HnG’s Best of CMW 2011

Posted: March 22, 2011 | Author: Vee | Filed under: Music | Tags: 2011, big sugar, canadian music week, cmw, down with webster, five alarm funk, mary rose obsession, Sweet Thing, the stanfields, wide mouth mason | Leave a comment »

By Vanessa Markov

What a week! Despite the warnings, I was nowhere near prepared for the lethal amount of awesome happening all at once during Canadian Music Week. Like every music lover, I had to make sacrifices and miss some great shows in order to be at others, but I can definitely say I am wholly satisfied! From east to west coast, indie to major, hip hop to hoedown, here are the top 4 shows I attended:

4) Mary Rose Obsession at The Ballroom – March 12, 2011

Review and Photos by Vanessa Markov

Originally posted in Lithium Magazine here

Smooth vocals atop edgy rock riffs combined with catchy lyrics, hardcore fans, and looks that could kill; the guys of Mary Rose Obsession have “next big thing” written all over them …in red lipstick. From their style to their sound, MRO is rebranding rock ‘n roll by injecting the craft with lethal amounts of straight-up sex appeal, making it their main attraction instead of a mere characteristic. Having been recently chosen to represent Toronto in the final round of Hard Rock Café’s annual international Battle of the Bands competition, they were one band I was more than looking forward to seeing again during Canadian Music Week, and I’m so glad I did.

First off, my camera absolutely loves these guys; capturing all of their attitude and personality was so effortless I barely broke a sweat – well, not from working hard anyway! All jokes aside cameras don’t lie, and there wasn’t a single soulless frame in my set. Crowds don’t lie either, and Mary Rose Obsession attracts one of the loudest, best looking crowds I’ve ever seen at a small show, and it’s no fluke either because they know all the words and aren’t afraid to dance.

A solid cover song always helps to make an indie show memorable, and MRO made this particular performance extra memorable with four covers, each one better than the last: Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire”, The Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash”, Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive”, and a pretty decent rock rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around Comes Around”. “I love watching the expressions on guys’ faces when we play that song,” vocalist David Grandinetti joked about the JT cover.

MRO’s original music is just as diverse as the covers they play, reminding me of Kid Rock one minute, Rage Against the Machine the next minute, and Nine Inch Nails a minute after that, but what makes MRO’s sound fresh and distinct is Grandinetti’s strong rhythm-n-blues inspired vocals. For example, one of my favourite songs, “Wild and Young”, starts out with a cutting electric riff and big drums that would lead you to expect punkish vocals, but they are instead smooth and controlled, accented with as much backup and attitude as the moment requires.

The best part about Mary Rose Obsession in my opinion is how fast they are writing quality new material. After just releasing their first full length in Fall 2010, the guys have already written and are performing a slew of new hits like “Wild and Young”, “L.A. Lady”, and “Sugar Sweet”. Mark my words, if MRO continues to maintain this momentum without spinning out of control, they’ll be topping charts in no time.

More photos and links available here

Edit April 2011 – you can now vote for MRO in the final round of Hard Rock Cafe’s battle of the bands here.

3) Down With Webster and Sweet Thing at Massey Hall – March 12, 2011

Review by Val Bennett, photos by Vanessa Markov

Originally posted in Lithium Magazine here

Charlie Sheen may be being bringing his “winning” routine to Toronto’s Massey Hall next month, but local hip-popsters Down With Webster proved it was their “Time to Win” on March 12th to a sold out house at the venue. The Toronto seven-piece group tore up the stage during their Canadian Music Week showcase – and final show of their own 2011 WINtour. If the boys of DWW were feeling any sort of exhaustion as they wrapped up their tour, you didn’t sense it for a second throughout their performance. They are one of the most energetic and lively bands I have ever seen perform. Opening acts 2AM Club, The Envy and Sweet Thing provided the crowd with the climaxing warm up necessary to lead up to the main act.

Los Angeles’ 2AM Club started the night off with their track “Hurricane”. The six-piece provided an image reminiscent of the headlining act – with two lead vocalists, guitar, bass, keys and drums – melding pop croons and rap verses with rock riffs and new wave key components. They performed the upbeat new single “Let Me Down Easy” with confidence and ease, while a row of teenage girls crowded in front of the stage for an up close and personal look at the band. The girls waved their arms back and forth throughout the band’s first single “Worry About You” while the pop melodies in “Nobody’s In Love” elicited cheers. 2AM Club fit the bill of the show, and despite lacking the same level of energy and exuberance as the headlining act, they seemed to please the crowd and get toes tapping.

