Hillside Has It All

well, it's been about a day and 2 sleeps now, so i guess its time to talk about my first hillside experience... hillside being a music and community festival held at guelph lake conservation area for the 24th year. i'd always heard great things from friends who had gone, and every word of it was true. from the quality of entertainment, to the quality of amenities and camping, the world class ethnic foods served on reusable dishes and washed by volunteers, reusable beer mugs that are brought back from year to year by patrons, the size and comfort of the festival, the no hassles vibe and friendly atmosphere, the lack of anxiousness and loads of relaxation. this is a green festival whose engine is cranked by over a thousand volunteers and five thousand attitudes who keep it close to their heart - there is very little, if any, corporate sponsorship, its small, independent, and theirs to share.

it also helps to have a great crew to share in the experience, and this weekend we had exactly that: headed up with scottie and diane to meet with eric and denise in guelph, and some of their friends who were holding campsites for us in the overflow - and once onsite it seemed like there were friends staked out all over the place. its always great to spend time with old friends you rarely get to see.

friday night, after getting set up and settled in we headed down to the island, and it was only a quick 10 or 15 minute walk from the overflow - like i said, very comfortable. started off at the island stage, and barely left the entire evening.

Kick This Thing Workshop w/ Shad and That 1 Guy
No Borders Workshop w/ Rock Plaza Central, Jah Youssouff, Dave Clark and friends
Monsoon Melodies Workshop w/ Dya Singh, Madagascar Slim, Treassa Levasseur and friends
Mike Sharp
Martin Sexton (main stage)
Golden Dogs

really enjoyed what that 1 guy and shad were doing when we showed up, and the no borders workshop was cool, but the monsoon melodies sticks out the most for me from this night, that was a great workshop... east indian trance meets chicago blues, a lot of great energy in the tent and it really felt like the festival had finally kicked off - for me at least. next up was mike sharp, but he looked too much like booche for me to pay much attention to his music - eric had shown up by this point so were likely getting beers and primed for the closers... he and denise were pumped for martin sexton and based on their recommendation i decided to check out the first part of his set and was quite impressed. total one man show with a vocal range that is out of this world - he's good with the vocal trickery, too, to fill out other arrangements within a tune. just a brilliant musician and singer. my veins were starting to boil with adrenaline though, and i needed to rock out, so after 5 or 6 songs i booted over to the golden dogs back at the island stage for the last half of their set. i managed to catch a bunch of songs i love to hear, 1985, saints at the gates, yeah, runouttaluck, and a couple others. pulled up beside this big bearded super dreaded hippie who was just about jumping out of his skin - said he'd never even heard of 'em before that night. i love that shit.

capped the night off back at the campsite where the lovely Anne came to visit and kept us entertained over beers and a smorgasbord of snacks. a pretty good introduction to hillside, i'd say. going to bed, i couldnt wait to wake up for day 2.

saturday started nice and slow with a cool breeze and special coffees... pouring over the schedule, building a plan of attack, mounting excitement... by 1pm we were going to be back at the island stage for the uh huh! workshop with members of apostle of hustle and do make say think. saturday would wind up looking something like this..

Uh Huh Workshop w/ members of AoH and DMST (island stage)
Socalled (lake stage)
Tannis Slimmon, Jude Vadalla and Katherine Wheatley (island stage)
Great Wooden Trio (sun stage)
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life w/ Ron Sexsmith, Lynn Jackson, Melissa Ferrick, Angela Desveaux and Pat Robitaille (sun stage)
Rock Plaza Central (island stage)
That 1 Guy (main stage)
Besnard Lakes (island stage)
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings (main stage)
Do Make Say Think (main stage)
Apostle of Hustle (island stage)
Shout Out Out Out Out (island stage)

saturday afternoon/early evening consisted of a lot of wandering around between stages, stopping here and there to check something out, meeting up with friends here and there and going along with them, trying to find shade, taking pictures, and generally chilling out and relaxing while taking in some fine music... saving up the party for the night time..

