It's that time of year again!! This was a pretty exciting for music with lots of new music from artists I love. Although I heard a lot of amazing songs this year, the top albums for me must be a complete great listen from cover to cover. Here were my top 4 albums that kept finding myself going back to:
1. Sylvan Esso - What Now
It's not very often that I find a follow up album that I love even more than the debut but Sylvan Esso has done it with "What Now". They took all my favourite elements from the first album and made an even better record with so many catchy electro pop hooks and weirdness that just works and had me listening on repeat so much this year whenever I needed a little pick me up. "Die Young" was probably my favourite song of the year. 2. The National - Sleep Well Beast
Damn I love this band so much. Each record I think - is it possible to love this band even more? They have somehow done it AGAIN. This album is basically a roller coaster of emotions - there is so much there to feel. It has a bit more guitar riffs than usual but is just another solid National album with a lot of great songs. My initial favourite was "Carin at the Liquor Store", but "I'll Still Destroy You" has reeeaally grown on me the more times I listen to this one.
3. Alvvays - Antisocialite
I fell in love with this Canadian band from the east coast after their fantastic debut a few years ago and their follow up did not let me down! They have mastered their unique mix of dreamy pop and distorted guitar rock. The songs are interesting and catchy at the same time and this album is a really great cohesive listen from start to finish that I have enjoyed.
4. Big Thief - Capacity
Big Thief is an artist I just discovered this year and is one of my new favourites. This album is really just beautiful from start to finish and full of stories and emotions and always just makes me feel better after listening to it. "Shark Smile" and "Mary" were two of my favourite songs this year.
I first heard Faith Healer while listening to CKUA radio a few months ago. I was feeling in a bit of a 'musical rut' and wasn't feelin any of the new music i had downloaded, so I switched on the radio and her song "Try" came on and I remember thinking "oh my god this song is amazing - who is this?!" and I was surprised to hear they were from Edmonton! I quickly found the album on Spotify and listened to it on repeat for the rest of the day. It is a wicked record with lots of great songs. Last night my friend Emily and I went to see them play at Tubby Dog. This was my first time going to show at Tubby Dog and it was so fun! Such a cozy little venue - hot dogs, arcade games, colourful lights, and cartoons projected on the wall behind the bands. The place was intimate and packed. Their whole band was really great. The only downside was that Faith Healer was the 2nd band of three so they only played like 6 songs. My favourite songs were "Light of Loving" which absolutely rocked, "Such a Gemini" which is light and comical and of course "Try" which is such an interesting chill groovy song with some bluesy guitar riffs near the end. I will definitely keep my eye out for the next time she plays in Calgary.
Holy shit so Spoon came to Calgary a few days ago and it was amazing!! I I remember getting Spoon CDs from the library when I was about 15 and thinking it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. I assumed this band was way too cool to ever come to Calgary but on August 31st...about ten years later I got to see them live at Macewan Hall and I was so happy I danced like a fool the whole time. Of course I got there shortly after the doors opened to snag a spot front and center. There was only one row of people in front of us! The opener, White Reaper, who I didn't know beforehand, was awesome. They had lots of energy and reminded me of a 90s punk band. My boyfriend really liked em too. Spoon is now a five piece and they sounded friggin fantastic. Britt's voice sounded even better than the recordings and the sound was mixed perfectly. I loved the keyboard player and also the way Britt plays the guitar. I was reminded during the show just how many great songs Spoon has. Their latest release "Hot Thoughts" is their eight studio album I believe, so they have lots of songs to choose from and each one was amazing. There were probably ten moments so epic they could have been the show closer. They played all my favourites including "I Turn My Camera On", "The Beast, The Dragon Adored", "My Mathematical Mind" (which built to an incredibly epic crescendo), "Don't Make Me a Target", and "Rent I Pay" EXCEPT they never played "The Way We Get By" which I thought they were saving till the end but then it was over and I was a bit devastated because that's probably my all time favourite Spoon song and I was excited to sing all the lyrics but oh well they played every other song I love. The new songs from Hot Thoughts sounded great - especially "I aint the one" which was amazing live. It started with a long keyboard intro and Britt laying flat on his back singing - very dramatic! It's also cool how the lights add a whole other dimension to the music. Also "hot thoughts" and "first caress" were super fun to dance to. For their encore, Britt Daniel played "I summon you" solo and this was probably my favourite moment of the show. It was so beautiful and intimate. They ended the show with "Got Nuffin" which is an awesome song that I love and I was singing it all night after the show. This was one of the greatest shows I've seen for a long time.