Next up was the Toronto-based band, The Envy. Their set stood out in a colourful manner (or perhaps desaturated manner, considering their dark attire) for offering a little taste of something different with their rock-laden sound. While they seemed a little heavy for the DWW scene, The Envy brought the energy level up with gimmicky antics, excessive chord changes and moody vocals. The single “Don’t Let Go”, along with the track “Unfaithful” from the band’s new EP, had girls at the front of the stage dancing and rocking along. The band dedicated “Finger Crossed” to the families of people lost in the recent tragedies in Japan, asking fans to cross their fingers (which serves as the band’s symbol) as they performed. At the finale of their set, the lead singer dramatically threw a guitar nearly ten feet into the air and caught it before exiting the stage.

Sweet Thing followed (another act currently based out of Toronto), strutting onto the stage with a completely endearing charisma, building anticipation throughout the intro track. I waited anxiously for the song to climax and finally it did, the entire band bursting with energy. It quickly became apparent during their second song “Over Me” that their set was not only about their solid music, but also the theatrics of their performance, filled with quirky expressions and antics. Each track was energy packed and entertaining, as the eclectic quintet commanded the stage. There was something very surreal about Sweet Thing – despite their fun loving stage presence being almost over the top, it still felt very genuine. The crowd was very receptive to it – dancing around to songs “Dance Mother”, “Spider” and “Change of Seasons”. By the time they wrapped up their set, the crowd was fully pumped and ready to go for the main act.

As the lights dimmed for DWW’s arrival onstage, screams and cheers erupted throughout the venue and excited fans rushed to the stage for a prime spot to get up close to the guys. The band’s iconic backdrop came into sight as the lights came up on stage, music began and the guys made their way out one by one. The entire audience was on their feet by this point, a large portion with their “W”s up (as DWW dubs it) as the band started into the track “Go Time”. I think the best way to describe the first few songs of the set is to simply say it was complete insanity. Girls screamed their throats dry and surely lost feeling in their arms after thrashing them forward excitedly. The entire crowd jumped during the track “Bass” as the guys screamed, “Bounce, bounce, come on, bounce!” The balcony shook underneath my feet and for a moment I worried it would collapse until I just let my fear go and got back to enjoying the show.

DWW mixed their set up with tracks from their debut album Time To Win, Vol. 1, released back in 2009, along with upcoming songs from the ever-anticipated Time To Win, Vol. 2. While the release date for the latter is still unknown (as the band has yet to make it into the studio due to extensive touring), you could almost never guess from the fans’ reactions which tracks were old and true or neat and new. Every new song played was beyond well received by the crowd, including “Heartbeat”, “GTFO” and “Light The Night”.

Music aside, I think the main part that draws the band’s crowd is their unbelievably energetic and crazy performance onstage. The boys didn’t falter for a second, with Bucky and Cam killing it on vocals along with guitarist and vocalist Pat, while Tyler switched up between the bass and keys and Marty furiously beat his drum kit. Hype-man Kap bounced around and DJ Diggy provided the all the jams throughout. Marty had the chance to shine for an epic drum solo in which he covered “We Speak No Americano”, “Black and Yellow” and “Saturday Night” along with the electronic theme song to Super Mario. All the while, Kap walked around the stage with his Flip cam, filming Marty and the ecstatic crowd.

Down With Webster don’t need to worry about crazy lighting or stage décor to make them pop onstage. They just need a shit ton of people (if you’re counting all seven members, plus the five men dressed in suits with horns and the maestro and full orchestra… Things got pretty crowded up there!) Down With Webster are just about bringing the music and the energy and engaging the crowd to bring a stunning live performance to fruition. And I’ve got to say it, these boys are definitely winning.