the uh huh workshop was really cool, though, it sounded pretty much what you'd imagine it to sound like - its not such an out there combination to throw together, considering some of the other workshops throughout the weekend. nevertheless, a great post-rockin' set. the great wooden trio and the workshop with ron sexsmith at the sun stage was really great to just throw a blanket down, chill in the shade and listen to some well written songs by some great artists. pat robitaille was someone new who caught my ears from that stage. back over to the island stage for rock plaza central and there i met up with my buddy luke and we spent the next few hours splitting time between stages checking out whatever we could. luke's gone through a bit of an ordeal over the last few months, so i really enjoyed hanging out and spending some time with him. rock plaza central sounded really strong, i enjoyed them much more live than i had previously on disc... err... computer... didnt really pay much attention to that 1 guy, as we mostly stayed to the back grassy area, but people seemed to really be enjoying him. we didnt stay long there before we headed back to the island stage to listen to besnard lakes. i had seen that band a couple weeks prior here in london and overall wasnt that impressed - liked the album, but found myself bored with the live show. sitting at the picnic table outside the tent, though, they sounded really good. seemed to be putting on a great show. after a while luke suggested that we go for a walk to check the last bit of blackie and the rodeo kings and stake a space for dmst.. it was one of those things, i went into the tent to tell everyone else i was splittin' for a bit, and was totally taken by the music - the sound in the tent for besnard lakes was so powerful, and the only way to describe it was like a real whoooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa experience.. i kinda fumbled over the words, but eventually we were on the way. DMST put on a strong set as the sun was going down, and again it was really cool to just sit and listen to a band like that. nice and relaxed. i saw most of that set then headed back to the island stage for the rest of the night for what would end up being 2 of my favourite sets of the weekend: Apostle of Hustle and Shout Out Out Out Out. Apostle put on a great crunchy show that really showcased andrew whiteman's raunchy guitar abilities and clever songwriting. excellent set up for the Shout's, which kinda deserves its own paragraph....

this was definitely going to be the heavy party set of the weekend, the hard throw down, and everyone getting themselves involved knew it. scottie says to eric and i before they started that they would have to do something seriously major to fuck up with that kind of energy waiting for them. and waiting for them. and waiting for them. and waiting for them. and waiting for them. and waiting some more for them. turns out, they were waiting for something, too. somehow, they had managed to forget likely the only piece of equipment they would NEED for their show, that they certainly wouldnt be able to borrow off of anyone else on the island. when the announcement came that this piece of equipment was in a cab en route to the stage from the hotel, you'd think the place was going to turn riotous. but this was hillside. some grumbling and groaning, some people went to cry with the dears, but we waited a little longer. and i must say, it was worth every good goddamn second. once this band got going, it was everything everyone had anticipated it to be. they took the stage, announced they were a dance band and said "i see this tent is full, so lets see it." - they saw it alright. a sea of people dancing on the picnic tables, the tent packed to the gills, the band tearing through their shortened set, surely pouring out any and all frustrations, and the audience, forgiving, and giving back, eating it all up. if you can find some youtube videos, its worth having a look just for the room energy alone. a seriously intense throwdown. the 2nd saturday sweat.

good thing we let eric drive the bus saturday night, it was full of laughs and adventures - jaybone had invited us back to his campsite and after a little hike we spent a few hours killing the night with their crew around the campfire with guitars and singalongs. the walks there and back were half the fun, hahah. the clouds formed a jesus fish, the moon made the eye, we followed it back home.

aside - how bout that moon and that sky??? nice!!

for some reason i was up early and feeling refreshed, so i got packed up and left myself with nothing more to do but party the day away. we missed the gospel hour on sunday morning, but had our own little prayer session before heading down to the island for the band tribute hour. looking ahead at the schedule, i dont think i would have predicted that sunday might turn out to my overall favourite day musically, even with 2 slip sets, but, as everyone always says, hillside is as much about the things you dont know, as it is about the things you do.

When I Get Offa This Mountain Workshop w/ Tom Wilson, Ron Sexsmith, Stephen Fearing, Jude Vadala, Tannis Slimmon and friends (island stage)
Angela Desveaux (island stage)
The Slip (island stage)
Gourds and Guitars Workshop w/ Jah Yousouff, Vieux Farka Toure, Madagascar Slim (island stage)
The D'Urbervilles (lake stage)
Slippery 12 Lane Highway Workshop w/ Dave Clark, The Slip, Mihirangi, Lewis Melville and friends (lake stage)
Vieux Farka Toure (main stage)
Los Campesinos (island stage)
Mother Mother (lake stage)
Ani Difranco (main stage)

