In my second installment, I take a smattering of the four distinct genres…a little from column A a little from column B. I hope you enjoy the photos. I think I’m getting the hang of this.
_____________________Thursday July, 7th_____________________
Ukrainia
When I read that “Ukrainia [are] transforming the foundations of Ukrainian music as we know it”, how could I not check them out. Having little acquaintance with the ‘foundations’ of Ukrainian music however, I was left with not a lot of grounds for comparison.
At first it was just puzzling; not only because I don’t speak Ukrainian (all their songs were sung in their native language) but also because these guys don’t fit the profile of your average Eastern European folk group. They’re pretty hard rocking; they jump around on stage in a high energy extravaganza, but most interestingly really sell it by way of a pronounced sense of irony.
Their crowd interaction is laugh-out-loud funny, capitalizing on their uniqueness by playing up funny Eastern European, Borat-inspired tendencies. After letting the audience know that we were the most beautiful people at the whole festival, the band informed us that their last song was written in the “Balkans while staring at goat too seductively”.
Also, they lamented that the “Black Sheep” stage (in honour of Wakefield’s legendary music venue a few kilometres outside of Ottawa) had been rechristened” The National Bank” stage, noting adroitly and hilariously what a little money can do.
This band wants you to laugh while you dance, you won’t be alone.
The Infected Mushrooms
This is another pretty innovated act; they are huge in Brazil…whatever that means.
Headed by Amit ‘Duvdev’ Duvedevani and co-founded by Erez Eisen this is an Israeli-bred, Los Angeles-based psy-trance duo. They are kind of a live Trance band, electronic beats mixed with hard-rock sounds.
Dark, heavy and brooding in a way…depressing dance music. Its kind like they want to curb stomp the candy raver while stealing his outdoor party idea.
The Sheepdogs
I have loved these prairie boys for a long time and have made a point of seeing their barroom shows for some time. I think the bar is really their native habitat in a way but they are just as good on bigger stages as it turns out.
Though they look (and sound) like they’ve been transported straight out of the 1970’s they are completely devoid of pretence. Theyre serious musicians and you tell that they care a lot about the art of composing solid songs with solid lyrics. Their music kind of jangles and rambles and rolls and basically feels like summer time and a case of beer gave you pat on the back.
They act, dress and sound the way a rock and roll band should, playing a very well rehearsed and tight set. These Saskatoon natives beam authenticity. With big guitars, and a vintage organ, they have mastered the soul nourishing melodies and harmonies that are sometimes painfully absent from a lot of contemporary rock and roll. They evoke that forgotten feeling you once had when you were out with your friends under a starry night’s sky in the height of summer just before you shot-gunned a beer and made out with the girlfriend your parents never liked.
They’re unpretentious, polished and a great straight-ahead rock and roll band. Also, lead singer Ewan Currie has the BEST rock and roll voice EVER!
They are getting a lot of notoriety and all of it well deserved. They’re finalists in a campaign to have their photo appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, though I suspect they will appear on many magazine covers in the meantime.
You can vote here
Girltalk
Girltak was exactly what I’d expected; the show is unmistakable, just look for the wall of barelegged dancing fans on stage and youthful proto-hipsters dudes in uniform plaid shirts and Ray Ban Wayfarers (not knocking it, I happen to own a pair of them myself).
Girltalk’s (aka Gregg Gillis) deserves the credit he’s received and his parties are still a lot of fun.
His track selection is second to none, (though I have noticed a distinct inclination toward gritty, sexually explicit verging on violent rap tracks) and even if you’re not into the dance scene it’s just a matter of time before Gillis busts out a track you will love (or had forgotten you loved) that will draw you in.
This was made all the more clear to me when observing the facial expressions of senior festival goers who had not come to see Girltalk. At first they just sort of stood there slack-jawed, scratching their heads at the sea of youthful revellers (both onstage, mauling the Gillis, and in the crowd getting their freak-out…on). Then, when a Metallica track came on, or Young MC, or The Strokes or Simon and Garfunkel, or club track from the 80’s, you’d see them perk up.
I took few photos of this type of observer just to really capture their expression. One wonders what goes through their minds. Is it that they’re thinking they’ve stumbled upon a live filming of an American Apparel ad? Does it remind them of dorm-room, undergrad, frosh-week photos they’ve creeped on by hacking into their daughters facebook account? Or is that they’re just pissed that girls in their day…well you get it.
Girltalk has put the mash-up artist on the map and I really believe for the better. He has set the bar for djs to come afterward. His mixes are always laptop perfect and his show is colourful and energetic especially with the addition of streamers, confetti smoke and a decent lights show. At no point are you listening to fewer than two tracks being played at time and the transitions are always seamless. It’s like the best day of dance music wrapped into about an hour set. And he takes a few creative, original detours along the way.
Given the number of tracks he burns through, I wonder if we can ever return to dj nights where we had to listen to an entire track one at a time waiting out whatever we didn’t like, scratching our heads about what the term copywrite even meant. I don’t think so.
READ PART 1 HERE
By Ewald Friesen