I remember a few years ago, when I was living in Vancouver, Shakey Graves came to town and it sold out before I could get a ticket and I was super devasted. But here we are, three years later and he's playing at The Palace Theatre in Calgary. I knew not to make the same mistake twice and bought tickets right away - sure enough this show sold out too.
I could not believe how intense the Shakey Graves fans were at this show. There was a girl behind me with the shrilled, highest voice, who screamed almost the entire show. The whole audience just went wild for him - even the guys. It made for a pretty fun show with everyone clapping, stomping, and jumping but I was just expecting something a bit more mellow and was totally surprised.
He opened with a full band playing Perfect Parts followed by Dearly Departed. After a few with the band he played some solo songs. I must say Shakey Graves is a great performer with great stage presence and banter. He knows how to get the audience engaged and played a well thought out setlist without too many slow songs in a row. My favourite moments of the show were "Family & Genus" and "Roll the Bones". Only complaint would be the vocals were not very sharp, and you couldn't hear his lyrics very well, but oh well i guess you can't have it all.
Folk Fest is the most wonderful time of the year! I cannot think of anything better than spending the weekend outside in Calgary's most beautiful park listening to talented musicians from all around the world. Thursday night was Ceour de Pirate and Jason Collett. Ceour de Pirate played the Mainstage and of course it was full of "tarpies" so we watched from pretty far back. Beatrice sounded fantastic though. She has a very beautiful unique voice and is a masterful piano player. She is from Montreal and most of her songs are in French which I think makes them sound even more beautiful. She seemed really laid back and comfortable on the huge stage and had some of the coolest, well-timed with the percussion, dance moves I've ever seen (when she wasn't playing piano). She played my favourite song "Place de la Republic" so I was very happy.
Next was Jason Collett from Toronto on Stage 4. I'd heard a few of his songs but was not super familiar with his work and went into this show not really knowing what to expect. As usual, everyone was chillin in the grass on their blankets when he started, but by the end he had the entire crowd on their feet dancing. It was super entertaining with a lot of funny songs and hilarious "old man" dance moves. He definitely didn't take himself too seriously and actually reminded me a lot of Joel Plaskett. My favourite songs were "I wanna rob a bank" and "My daddy was a rock n' roller". It was a great way to end a Thursday night.
Saturday I biked down to the grounds at 9am - half an hour before the gate opens - to get my blanket down in a good spot at the Main Stage. Even at this hour there were hundred in front of me in line and I only got about in the middle of the field. The die-hard "Tarpies" always amaze me with their dedication. I returned after breakfast with my boyfriend and the first show we caught was a workshop called "Global Getdown" that included The East Pointers (an Irish fiddle type band from PEI), The Dustbowl Revival (an american group with old-timey big band sound), a drumming group from Haiti, and a funky rap duo. This was an amazing workshop with lots of variety. The Dustbowl Revival were really fun and we especially loved the horn section they had so we decided to check out their solo set later where they drew in a huge crowd and had lots of people dancing.
Next we went over to the beer garden stage for some cold beer (it was about 30 degrees) and to see the incredible Dione Taylor and the Back Sliders. She's a Canadian blues/soul artist with a wicked voice and her backing band was tight. They put on a really amazing show.
Next we went to the shaded tent stage (a popular place because of the heat) and caught the end of Sean Rowe's set. We saw him open a show a few years ago and I love his deep baritone voice. After his set he played in a workshop along with Lucy Dacus (!!!), Bling Boy Paxton, and Birds of Chicago. As the crowd thinned between sets we were able to snag a spot at the very front and it turned out we were sitting right where Lucy Dacus would be standing. If you remember my post at the end of 2016, her album No Burden was my favourite album of the year. She is from Richmond Virginia and I could not believe my luck that she was playing at the Calgary Folk Fest! This workshop was the highlight of the entire day - and not just because Lucy Dacus was in it (although that's a big part). The Birds of Chicago were incredibly talented musicians and the lead singer also played Clarinet which she would add to other artists songs in the workshop. Also Bling Boy Paxton was a talented (an hilarious) American blues artist. All of the artists had great songs and when they would join in on other artist's songs it was like watching a ten piece band. The best moment was when Lucy Dacus covered "La Vie en Rose" and Paxton came in with some bone-like percussive instrument and it was just so magical I didn't want the song to end - or the workshop!
