Last night was a busy night for taxi drivers. Not only was it Orientation week, it was also the Jazz Festival AND Nuit Blanche and just as an added bonus, it was also a full moon! Downtown Guelph was packed with students, artists and patrons of the arts all taking in the vast array of entertainment.
There were free music shows all day and all night at the Jazz Festival Tent, as well as in various locations around downtown. There was funk in an alley, a brass band in the square and improvised jazz in City Hall. The art installations were also at least as good as anything I saw in Toronto's Nuit Blanche last year. A drum set being played by water dripping from IV bags, paper butterflies hanging in trees by the water's edge, and a video showing how children see the world accompanied by apples and penguin crackers for snacks. Even the gimmicky stuff was cool - an advice booth, an artist drawing portraits through verbal description alone, and fire-breathing buskers.
It was quite a spectacular night to behold and though I wasn't able to do or see everything, I was constantly entertained and amazed by the creativity coming from this great city. I greatly look forward to next year's round of installations and who knows, I might even join in!
Showing posts with label Guelph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guelph. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Mother Mother
I missed a fair bit of Saturday at Hillside, but I made sure to come for Mother Mother. This is the band that I was absolutely the most excited to go see. I listened to their previous two albums quite a lot over the past year and couldn't wait to see how their live performance compared to their recorded music.
First off, if you haven't heard of Mother Mother, take a listen to (at least) their title tracks for the last two albums, Touch Up and O My Heart. Extremely catchy music that you just want to dance to. Honestly, I don't even care what it's all about or what the music is really saying. It's damn good music and I would listen to it even if it was telling me to hate the world and murder everyone. Which isn't at all what it's all about, but you get the point.
They just released their new album, Eureka, and I highly recommend it. I've been listening to it since Hillside, along with a few other albums, and so far I think my favourite song is My Baby Don't Dance, but all of the songs are awesome. This band just continues to go above and beyond my expectations.
They're very hipster and remind me a little of the B52s with the crazy female vocals and just the style of singing in general. However, it wasn't until I saw them live that I realized how phenomenal of a voice Jasmine Parkin has. Just incredible. The other thing that particularly impressed me was their outstanding showmanship. Many bands sound less good live because if you make a mistake, you can't erase it and do it over like you could in a recording studio. This is not the case with Mother Mother. They're a very tight band who know how to put on a good, flawless show. I didn't notice a single mistake, their sound levels were good and the transitions between songs were seamless. If you can get out to see one of their shows, I absolutely recommend that you go see them. I had high expectations for Mother Mother and they delivered!
First off, if you haven't heard of Mother Mother, take a listen to (at least) their title tracks for the last two albums, Touch Up and O My Heart. Extremely catchy music that you just want to dance to. Honestly, I don't even care what it's all about or what the music is really saying. It's damn good music and I would listen to it even if it was telling me to hate the world and murder everyone. Which isn't at all what it's all about, but you get the point.
They just released their new album, Eureka, and I highly recommend it. I've been listening to it since Hillside, along with a few other albums, and so far I think my favourite song is My Baby Don't Dance, but all of the songs are awesome. This band just continues to go above and beyond my expectations.
They're very hipster and remind me a little of the B52s with the crazy female vocals and just the style of singing in general. However, it wasn't until I saw them live that I realized how phenomenal of a voice Jasmine Parkin has. Just incredible. The other thing that particularly impressed me was their outstanding showmanship. Many bands sound less good live because if you make a mistake, you can't erase it and do it over like you could in a recording studio. This is not the case with Mother Mother. They're a very tight band who know how to put on a good, flawless show. I didn't notice a single mistake, their sound levels were good and the transitions between songs were seamless. If you can get out to see one of their shows, I absolutely recommend that you go see them. I had high expectations for Mother Mother and they delivered!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Hillside
I will soon be posting about the different bands I saw at Hillside with a little more detail, but I wanted to write an overall post to prove that I didn't fall into a hole and get captured by gypsies.
First of all, I've got to say that volunteering is the way to go. You only pay $18, donate 12 hours of your time and in exchange you get full Hillside access, free food and a place to camp with other lovely volunteers. It's an incredible sense of community and fellowship while volunteering as well. You've all got the same bracelets and thus can easily recognize other volunteers, which greatly simplifies friend-making because you can always open with "So, what's your volunteer job?" and suddenly you're friends with William Lyon Mackenzie King's great great grandson and he's juggling an apple, a felafel and a cup for your amusement.