More photos and links available here

2) Five Alarm Funk at Comfort Zone – March 10, 2011

Review and photos by Vanessa Markov

Originally posted in Lithium Magazine here

There’s only one thing that disappointed me tremendously about Five Alarm’s Funk show at Comfort Zone during CMW, and that’s that there weren’t nearly enough people there to see it! Sure, there were some fantastic acts happening during CMW this year – more than I can count – but can you say you saw a man in a Gorilla suit play the triangle? Didn’t think so! Of all the incredibly fun and unique acts I’ve seen in the last little while, Five Alarm Funk takes the cake and pies you in the face with it. No word of a lie; if you can make it through a FAF show without cracking a smile, I would question the condition of your soul.

I totally understand now what sax player Dameian meant when he cleverly said to me in an interview that FAF’s fan base is anyone who had seen them perform before. There’s something so wonderfully natural about the playful approach these guys take to the music they play, which ranges anywhere from funk to lounge to classical to Latin to rock and back again, and it brings such a fresh, fun, and informal feeling to the classic sounds. It’s just so out there and in your face that I’m convinced it’s the beginning of a whole new subgenre of big band music with a badass twist – punk funk!

Aside from having a really well put together show, FAF also deals with unexpected technical issues like total pros, quickly arranging for one of the members to tell the audience jokes to some background music while the others fixed the problem. The show was back on in no time without ever seeming to have stopped in the first place. Now that’s showmanship!

There is no single band I can think of that is as capable as FAF at invoking the spirit of so many genres in so little time. I mean, one second you’re head banging, the next you’re jiving, and then off to Salsa! Every FAF song is just so diverse and full, with real energy found in every single note; the best moments being when they really stress the rock ‘n roll by layering big leads and heavy distortion on top of the horn and percussion sections like in “Broadway”…oh man, I could put it a million different ways but I think a random audience member said it best: “This is f**king awesome!”

More photos and links available here

1) Big Sugar, Wide Mouth Mason, and The Stanfields at Sound Academy – March 11, 2011

Review and photos by Vanessa Markov

Originally posted in Lithium Magazine here

Big Sugar’s big comeback show was without a doubt one of the most anticipated events on the CMW 2011 calendar, and I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say the show was a wild success in many ways and for several reasons. First, Sound Academy was already packed before the show even started and was completely rammed front to back by the time Big Sug hit the stage. It was one of those nights where you run into friends faster than you lose the ones you came with – good times!

A major reason why this show lived up to all the hype and then some is because of the extremely strong opening acts, starting with east coast rockers The Stanfields who surprised the audience with their loud ass foot-stomping punk-meets-folk rock that just screams “I AM CANADIAN”. Rich with raw harmonies, bouzouki leads, and Jon Landry’s Lightfoot-like lyrics that will make your skin crawl if you can stand still long enough to listen carefully, The Stanfields are a tough act to follow, even for Wide Mouth Mason.

The next pleasant surprise of the night was Wide Mouth Mason’s new bassist – Mr. Gordie Johnson himself! Looking more like Tommy Chong than himself these days, half the audience (including myself) didn’t even recognize him until singer and guitarist Shaun Verreault playfully bragged about it toward the end of their set, which was packed with both new tracks and old favourites. The only bummer was not hearing “My Old Self” live, a huge hit off Much Music’s untouchable Big Shiny Tunes 2 album.

As for Big Sugar, I had been warned about Gordie’s trademark deafening double-amp, but I don’t even think the person who warned me knew what was coming to us standing on the front lines. Forget wind, the sound coming from those amps more or less forms a fist and punches you clear in the face!

The band played several favourites like “Diggin’ a Hole” and “If I Had My Way” before introducing new songs to a roaring crowd, and then moved into what seemed to be the reggae portion of the show with Gordie relentlessly ripping on his infamous double-neck guitar – it’s as if the man needs two of everything just to keep up with him! The whole room started dancing to the big hit “Turn the Lights On”, sang their hearts out to an awesome electric guitar version of “Oh Canada”, and begged for more when the show ended some twenty or so songs later.

Between Wide Mouth Mason’s new line up, Big Sugar’s big comeback album, and The Stanfields highly successful exposure to a whole new audience, it was a fleeting and exciting night full of opportunity and cause for celebration.

I have to stress that The Stanfields are responsible for making the number one decision an easy one. I’ve never seen such a strong, high quality opening act and it really set the tone and standard for the evening.  More photos and links available here.

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