwed at the Canadian-U.S. border has become something of a rite of passage for indie bands these days. It’s tough to imagine why border guards are so paranoid about musicians crossing over to enrich our culture, make a few hundred bucks (at best) and then head home, while every night on Lou Dobbs you hear stories about rampant cross-boarder drug smuggling, insecure port facilities, and the constant flow of illegal immigration. You’d think Apache Beat, an instantly likeable semi-electro post-rock quintet from NYC, would be the least of their concerns, but apparently not. So, after arriving a day late and with no instruments, the band was forced to make do with borrowed gear. But none of that was going to stop the Vice-approved Apache Beat from putting on a stellar show. Fronted by the enchanting Aussie ex-pat Ilirjana Alushaj, the band let loose as if venting pent-up frustrations in a musical catharsis. Already a tight unit, many in the sizable crowd would have guessed that this band had been together for years instead of months, if they hadn’t been so busy getting down to the creative beats of drummer Neil Westgate, or the frantic, melodic guitar work of Phil Aceto. The highlight of this set was the song “Tropics,” a dark, feverish storm-pop number which, despite disparate parts, somehow coalesces to makes a beautiful kind of sense.-JB
Rating: VVVVv
Apostle of Hustle @ The El Mocambo, Midnight [CMW]
Fans waiting to see Apostle of Hustle’s midnight CMW spot at the El Mocambo watched bemused as frontman Andrew Whiteman waited in line with them to get into his own show, and was then thoroughly searched by the bouncers at the door. Whiteman, who’s also a key member of Broken Social Scene, typifies a Toronto music community which has produced some amazing music without producing recognizable superstars. The band got fans moving with Whiteman’s brilliant guitar work, forgoing tracks from their complex first album to play the bulk of his recently released and pared down National Anthem of Nowhere. The powerful mixture of dark hooks and breathy refrains backed by frenetic Latin rhythms made an ideal soundtrack for an anonymous late night in the city.-BS
Rating: VVVV
SATURDAY MARCH 10
Action Makes @ The Comfort Zone, 9:45 p.m. [NExT]
Action Makes deserve more respect from NExT booker/promoter Dan Burke. Left off his otherwise immaculate Pop Montreal bill back in October, their 9:45 p.m. timeslot-as one of six bands opening for The Zoobombs-seemed more like an afterthought than a reward for their loyalty, hard work and dedication to their music. Despite the early hour, there was a larger-than-expected crowd at the Comfort Zone to see AM in action. I had to make my way through at least four rows of shoulder-to-shoulder onlookers to get a good look at the four-piece, who specialize in angst-ridden, hyperactive bluesy rock. In a similar vein to Magnificent Sevens label-mates The Mark Inside, Action Makes got the crowd moving with songs off their forth-coming 7″ and even treated the crowd to a brand-new song, during which bassist Andrew Stoeten rocked so hard his glasses went flying. Frontman Clint Rogerson was also on, getting big love from the audience after the build-up in their huge set-closer “Jerking Off in the Cemetery.” Action makes for great music.-JB
Rating: VVVV
Hexes and Ohs, Heroes & Villains, and Friday Morning’s Regret @ The Central [Pitter Patter]
Music lovers were just beginning to settle into the Central as I arrived for what would be a memorable night of music as the festival weekend drew to a close. Montreal’s Hexes and Ohs opened the show with their brand of upbeat electro-tinged pop. Armed with boy/girl vocals and mesmerizing visuals projected onto a screen behind them, they provided a set that was appealing visually as well as musically. Heroes & Villains upped the rock n’ roll ante with catchy, furious numbers one after another, leaving the crowd with barely enough time to breathe. By the time headlining act Friday Morning’s Regret hit the stage, the bar was packed and ready for the band’s impressive array of upbeat, danceable numbers mixed in with pensive folk rock tunes.-RD
Rating: VVVV
