04.02.2009 Julie Doiron / $100 (Waterloo, ON)

Interestingly enough, about a month back, the Starlight was in the running for CBC Radio 3's best venue in Canada contest. Having now been in it and seen a show there, I'd have to say that it deserves all the adoration it gets. It has just enough lighting, decent enough sound, nice large hardood dance floor and great inside decor. I'd be similar to the Biltmore in Vancouver, maybe with a slightly higher stage and tables instead of booths. Anyways onto the show...



$100 opened up the show. They were a 3 piece band doing the alt country thing. Really the only alt country artist that I listen to is Neko Case, thus it would be very easy for me to make Neko Case comparisons. And I will. The lead singer of $100 actually sorta has some resemblance to Neko. She sings with more of a southern country drawl though. I can't really think of anything else worth mentioning as my interested started to wane after a couple of songs. Like I said, I'm not really into alt-country, though my friend who is, said he enjoyed it.



When I was living in Vancouver I had at least a couple of opportunities to see Julie Doiron live, but for some reason or another never got around to. I'm beginning to regret it now. For those not in the loop, Julie is known for playing bass in Eric's Trip, or Canada's version of Sonic Youth. For some of you I realize that I just tried to relate a relatively obscure Canadian artist with another equally obscure Canadian artist. You'll just have to take my word for it that Eric's Trip was an awesome band. For that reason, amongst others, Julie Doiron is (arguably) Canada's reigning Indie Rock Queen and not Feist. Speaking of Feist I recent came across a side by side photo of both Doiron and Feist on flickr that showed some really eerie resemblances. Also they both have an apparent affinity for Vox solid state amplifiers.

First off, Julie Doiron is sooooo adorable. Probably the cutest little thing I've ever seen on a stage. Gushing aside, Julie started her set solo playing "Untitled" and "Me and My Friend", which were by her own admission, "sad" songs. She played a couple more and a few requests from the crowd, "Wintermitts" and "Snow Falls in November", before calling for her band to start the full band portion of the night. The whole show had a very loose feel to it. Doiron didn't have a setlist, pretty much playing whatever song felt right at the time. This included songs which weren't even rehearsed. There was even a song, where Julie taught her bassist how to play it moments before it started. Between songs, Julie recalled a really amusing story about drinking wine, or as she called it 'diet alcohol', in her home province of New Brunswick. Highlights for this reviewer were "Consolation Prize", a new one from her just released album and "Nice to Come Home", which she played while the bassist was sorting out a problem with his amp. After almost 90 min of playing and chatting, she ended her set solo with "Glad to be Alive," also from her new album, which was quite the happy and upbeat song and pretty much the perfect song to end the day with.

$11/$11

03.15.2009 Bruce Peninsula / Timber Timbre / Hininder (Waterloo, ON)

Well well well... first show review from Waterloo, ON. I don't think i would even consider Waterloo a secondary concert market, (well maybe a secondary Canadian market) however it does get some somewhat decent shows. For those who don't know, Waterloo is a known for being an hour and a bit away from Toronto and being the home of Waterloo University, one of the better Engineering and Computer Science schools in the country. This is due largely in part to the support that they get from local technology giant Research in Motion (who? they make BlackBerrys, ah....) and probably some other companies.

Anyways, the show was held at the Grist Mill. It's located at south east corner of Waterloo Park. If you picture a log cabin, then you'll know what the Grist Mill looks like. The acoustics inside were pretty good all things considered. If nothing else the venue set a mood for a warm and homely atmosphere.

First up was Hininder, who from what I could see from the back of the room was a singer/songwriter. He sort of reminded me of Rocky Votolato in some respects. I only saw 2 songs, so that's all I can really say.

Next was Timber Timbre. This was apparently the band's first show live. The band consisted of a sax player, a violinist and guitarist who also sung. They had their own stage lighting, which was very minimal, basically just christmas lights laid out on the floor. The first song was a slow number, which fit the lighting of the room. It was almost haunting yet calming at the same, just like sitting around a campfire. Unfortunately, every song seemed to sound like the first, slow and slower. Eventually it wore on my nerves. The last song was performed with members of the Bruce Peninsula.

Prior to moving to Waterloo, I had never heard of Bruce Peninsula. Some of their recent shows around Ontario have garnered them positive reviews. I suppose if i had to describe them to someone, I'd say Sufjan Stevens doing southern gospel, maybe some Arcade Fire in there. They started their set with the song "Steam roller," which is every bit as awesome as it is on album. In fact I'd say that for the most part they are probably better band live than on album. I'll admit that I was pretty in awe of the two lead singers. Both of them are hiding a serious set of pipes. The solo that the female lead sings at the end of "Weave Myself a Dress" was pretty impressive. After about 40 min the band ended their set, only to be brought back for an encore to delight of the 70 or so people in attendance. They ended the night with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain."

$8/$10