Also, the performers eat where you eat, and in a couple cases, camp where you camp. But no one goes all fan-crazed and stupid. Everyone remembers that musicians are people too, not superheros or rare magical creatures like we would all like to believe. You might get to talk to your favourite bands and realize just how much cooler and dynamic they are than you had initially thought.
Even if you're not volunteering though, there is just so much going on all at once and it's ALL amazing! There are cool workshops all day where you can meet fabulously talented people and have them teach you a new skill or introduce you to a new way of doing things. All the while, every stage has something cool going on. There are jam sessions between bands from all genres and you're guaranteed to hear something you've never heard before. There was a person who's instrument was a chain that they hit with a hammer, rhythmically.
Beyond the incredible workshops and mind-blowing music, there's a wide array of artists and vendors selling things that you'd never dreamed existed and all the food is great. But more than anything else, the best part of Hillside is the people. Everyone is happy and open to making friends. You feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself and far more meaningful. Everyone feels like a cousin or a neighbour and, in some cases, brothers and sisters.
I can't wait to write more about the bands that really struck a chord with me. There were a bunch!
First of all, I've got to say that volunteering is the way to go. You only pay $18, donate 12 hours of your time and in exchange you get full Hillside access, free food and a place to camp with other lovely volunteers. It's an incredible sense of community and fellowship while volunteering as well. You've all got the same bracelets and thus can easily recognize other volunteers, which greatly simplifies friend-making because you can always open with "So, what's your volunteer job?" and suddenly you're friends with William Lyon Mackenzie King's great great grandson and he's juggling an apple, a felafel and a cup for your amusement.
Also, the performers eat where you eat, and in a couple cases, camp where you camp. But no one goes all fan-crazed and stupid. Everyone remembers that musicians are people too, not superheros or rare magical creatures like we would all like to believe. You might get to talk to your favourite bands and realize just how much cooler and dynamic they are than you had initially thought.
Even if you're not volunteering though, there is just so much going on all at once and it's ALL amazing! There are cool workshops all day where you can meet fabulously talented people and have them teach you a new skill or introduce you to a new way of doing things. All the while, every stage has something cool going on. There are jam sessions between bands from all genres and you're guaranteed to hear something you've never heard before. There was a person who's instrument was a chain that they hit with a hammer, rhythmically.
Beyond the incredible workshops and mind-blowing music, there's a wide array of artists and vendors selling things that you'd never dreamed existed and all the food is great. But more than anything else, the best part of Hillside is the people. Everyone is happy and open to making friends. You feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself and far more meaningful. Everyone feels like a cousin or a neighbour and, in some cases, brothers and sisters.
I can't wait to write more about the bands that really struck a chord with me. There were a bunch!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Can You Imagine?
Do you ever imagine how things are going to go and then realize that the chances of that happening are very, very slim? I think I do that a lot in social setting. Next weekend is the Hillside Festival at Guelph Lake and I will be volunteering at the volunteer support tent. Along with a few other people, I will be creating a calm environment and listening to other volunteers as they tell me all about whatever is on their mind. I'm pretty excited about it. We get to play music and hang out with cool people in exchange for a weekend pass to the festival at a hugely discounted price.
In my mind, I'm going to be having fun, playing guitar, and the band members from Mother Mother...or maybe Sloan, will come over to unwind after their show. After hanging out for a bit, I'll mention that I write my own music. Of course, they'll demand that I play for them a bit and after hearing a few songs, they'll decide right then and there that I should join their band, or open for them, or get set up with a record deal of some sort. It'll be a fortuitous event AND an awesome tale to tell.
You see where my mind drifted from reality there? Right after the playing guitar. I suppose, there's a minute chance that I could meet those people...but it's pretty unlikely that we'd all hang out like old friends and even more unlikely that they'd care to listen to my music...and furthermore, like it enough to advance my music career for me. But can you imagine if that did happen? Apparently I can.
In my mind, I'm going to be having fun, playing guitar, and the band members from Mother Mother...or maybe Sloan, will come over to unwind after their show. After hanging out for a bit, I'll mention that I write my own music. Of course, they'll demand that I play for them a bit and after hearing a few songs, they'll decide right then and there that I should join their band, or open for them, or get set up with a record deal of some sort. It'll be a fortuitous event AND an awesome tale to tell.
You see where my mind drifted from reality there? Right after the playing guitar. I suppose, there's a minute chance that I could meet those people...but it's pretty unlikely that we'd all hang out like old friends and even more unlikely that they'd care to listen to my music...and furthermore, like it enough to advance my music career for me. But can you imagine if that did happen? Apparently I can.
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