Sled Island Day 2: Mini Mansions, Women, The Posies

Day 2 of Sled Island saw us at The Republik, a local venue with a complicated history reading as a local, lamer version of the very movement its name implies, that has nevertheless re-emerged as one of the most likely to host touring indie bands. Larger than most other local pubs/bars/clubs, it's the natural choice for shows likely to attract big audiences (such as The Melvins on July 3rd, and Wolf Parade on July 22nd). The layout is relatively well-suited for accommodating a large audience while allowing more than half of them to actually see what's happening on stage (a feat not many venues can boast of). Now, if only their sound guys would rise to the occasion and not mix every instrument into a high-volume soup, I could wish for nothing more.

The combination of Deerhoof closing out the bill, and local hometown heroes Women playing earlier in the evening made for a large turnout, even for the first band to hit the stage, which is a personal relief. After Deerhoof's set the night before, the opening set came in second for biggest surprise of the festival so far.

Mini Mansions are a trio from Los Angeles, California, and one of the incredible number of high-level bands to hail from that state at this year's fest (such as the incredible Sleepy Sun, who we featured here on WHYH earlier this year). I had taken a cursory listen of their myspace and deemed them decent enough to be worth watching, at least.

Their recorded material barely prepared me to see them live; on record, they could pass for a dreamy "Lucy in the Sky With Diamons"-era Beatles, with a slight turn in the vein of recent successes such as Fleet Foxes. Live, they are a force to be reckoned with; energetic, aggressive, melodic and dissonant by turns in the methodical manner that only the best bands seem to understand: noise takes composition the same way melodies do. They played their hearts out, even when doing an incredible cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass". Bless them for having the cheapest merch at the show, too.

Nest came Women; one of the best bands Calgary has to offer, their playing was tight and energetic, melodies coming in and out of the ensuing wall of noise as well as ever. The only complaint I had (which was not their fault at all) comes back to the sound mixing I mentioned earlier: the vocals were even more difficult to hear than they should have been due to the sound guy mixing everything loud enough to distort beyond what was required. Sure, Women are known for their lo-fi/noise rock aesthetic, and for playing a loud and rocking show, but in this one instance it actually affected the songs, which was a bit disappointing.

This trend continued with The Posies as well; a legendary Seattle band reunited, with a long and well-respected history. We ended up having to leave our great spots near the stage and go to the back of the club just to be able to enjoy their music, because it seems that after Women's set, the sound guy had adjusted everything by turning it all UP; I'm amazed that the vocalists Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer managed to make their singing heard over the mix; to be honest, the blistering volume made it difficult for us to enjoy what would have otherwise been a wonderful set. Mind you, I could just be getting old and senile, but I'll admit, I'm all for loud music, just as long as you can still hear and enjoy everything that's going on.


~Ju


Mini Mansions
On Myspace Music

Women
On Myspace Music

The Posies
On Myspace Music