We saw another great workshop after this that included 100 Mile House, Darlingside, The Ballroom Thieves, and Lindi Ortega. Unfortunately these artists didn't really collaborate much with each other but simply each took turns playing songs. Darlingside were really good - i liked how they all huddled around a single retro microphone like how they would have recorded music many decades ago, but The Ballroom Thieves from Boston, stole the show for me. They had this woman who played cello and had a voice that sounded way larger than her little body - it was amazing. I also really enjoyed all the songs I heard and so i made a mental note to check out their solo set on Sunday which was really great.
We caught a bit of Nashville's Langhorne Slim before heading to an air conditioned restaurant for dinner and a short nap by the review. When we returned we headed to the Main Stage for Winnipeg's John K. Sampson and the Winter Wheat. He mostly played songs from his recent release Winter Wheat and a few Weakerthan songs. He's a great song writer with a bit of a nasal-y voice but it just works. The highlights for me were "Post Doc Blues", "17th Street Treatment Center", and of Course "One Great City". My boyfriend's not a huge fan and had a really great nap on the blanket during this set haha.
After this we headed over to Stage 4 to see BadBadNotGood. They are a four-piece jazz group (drums, sax, bass, keyboard) from Toronto and have collaborated with big names like Kendrick Lamar and Future Islands. I own their record IV which is phenomenal and so I was pretty excited for this show but what transpired was waaaay better than I even expected. Yes it's jazz but it's also so much more. It was loud and epic and it hits you like a freight train. Being able to watch each musician play their respective instruments so expertly was incredible. The songs from IV were taken to a whole new level live. They also had the audience clapping and waving their arms together for a neat effect. I couldn't wait to go listen to IV again when I got home.
Finally, the Saturday night headline on the main stage - Barenaked Ladies. I was surprised by how many of their songs I actually knew. It was pretty much hit after hit and they had the entire field of people get up off their tarps and blankets and dance.Everyone lost it when they played "One Week".They were a lot of fun and ended their show with a mashup of every popular song at the moment that began with the Game of Thrones theme song which was a pretty cool way to end it all.
Saturday was 14 hours of good music and sunshine. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of it but couldn't wait to do it again in the morning.
Is there any other way to start Sunday morning Folk Fest than with a Gospel workshop? This workshop was called "Lay Your Burden Down" and included the 4 McCarty Sister gospel singers, the blues musician Blind Boy Paxton, Soul Singer Dione Taylor, and the blues-y Reverend Robert Jones. The collaborations in this session were fantastic and they had the whole audience smiling and dancing.
Next, we caught an all female workshop that included Lucy Dacus, Helena Deland, Carsie Blanton, and Terra Lightfoot. I didn't really know the other artists except for Lucy Dacus but was impressed by them all. My friend and I layed back on our blanket in the sunshine and it felt like we were on a beach listening to beautiful sounds.
Lucy Dacus was scheduled to be at the autograph tent at 1pm so I went and bought her No Burden record for her to sign and ran into her at the merch tent checking out the other artists merch. I was so friggin nervous and star struck but she was super chill and nice. I gushed (probably too much) about how much I love the record and her voice and her songs and that I love cranking in my car and she signed my record and said how this has been the best music festival she's ever been to.
We then grabbed some food and went to a big workshop on the Festival's smallest stage. There was Goldtop from Edmonton, Thee Holy Brothers, The Bones of J.R. Jones, and Sargeant & Comrade. My favourite group from this session was Sargeant & Comrade who were a reggae-ish duo with an amazing singer and a DJ. I found out after that they are from Calgary so I will definitely try and catch one of their shows in the future.
We went to the Beer Garden Stage to see more of the East Pointers because I can never get enough of that East Coast/Irish Fiddle. Then, after seeing The Ballroom Thieves' set we went to get a good spot over at the small Stage 1 for Lucy Dacus's set.