so sunday started out with music of the band, perfect for the afternoon sun when you've got 5 beer tokens left to use. no keys or bass, but some fun renditions of tunes you know by heart - cant really beat that. i stuck around for angela desveaux more or less because i wanted to stake us out a good spot for the slip - it worked. obviously i was looking forward to seeing my favourite band, and i was really happy to see the response they got - a nice standing O, considering most of the place remained seated for their set, aside from a dozen or so usual rabid followers, ;). i think scottie put it best saying they seemed to play a bit of a reserved set that highlighted their softer side, but may have left a first timer with a skewed impression of the band. i'd say thats fairly accurate. my favourite parts of the set were the broke the promised land opener and happy snails closer - that had a really sweet and clean build to it. next up was another favourite set of mine, the gourds and guitars workshop. it seems like i never left that island stage in the afternoon, haha. but this set was great, some amazing world class musicians on stage, i mean, these guys are HUGE where they're from.. and apparently it was the first time jah youssouff and vieux farka toure had ever played together, even back home in mali - so this was also a bit of a historic jam. when vieux farka toure came out he told a little story of how back in the day at home the farka toure clan were actually slaves of the youssouff clan.. good thing anne was there to translate it for me. the music these guys made together was amazing. with madagascar slim up there as well, they were just a force. some great grooves were laid down, accented by beautiful selfless soloing from all of them. i didnt stop dancing the entire hour. after that, i grabbed some food with eric and it was off to the lake stage for the last bit of the d'urbervilles and to get set up for the slip workshop.

i guess the 12 lane highway is an infamous workshop at hillside. dave clark (former rheostatic) plays conductor and drums, and you have a smattering of musicians going on all cylinders. the cast this time was held down by The Slip, with canadian folk legend Lewis Melville on guitar, New Zealand vocalist Mihirangi, another djembe player, a fellow on stand-up bass, and occassionally more people on keys, guitar and various other percussions. this was certainly the outlet for the slip to play through. this workshop totally delivered and was also a highlight of the weeknd for me. a big sound coming from the stage, these guys locking in like freight trains, and turning on a dime at dave clark's request. the vocalist had an incredible range and she would throw it through these effects and play with it.. brad would take samples and muck around as well, and there was great call and answer, note for note, going on between them. marc and andrew played excellent roles showcasing their chops as well. lewis melville may have been the most surprising one on stage, though - he was all over the place on all kinds of instruments, and he tore it up on each and every of them. never saw it comin'.

the rest of the night would yield some big time world music, the 2 surprise acts of the weekend, and a little bit of the festival headliner. sat in the grass and listened to vieux farka toure at the mainstage and got reacquainted with the sounds of west africa, before heading to the island stage for the first big surprise act of the weekend: from wales, los campesinos. a new arts and crafts signing who were apparently making their north american debut. well, they came out guns a blazin'! some speedy synth pop with catchy lyrics and melodies and a shitload of energy - the crowd totally ate it up. stayed for their whole set then went on to see the next big surprise act of the weekend at the lake stage - man, these came just in the nick of time, eh? haha. mother mother, from vancouver were over there, and they were frickin' fantastic! amazing 3 part harmonies from 2 lovely females flanking the male lead, they showcased some really clever hooks and played a really tight set of bouncy pop. seek 'em out. last up was Ani on the mainstage, and though im mostly indifferent to Ani, it was cool to see what i did of her - she is obviously an important musician to a lot of people for a reason. i did dig what she was doing up there, but after a half hour or so, we split to beat the traffic, and it turned out to be a great decision.

so, thats it, thats how my first hillside went down. it was absolutely incredible, obviously, as you can see from my verbosity, i cant seem to say enough about it. i've already got it marked on the calendar for next year.

honourable food mentions: the african peanut stew, diana's indian, and the spring rolls i had from some place tucked in the corner of the food tent. mmmmmmmmm.....

quotes of the weekend:

"hey eric, are you double fistin'?" - "yep" - "that's a lotta fistin'!"
"dont worry, we've still got enough [supplies] to make sure we dont end up hating life."
"i have a duck."

happy hillside! see you next year!

need some clowns?

you never know what the weekend will call for...



i love you, steve, i wish you the best.

french revolution

i lived in london during the war. no, not that london and not that war. small-time london and a myriad of bullshit wars. that's likely how i'll remember this place. i've gotten bored, uninspired, stale, and generally disillusioned with much of everything.

there doesnt seem to be a whole lot left for me here.

if timing is everything, then i suppose the time is nigh.

