After being away from the city for six weeks, it felt really good to be back at The Tranzac for this special tribute night to the great Michael Hurley. I’ve really only heard his 2009 album Ida Con Snock and the odd tune here or there, but with a lineup that included long-time favourites like Bry Webb, Evening Hymns, and The Weather Station, as well as folks I’ve wanted to see play for a while such as Gabe Levine (singing Tia Marie in the video above) and Lisa Bozikovic, I made sure to mark the night down as a “can’t miss event” on my Google Calendar.

Matt ‘Doc’ Dunn did Armchair Boogie’s “Light Green Fellow.” I don’t know a lot about this man, except that I see him around town a lot. I enjoyed his contributions. That’s what’s so great about these tribute nights. You never know what you’re going to see!

The last few times I’ve seen The Weather Station play it’s been just Tamara Lindeman on her lonesome, and I must say it’s working quite well. Her new material is the definition of “stripped down” so she had no problem working with Michael Hurley’s material, which is also pretty bare bones. Her new album is coming out on my favourite record label (announcement forthcoming). I’m excited to hear it.

Long Journey’s “Polynesia” got the Sandro Perri treatment. I should mention that there are a few more videos from the night over on Morning Noon Night’s YouTube channel, including Sandro’s version of “I Paint a Design.”

Tradition did a really fantastic version of “Be Kind to Me,” also off of Armchair Boogie. I should mention the supporting players on this night, otherwise known as the Canada Goose Band, was made up of Jay Anderson and Mike Smith of Steamboat and Jesse Levine on the piano. Good stuff.

This beautiful rendition of “Eyes Eyes” come courtesy of Lisa Bozikovic. The original version appears on Hi Fi Snock Uptown. I’ve known Lisa for a few years now but I’m ashamed to say this was my first time seeing her play solo. She was wonderful!

Bry Webb dedicated Ida Con Snock’s  “I Stole the Right to Live” to his newborn son. From what I’ve been told, his post-Constantines project The Harbourcoats have a record in the can, though I’d reckon being a new father means it won’t see the light of day for a little while. Each time I see Bry play, this unreleased album climbs higher and higher on my “most anticipated albums” list. Yes, such a list really exists.

Evening Hymns have been covering Michael Hurley’s song “Wildegeeses” for a while now so seeing them on the show’s poster wasn’t much of a surprise. Still, it’s a really nice version of the song so I didn’t mind hearing it one more time. Sorry for the quick fadeout at the end there — that’s literally my camera running out of memory and shutting itself off. Perfect timing!

In the fall of 2006 I saw Shotgun & Jaybird play in my hometown of Oshawa. It was the only time I ever got to see them play, but it really changed my life. I’ve told the whole story here before, but in fewer words, that was the night I discovered the great festival that is SappyFest, which I had the pleasure of attending in 2008, 2009, and again just this month. It’s actually the end of the month now — I’m not sure what’s taken me so long to get down to writing, but if I wait any longer no one will care anymore.

This year for SappyFest I decided to go for an entire week instead of the usual 3–4 days. Part of the reason I went for longer was so that I could just relax in a nice environment, but I also wanted to check out more of Ok.Quoi?!, an arts festival that happens each year in the week leading up to SappyFest. I went to a roundtable discussion about public art installations, listened to some live experimental music, saw a ton of amazing short films and animations, and even participated in the “Consensus Bus” (a free bus trip open to anyone, but everyone who comes has to agree on the destination).

Of course, SappyFest itself was another fine 3 days of music, with a whole lot of my friends and favourite bands playing this year that was a given, but there were also a few new discoveries along the way. I had planned to shoot a lot of video during the festival, but of course, once I’m having fun I tend to “forget” my camera when I go out… but I did manage to capture two bands from the first night. Neither band should need any introduction for readers of this website as I’ve shot them both many times before.

Toronto’s best party band Steamboat played to a packed mainstage tent in what I believe was their first out-of-town gig! The response from the crowd was enthusiastic, and the band had another chance to get people dancing when they did another set (with plenty of special guest vocalists), closing out the festival on Sunday night at George’s Fabulous Roadhouse.

Finally, here’s Attack in Black playing a few songs. Lots of new material in their set, really hope they record them and make another album.

I never got a chance to see The Deadly Snakes play live while they were around, partly because by the time I discovered them, they were on the verge of breaking up. In fact, The Deadly Snakes played their last show a mere 21 days before my 19th birthday, and since it wasn’t an all-ages show, I didn’t get to go (the idea of sneaking into the Silver Dollar never even entered my 18-year-old mind).

I kept listening to the Snakes, especially the flawless double-LP version of Porcella, and my wounds began to heal. After all, how many other great bands did I never get to see live whose music I still listen to and love. The Snakes were different in that I actually had the chance to see them play, unlike say, Royal City, who broke up before I ever caught on to their music. Nevertheless, after a few years I realized it was time to look ahead and put the whole episode behind me.

Of course, on October 17th 2009 they played on-off reunion show… in Portland, Oregon. So, good news I guess, at least they will play if someone makes the right offer. Can someone in Toronto please book them??? Until then, seeing André Ethier sing Snakes songs with Steamboat will have to do (I really appreciate it, guys).

Maybe I’m just not seeing the right bands play, but going to a Steamboat concert is practically the only time I see people really cut loose at shows. Sure, I’ll see people dancing at other shows, but usually that’s just a few people up front, and only after the lead singer has repeatedly told them to (or worse, actually jumped into the audience and forced people to shake their booties). For whatever reason, a dancing audience comes easy to Steamboat. Peep this video I shot of them playing their song “Talkin’ Shame” at the Garrison a few months back where you can see that I was surrounded on all sides but folks cutting a rug. I must say though, Steamboat’s music lends itself to dancing far better than say, past subjects of this series like Julie Doiron or the Harbourcoats.

For the uninitiated, pick up either one of Steamboat’s EPs (both released last year, the first one is self-titled while the newer one is called Live in Nassau). Learn the words, put on your favourite outfit, grab some friends, and make your way down to the next Steamboat show. I guarantee you a good time.

Just a quick blog post tonight because I have to be up early tomorrow to leave for Sackville. I shot this on Sunday at the Dakota, where Steamboat were finishing up their eight-week residency. They brought out special guest André Ethier for a few jams, including the song Cop Killer from his last album Born of Blue Fog. I’d say the night was a success — when I got there after work it was at capacity and there was a group of Steamies (official name for Steamboat fans) up front dancing their butts off the whole night. Anyway, check out Steamboat and André if you haven’t already, they’re both 100% radical and wholeheartedly endorsed by the proprietor of this blog (me).