Although I'd seen her take part in a few workshops over the weekend this was the first time seeing her with her full band and it rocked. Every song sounded so so soooo good. She even played a couple of new songs and they were awesome.She is just so down-to-earth, honest, and REAL. My favourites were "Strange Torpedo" and "Map on a Wall" I cannot wait until her next album comes out which she says will probably be in the Spring. I had to leave after this set to meet up with some friends who were in town so I didn't see any of the Sunday main stage stuff but honestly, there could not have been a better way to end the weekend than with Lucy Dacus and her band melting my heart.
Saw Feist in Saskatoon at the end of June, but the summer has been so busy so only now do I have time to sit down and write about this show. Yes, I drove 7 hours to Saskatoon to see Feist after the release of her fantastic album Pleasure. My best friend, also a huge Feist fan, drove from Edmonton for the show as well. After listening to Pleasure, which I now consider her best record yet, I just could not miss the opportunity to see her live. She played on a outdoor stage in a beautiful garden facing a historic castle-like building. She came on stage wearing a bright pink dress the colour of the flower wall on the album cover and opened with the title track from the new album - "Pleasure". I was quickly taken with how beautiful her voice is live and as the show went on I found myself more and more in awe of what a talented musician she is. She played almost every song from Pleasure except of course my favourite one "Baby Be Simple" but maybe it's too quiet/intimate a song for this type of show. The best song live from the new album was probably "Any Party" where she had the whole audience swaying, singing, and falling in love. She played a couple songs from Metals including "The Bad In Each Other" which is just a fantastic song and was a great moment. Her stage banter was charming and sweet but she could sure rock out on that guitar. I really wasn't expecting to hear any songs from The Reminder which was one of my favourite albums back in Junior High because I heard she prefers to play new stuff but I was pleasantly surprised to hear all my favourites from this record! "Sealion" was an absolute power house song live and was probably my favourite moment of the entire show. She also played "My Moon My Man" which is my all time favourite Feist song, "I feel it all", and a stripped down version of "1234" and even "Mushaboom" and "Let it Die" from Let it Die. What a wonderful show. Totally worth the seven hour drive. I am more in love with Feist than ever before.
HOLY SHIT WHAT A FANTASTIC SHOW!! I first discovered Moonface a couple years ago (back when rdio existed) and I remember coming back to the Julia with Blue Jeans On album again and again and finding Spencer Krug's breathtaking piano ballads to be just what I needed every time. Then I dug a little deeper into Moonface's repertoire and found his 2012 release titled Heartbreaking Bravery which he recorded with this mysterious Siinai band from Finland. This stuff was totally different..heavier and more danceable, but equally fantastic. Then just last year Moonface paired up with Siinai again on their latest "My Best Human Face" which quickly became another favourite of mine. I had been wanting to see Moonface live for a while now but just assumed I would probably never see him tour with Siinai because they're from Finland but I was wrong! My prayers were answered and Siinai came out for a handful of dates in Western Canada. This was one show I was NOT going to miss. Even it was on a Wednesday night...before a project deadline...and I had no one to go with. Still totally worth it. They wasted no time with pre-amble and dove into their set with the powerful "Teary Eyes & Bloody Lips". Suddenly all tiredness left my body and I felt incredible joy and gratitude to be there in same room as these talented artists - they were even better live than I thought could be possible. Not only is Spencer Krug an incredibly talented song writer, he also has an amazing deep voice. What I love best about his singing is the way he has such great command of his vocals and has really honed it into a beautiful instrument. He really gets into the music as well. You can see him feeling it and it someone helps you to feel it more too. Sometimes he would hit a shaker against his chest with one hand while jamming out on the keyboard with his other hand and singing at the same time. He also played some wicked electric guitar for some songs. The musicians in Siinai were also incredibly talented and I especially loved watching their drummer. They played a lot of songs from their two albums that they recorded together including some of my favourites, "Them Call Themselved Old Punks", "Ugly Flower Pretty Vase", "Quickfire, I tried", and "Risto's Riff". Every song was fantastic but my favourite was probably, "Yesterday's Fire". The last song of their set was "Lay your cheek on down" which was absolutely epic. Then for their encore they played Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" which they had learned since they were in Canada. I thought it was a pretty great way to end off an amazing night, but I wished they would have played for another hour, or as someone in the crowd shouted when they said they had 2 or 3 more - "how about 60 more!!".