time for resolution and revolution. reorganizing, restructuring, rebranding, reinvention, and reemergence.

look for me on the french side of the river. i'll be the one spilling my wine.

i dig dug

doug martsch and built to spill: some of the most humble musicians you'll see on stage. a solid 15 years of pent-up hooting, hollering, cheering, clapping, song requesting, encore calling out, etc etc, overcame the toronto crowd at lee's palace and it was fun to see doug and the bands reactions and almost awkward thank yous after each tune and at the end of the night. this was wednesday night, the 2nd of the 2-night stand at lee's, marking the band's first trip to toronto in it's existence of about 15 years and there was a huge energy of anticipation and appreciation in the air. i met a few people who were at the first show the night before and all gave glowing reviews - though mixed accounts on what they actually played, hahah. my favourite was the waster in the bathroom who announced to me he was at the show the previous night... when i asked if he loved it he stared at me... "what do you think?"

"shitty?"

wednesday night's show was just as massive as the response. maybe moreso. the only song i really wanted to hear going in was Car, and i got it - basically doug solo with some light bass accompaniment. i knew everything else would have been gravy for me, and it was. they opened with Liar, the tune brian really wanted to hear going in, so all in all we couldnt lose. the encore was just like buffalo, a monstrous 20+ minute Randy Described Eternity. the drummer had his kit torn down before the final notes had come from doug's guitar. other favourites of mine were a hole tearing Conventional Wisdom, Big Dipper, and Time Trap. the set looked something like this, though im sure they're out of order and im missing a tune here or there... i always do..

Liar
Made-Up Dreams
The Source
Big Dipper
Car
Conventional Wisdom
Stop The Show
Kicked It In The Sun
Time Trap
You Were Right
Carry The Zero
Brian Eno/Bauhaus cover.. Third Uncle? (i didnt get the title, but that cover has popped up on recent setlists)
and a song from the first album which i cant remember the name

encore:
Randy Described Eternity

each time i've seen them i've been impressed by the selfless dynamic the 3 guitar players have.. this time was no different. you kind of expect to see Doug take a lot of the big solos and be the real center of attention the whole night, but he's not - he allows tons of room for the other 2 guys, and they're quite good - all of them do such crazy stuff, and its heavenly when they're doing it all at once. there's so much going on between the 3 of them, it's awesome to focus in on them individually once in a while and really focus on what they're doing to contribute to the wall. see who's layin' what bricks...

the only complaint comes from my ears to my eyes: "great sightlines, man, but those guys make us pay!"

jack the riffer

by the time jack white had tossed his belt into the crowd, mid-riff seguing into only the 2nd song of the night, perched up on his monitor gesturing to the crowd like "c'mon, give it to me!", and the crowd responding, arms up, giving it to him, he had earned my vote for this generation's modern rock guitar god. pure rock n roll showmanship. he had seemingly already earned 5000 or so other votes. i saw the white stripes at the JLC on the weekend for the first time and was totally blown away, all expectations thoroughly exceeded.

they opened in a big way, with a filthy dead leaves and the dirty ground going into icky thump, with the aforementioned frenzy inducing antics in the middle. the set was longer than i was expecting, and they seemed to play tons of songs.. and lots that i was wanting to hear and that had been swimming around in my head during the day leading up. highlights were im slowly turning into you, with the crowd doing big "HEY!"'s in between the organ parts, hotel yorba, finding it harder to be a gentleman, cold cold night where meg came out from the kit to sing and jack let her have the stage retreating towards the back, playing kneeling down with his back to the crowd. she maybe got the biggest ovation of the night. there was a proposal set-up, followed closely by an awesome union forever and a martyr for my love for you. the set finished with a wicked medley starting with the big 3 killed my baby > i think i smell a rat > little cream soda w/ parts of big 3 > astro (which was started earlier in the set) > i think i smell a rat. lot of energy packed in there, they had the place eating out of the palms of their hands. the encore was huge, too... i just don't know what to do with myself, you don't know what love is (you just do as you're told), hardest button to button, i can tell that we're gonna be friends, seven nation army, among others...

the stage was set up all in red with a riser at the back and a few ladders going up... jack used it as a stage for some big time riffing and soloing, stomping around in a powder to create a sort of smoke effect around his feet. a silhouette of meg filled the background most of the night, her kit was set up on an angle kind of off to the side of jack... over to the other side were an organ and some other keys that got a fair bit of use.

