Thursday night:
Caught last song in Hey Rosetta!'s set. They sounded good, had a cellist and a violinist which sounded fantastic.
Friday: (aka. Rock night)
Worked at merch table at main tent, where the Beat showcase was happening. Overheard performances by Kay & Ace (sp?), Divine Brown and Elise Estrada. When I asked who the last person was I got a "omg, you loser" look from one of my co-volunteers. why should I know? all she did was plug Parasuco repeatedly over the course of an hour. Divine Brown has a great voice and sounded very polished, but nothing new. Like a Canadian attempted answer to Beyonce or something.
Snuck into the Fox Showcase (sold out) with a co-volunteer after our shift with our volunteer shirts on. Security guy recognized me and that made things extremely easy.. we felt like such rebels!
Sets--
Incura: winner of Fox's seeds competition. wasn't too much into their style. almost screamo. front man very acrobatically gyrating, very amusing. realized during this set that black skinny jeans = certification for rockers.
Arkells: PHENOMENAL. I broke my no-music-buying Lent rule for their CD... which is a downer. but they were so good. anthemic stadium rock. brought out Zaki Ibrahim and another female singer to sing backup for a couple of songs. Did a rendition of "Ain't too proud to beg" which had everyone singing along. No Champagne Socialist sounded so good live...
Daniel Wesley Band: a more offensive Jack Johnson. I can't believe people moshed to this. Alcohol is a strange substance.
The Trews: SO GOOD. They were visibly confident because they were good and they knew it. Wow, they brought down the tent. I was barely standing.
Saturday: (aka. folk/funk night)
Got up at 6-ish because I was presenting research at a psych conference at 8... gosh. Closest thing to a hangover I'll ever get. Mysterious bruises, groggy, half mute and deaf and head wobbly. Poster presentations went well though, I didn't fall over once! Although I did fall asleep in the talks so I just didnt go after a couple.
Got home, Tim and I went to Cheryl's, the three of us set off to have our musical adventures for that night.
Sets--
Matthew Barber: if I didn't love him, his set would've been only ok. Doolin's was really dingy. a new friend and i went up to the front. we were probably the only 2 in vancouver that knew his music. we were requesting songs and chatting with him haha. guitar + harmonica, charming and good with banter, forgot some of his own lyrics. met Alex, a fellow fan of CBC R3 which was awesome! Also talked with Grant Lawrence (CBCR3 host) and Jill Barber (Matt's also very talented sister). Got a picture with Mr. Barber.
Hey Ocean!: The always talented and fun Vancouver band. Party central! We were very glad to get into Media Club. Missed the first 2 songs of their set but they played for a good hour and 20 minutes or so. their music is catchier than herpes. you can't not dance, it's a physical impossibility. :)
Sunday:
So sleep deprived. Lost voice so couldn't sing at church haha. Kept hoping that the worship band would burst into Caribbean rhythms but alas, t'was not so.
Juno ceremony-- (aka. low point of my weekend)
seat filler. got into GM place after about an hour and 45 minutes. got actually seat filling about another hour after that. Gordon Campbell was right in front of me, as was the bassist from Hey Ocean!. I think they're quite acquainted with each other actually. curious. Gregor Robertson front right. 2 of the judges from so you think you can dance canada (the pretty black lady and the french dude) and Nico (one of the previous winners?) right behind me. Nickelback were about a section over to my right. pondered the likelihood of self getting hurt in a targeted air raid one section over to the right. all that having been said, the only person I wanted to talk to was the Hey Ocean bassist.
Highlights--
Sam Roberts Band: artist of the year, their performance of Them Kids, bassist wearing a poncho
The Stills: performance. unfortunately was blocked off to where i was sitting
Kathleen Edwards & Bryan Adams: KE on violin; did a nice duet where they looked into each others eyes instead of audience. very sizzling and beautiful
City & Colour w. Gord Downie: did Sleeping Sickness, sounded way more upbeat than studio version which is appreciated
Great Big Sea & Hawksley Workman & members of Eccodeck: wrapped up the show with a rollicking finish beyond the credits.
Lights: acceptance speech was good. she's a cutie-patooty. mentioned how it's fantastic to be recognized as a independent musician in a large institution. a small crack in the gloomy clouds, she was.
Lowlights--
Nickelback: DON'T NEED MORE AWARDS. NEED TALENT AND RESPECT FOR WOMEN. they beat Feist for fan favorite (what) and The Trews and Tokyo Police Club for group of the year (WHAT.) album of the year category had really awful nominees so it was no loss. honestly, I felt sick. the whole stadium was roaring. I have never felt so disillusioned about music, nor musically lonely in a sea of people.
Simple Plan: meh.
MCs: Russell Peters was "about as funny as a kick in the nuts," to quote another blogger. The gay guy from video on trial was about as funny as a violent karate session to the nuts then. I'm glad he wasn't in the broadcast.
