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leahbobetSo, guess what time of year it is?
Yes, this one.
I am hoping to actually pace myself this year, and not totally burn out hard on the second night of the festival like I did last year, because I have Plans (tm) for things I want to be seeing and all that. With that in mind, tonight's excursion was one set large:
This being July Talk at the Horseshoe
So about a month back I discovered this band called July Talk, and you should click that link, and you should listen to the two songs on that website, because I am telling you to in the most imperative terms possible. This is what happens when Young Tom Waits meets a floaty-voiced, bustier-wearing girl, and then they make out to every guitar ever in a bluegrass/rock/awesome kind of way.
Understand that I was already pretty much bouncing on my toes with joy for this show. No, really. I was literally dead centre in front of the stage, beer in hand, good and early before the set time and bouncing on my toes, and I didn't care that I was seeing this by myself.
And then they went on, and...holy shit.
The stage presence that pours off Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay is kind of visceral and incredible. They strut and tease each other and bite and blow kisses and dance and bend staggering over a guitar, and never miss a beat. They sing somehow both clean and raw at the same time. Thirty seconds into that set, a set full of songs I hadn't heard ("Paper Girl" was the closer, so there I could sing along) the whole of the Horseshoe Tavern had taken a collective deep breath that tingled down to the toes. It was thirty minutes of grinning, sweating wildness. It was the kind of thing that lots of bands try for, and never really get.
Mostly just...holy shit.
They pretty much took that house down.
They do not even have an EP out yet.
Mark my words: In two years this band is going to be famous.
I also think it says something about a set to see what the mood in the room is after. After that set the dude next to me gave me a giant high five, and then two guys in the back struck up a conversation about said set and we talked about small bands and good places to eat on Roncesvalles and whatnot, and then two guys behind us who are in a band playing a set tomorrow struck up another conversation too. This was a room full of sociable, grinning, energized people. This was a room full of liquid happy.
On that basis -- and because, y'know, I'd paid $12 cover -- I stuck around for the next set, by a band called The Heartbroken (or maybe just Heartbroken), but it was pretty apparent early on that it was a bit too country for my tastes, so out into the night we went.
I have no specific plans for tomorrow: There's a Hooded Fang set at 10pm somewhere or other, and Black Owls, the band of the dudes behind me who struck up a conversation, is playing the Hideout at some point. I'm also meeting up with a compatriot for the evening, so I think it's going to be the NXNE Free Period: we're just going to go where the wind takes us.
Look for more concert report through the weekend. Because there's gonna be more concerts.
Yes, this one.
I am hoping to actually pace myself this year, and not totally burn out hard on the second night of the festival like I did last year, because I have Plans (tm) for things I want to be seeing and all that. With that in mind, tonight's excursion was one set large:
This being July Talk at the Horseshoe
So about a month back I discovered this band called July Talk, and you should click that link, and you should listen to the two songs on that website, because I am telling you to in the most imperative terms possible. This is what happens when Young Tom Waits meets a floaty-voiced, bustier-wearing girl, and then they make out to every guitar ever in a bluegrass/rock/awesome kind of way.
Understand that I was already pretty much bouncing on my toes with joy for this show. No, really. I was literally dead centre in front of the stage, beer in hand, good and early before the set time and bouncing on my toes, and I didn't care that I was seeing this by myself.
And then they went on, and...holy shit.
The stage presence that pours off Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay is kind of visceral and incredible. They strut and tease each other and bite and blow kisses and dance and bend staggering over a guitar, and never miss a beat. They sing somehow both clean and raw at the same time. Thirty seconds into that set, a set full of songs I hadn't heard ("Paper Girl" was the closer, so there I could sing along) the whole of the Horseshoe Tavern had taken a collective deep breath that tingled down to the toes. It was thirty minutes of grinning, sweating wildness. It was the kind of thing that lots of bands try for, and never really get.
Mostly just...holy shit.
They pretty much took that house down.
They do not even have an EP out yet.
Mark my words: In two years this band is going to be famous.
I also think it says something about a set to see what the mood in the room is after. After that set the dude next to me gave me a giant high five, and then two guys in the back struck up a conversation about said set and we talked about small bands and good places to eat on Roncesvalles and whatnot, and then two guys behind us who are in a band playing a set tomorrow struck up another conversation too. This was a room full of sociable, grinning, energized people. This was a room full of liquid happy.
On that basis -- and because, y'know, I'd paid $12 cover -- I stuck around for the next set, by a band called The Heartbroken (or maybe just Heartbroken), but it was pretty apparent early on that it was a bit too country for my tastes, so out into the night we went.
I have no specific plans for tomorrow: There's a Hooded Fang set at 10pm somewhere or other, and Black Owls, the band of the dudes behind me who struck up a conversation, is playing the Hideout at some point. I'm also meeting up with a compatriot for the evening, so I think it's going to be the NXNE Free Period: we're just going to go where the wind takes us.
Look for more concert report through the weekend. Because there's gonna be more concerts.