SXSW is a music festival in Austin, Texas that I dream of attending one day... but in the mean time I like to check out which Canadian bands are performing. This year there were only a few bands from the prairie provinces, two of which were Yes We Mystic from Winnipeg and Close Talker from Saskatoon. I made a mental note to check out these bands and then the next day I saw a poster that they were playing a show together in Calgary - Perfect!
I was blown away by Yes We Mystic who opened the show. They were a five piece band (with violin and cello so I was in love) and they all kept switching up their instruments. One of them took turns on the keyboard, guitar, and cello...and another was on keyboards and then suddenly had a mandolin! I also must say that the lead singer's voice was phenomenal. What a talented group of artists! The highlights for me were "Monument" and "No Harm" which they finished their set with. I love how their music has many different layers and the way their songs evolve. Actually I found myself reminded a bit of Radiohead while listening to them. I really love their 5 song "Floods and Fires" EP but unfortunately they didn't play any songs from it. The video below is of their song Odessa Steps which they didn't play but is my favourite song by them.
Close Talker who just released their new album Lens a week ago brought us an incredible show as well. They are a trio but both guitarists also played keyboards so they had a very full sound. They opened with their set with the album opener "All of Us" - the bass was loud and it was very groovy. The lead singer's vocals were super nice and fit the music well. Their new songs all sounded great. I was reminded a bit of The Neighborhood by their slow but groovy songs. My favourite song that they played was "The West Was Won" (from their first album) which got everybody dancing. They came out for a one-song encore (concerts at Commonwealth are way too short) and played Heads which is a great song and had the whole crowd singing "We lost our heads back at home" - it was awesome.
So I was listening to an interview with Courtney Barnett and discovered my newest musical obsession - Jen Cloher. She is an Australian singer songwriter with a lovely voice and fantastic songs. I absolutely love her 2013 album "In Blood Memory" and have been listening to it a ton this month! Check out this video of her performing "Kamakaze Origami" below.
A few nights ago I was fortunate enough to see one of my favourite Canadian artists accompanied by an orchestra. I must admit I almost didn't go because the tickets were $80 and I've already seen Joel about four times, but when it came down to a few days before the show I just knew it would kill me to be sitting at home while Joel is in my hometown playing with AN ORCHESTRA. So I got a pair of last minute tickets at the back of the floor section and made it a date night with my boyfriend.
The show started out with a piece performed by the Calgary Phillharmonic Orchestra on their own to showcase their incredible talent and musicianship. Then, after a warm introduction from the orchestra conductor (also from Nova Scotia), Joel came on stage and performed Harbour Boys with the orchestra. I must say it through me a off a bit when he walked out with a mop of long grey/brown hair. He looked much older then when I saw him a couple years ago in Edmonton - maybe the grey is just more noticeable when it's long or maybe it was the light - but none of that actually matters because he was still the same charming, talented, funny artist with the awkward dance moves who always has me smiling from ear to ear whenever I see him.
Joel had a few band members on stage with him along with the orchestra and alternated between solo songs and songs accompanied by the orchestra. He played quite a few slower songs such as "When I Close My Eyes", "Lying on a Beach", "I'm Yours" and "Old Friends". These slower songs were so much more epic with the orchestra and sounded like they were part of a movie soundtrack. I loved all the string instruments and the flutes. He also did a great slow rendition of "North Star" which I think may be my favourite of his songs - the funny/clever lyrics are just so frickin good and fun to sing.
He also fit in lots of story telling - which is one of the things I love most about a Joel Plaskett show. My favourite was a story of him and three friends in a kids summer camp when they first discovered Led Zeppelin and sneaking into the woods at night to perform a secret ceremony to honour the band and each saying a speech to a different band member and then burning the four corners of a Zeppelin post card - too funny.
The best moment of the night for me was the last song of their set - "Lightning Bolt" which started off with the cellos playing the opening guitar riff - it sounded so deep and incredible - the crowd actually cheered! The orchestra really took that song to a whole nother level and it was awesome.
After the show Joel received a standing ovation and came out for an encore where he read an incredibly touching poem that he wrote for his friend Gord Downie when he was diagnosed and then performed a song dedicated to him. It was very beautiful.
All in all it was a wonderful night with a stage full of talented musicians, wonderful instruments, comfy chairs, and one of Canada's finest singer-songwriters - worth every penny.
