It's that time of year again; the week or so at the end of June that every semi-cultured person in Calgary prays for all year, and the memory of which they then hold onto with both hands during the ensuing horrors of Stampede.
This is the fourth annual Sled Island Music, Film, and Art Festival in Calgary, and possibly its most mature incarnation yet, will well-rounded and incredible lineups in all three areas of interest. The festival has always been great from its very first year, but it seems to finally be settling into its most fully developed and finalized form this year.
And if the kick-off show is any indication, we're in for an absolutely incredible four days.
As anyone who's read WHYH's Sled Island coverage before would know, our favourite venue of the fest is probably Central United Church. Sure, the usual Christian accommodations leave much to be desired in the form of physical (or spinal) comfort; at least there were cushions this year.
No, Central United shines because it has that natural advantage that a sandstone/wood church will have over many a modern club/pub/venue: considered (and excellent) acoustics. Also, the strange combination of independent/avant-garde/rock music and an atmosphere designed to give a feeling of "sacredness" result in a feeling that whatever you witness there will be special.
Last night is no exception; in fact, it currently vies for one of the top spots on my list of all-time greatest shows I've ever had the good fortune of witnessing.
Lorrie Matheson opened the evening, starting strong and not letting up. For those unfamiliar with him, he's a local singing/songwriting institution, with a great lyrics, and excellent rock/bluesy/psych-at-times sound...he describes himself as Western Swing, Shoegazer, and New Wave all rolled into one. As this plethora of genre comparisons might indicate, trying to pin down an exact description of his music is perhaps a futile quest.
Nest came Wild Choir (formerly known as Georgiana Starlington), a Brooklyn group with an interesting 50's-vibe garage rock/surf rhythm vibe and an excellent drummer; I found myself looking at him most of the time, truthfully, which was probably an excellent set-up for what was to come.
See, we were all having a decent time, and then Deerhoof appeared and blasted all previous comparisons, bands, experiences, and expectations out of the water and into the oblivion of outer space.
There are very few bands of which I can say their live show has fully taken all my expectation and thoroughly surpassed every single one with cute Japanese vocals, jaw-dropping start-stop-on-a-dime instrumental proficiency, and possibly the most demonically possessed drummer I have ever seen play (and you may remember, I have some experience with possessed drummers). Recorded material does them no justice, can never describe just how absolutely unbelievable Deerhoof is live. They were bigger than the room, bigger than the audience, bigger than the festival itself.
After about three songs, Greg Saunier stood up from the drum kit he had been pounding into oblivion and proceeded to tell us that we were an incredible audience, in an endearingly awkward and hilarious/rambling manner, ending with "I just realized the number of people I was addressing, and suddenly got stage fright; you'll notice that when I get stage fright, I tend to express myself in a condensed way." Satomi Matsuzaki, not to be outdone, proceeded to be as adorable and endearing as an incredibly small, charming, and energetic female bassist/singer executing the occasional Para-Para routine can possibly be.
And just when we all believed the band couldn't possibly amaze us any more, they all switched instruments and proceeded to further amaze us with their versatility and talent.
Other bands are lucky to have one member with the effortless charisma that every single member of Deerhoof seems to have in spades. Not many bands could get away with playing not only one, but TWO cover songs in their set, let alone classic songs like "Pinhead" by The Ramones and "Going Up the Country" by Canned Heat, let alone with such aplomb. Or pulling out the grand piano in the church for the encore...
In the end, we just went to eat something and grab a drink at the Unicorn, because we felt it just wouldn't be fair to whichever band we saw next to hold them to that kind of comparison.
All in all, an excellent night; I can only hope that more surprises like this are to come.
~Ju
Lorrie Matheson
On Myspace Music
On The Web
Wild Choir
On Myspace Music
Deerhoof
On Myspace Music
On Kill Rock Stars
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