the crowd was totally into it all night, too... clapping along, chanting out "hey!"'s when appropriate, singing along - no doubt jack's energy was a big part of whipping them into shape.

it's kind of amazing the kind of show these 2 people can put on, without the use of a full band. to me it actually seems like the perfect dynamic for what they're creating, in a live setting it makes so much sense - i kind of wasnt expecting that, either. seeing them live gave me a whole new respect for the band, even though its not like i didnt like them before. i guess i just kinda see it a different way now. with so much amazing music out there, they're another great example of a creative way to get it out there. jack's monstrous playing certainly doesnt need any accompaniment on the guitars, and meg, for all her criticisms, i think is actually perfect for the part. she can drum, and her thrashy style is perfect for that sound and that stage dynamic - i couldnt really imagine how it could function any other way.

they continued the tradition of the afternoon secret gig on this tour, this time playing up at the arva flour mill - unfortunately, i didnt make it up to that, but by all accounts, it was pretty incredible. with this ambitious tour and all these little shows they've been doing, on top of the ridiculous rock n roll they've been dropping all over the country, i think it's safe to say this is going to go down as one legendary canadian tour.

White Stripes
John Labatt Center
London Ontario
07/07/07

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Icky Thump
I'm Slowly Turning Into You >
Canon >
I'm Slowly Turning Into You
Hotel Yorba
I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentelman
Astro / Jack the Ripper
Death Letter
Cold Cold Night
Apple blossom
The Union Forever
A Martyr for my Love For You
The Big Three Killed My Baby
I think I smell a rat (riff)
Little Cream Soda (w/ big 3 words at the end)
Astro
I think I smell a rat

Encore

Blue Orchid
Party of Special Things To Do
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
Hardest Button To Button
Catch Hell Blues
We're Going To Be Friends
Seven Nation Army
Boll weevill

sometimes choices arent so clear...

since i was avoiding ryan the last few days, i went back to last couple Rheos shows, and specifically this little nugget from the Horseshoe show...

queer > saskatchewan > queer reprise. (click to download the tunes)

queer's classic dave, and its good to hear, but i recommend using that first 4 minutes to prime yourself for what's to come in the 2nd and 3rd acts.

saskatchewan could very well be my favourite Rheostatics song, and its often the one i'll play for people if they're unfamiliar. the double live version, though - the definitive. haha. this saskatchewan is nothing like that at all, but i think it's a pretty emotional and telling version, given the context of swirling rumours and drug references scattered through the couple shows. the noodly intro is almost a little awkward but comes together very sweetly as they dissolve into one another. from there, the band interplay takes on this very soft touch with the guys providing this cushiony pillow for martin to play in for 5 or so minutes. then things start to get deep. and dark. and perhaps downright scary. the musical equivalent of a spiral into Heady Hell (or Heaven, depending on your perspective). martin cranks 'er up and bares his soul through some gut wrenching and beautifully harsh guitar play and with his final words on the matter, they ride it out into the reprise...

... which comes back with a bidini roundhouse to the chin. as far as im concerned, this was dave at some of his finest on these last few shows. the angst, fervour, and energy that he was rockin' that bar with, he had the whole place on his team. and imagine a sardine packed horseshoe, shaking the floor, not a person standing still, barely a soul left to its owner. some of the best energy i've felt at a bar show in toronto, ever, this is gonna go down as a top 5 musical moment of 2007 for sure.

you can download both of the last 2 Rheostatics shows on the rheostaticslive site, here.

take it easy, tiger

so far, today is marking the first time in about a week and a half that i havent listened to ryan adams' new record, easy tiger, about 3 or 4 times through. though, i'll admit to clicking a few tracks here and there (pearls on a string, ripoff, these girls..). i dunno if i can keep it up, though... must.. resist.. temptation... might.. lose.. mind... album.. is.. so'good...

Happy Canada (yester)Day

had a great day yesterday.. started off with 18 at echo valley, had a good shoot in the evening, then finished it off watching the fireworks down at the Forks. i gotta say, i was pretty impressed with the display this sleepy city put on. more than a few times i threw depth perception to the wind and immersed myself in those visuals - with the clear black sky as the backdrop, sometimes those big suckers look like they're shooting right at you. there were some big boomers, some fancy dancers, and some stunning patterns of exploding dust lighting up that sky - and with a shit eating grin on my face, all i could think was "someday, that's gonna be me".

here's to another 140, Canada...