Then & Now @ Wise Hall -- 10/10/14

Now in its third year, Then and Now is a simple concept; take a handful of local artists, and get them to play a brand new song & an old song -- their newest, shiniest song, and one of their first songs -- and tell stories about both. Put on by Altered By Mom's Devon Lougheed, and Leigh Eldridge, the night was also a fundraiser for Megaphone Magazine, a local publication that is sold by the homeless or low income people, who get to keep the profits of their sales.


Even though Devon was absent from the event, the night was hosted by Caitlin Howden (The Sunday Service) and Stu Popp (SADCAST, Fat Kids On Basketball), who kept things rolling along and even started an impromptu auction of things they took out of the musicians pockets. Such wondrous items included a guitar pick, an unused bus pass, an american $10 bill, and a partially used Earl's gift card, all of which helped earn over $40 more for Megaphone.

Each of the eight acts was slotted two songs, so even with a little bit of setup in-between a few of them, the night never seemed to drag on.


The night started with the husband & wife duo The Wild Romantics and the first song they sang together, a cover of "Valley of Decision" by The Horse Thieves. Their 'now' was a new one called "Memphis, TN", fitting of the duo's alt-country twang, as they ended the song forehead-to-forehead, sharing the microphone, their voices blending together beautifully.

Badgerchild made some of the crowd feel old as she told the story about her then-song, the first song she put up on YouTube as a teenager, Vince Vaccaro's "Costa Rica" after being inspired to pick up the guitar after a breakup. She followed that up with breathy vocals on a new song called "Out of my Head".

Next was CityReal, supported by Tonye Aganaba on guitar, for some acoustic hip hop. He said it was the first time he had ever performed his songs acoustically, as he played on a djembe with Tonye's voice mixing quite well with his rapping.

The first half of the night wrapped up with Hot Panda. Lead singer Chris Connely came out alone on guitar, singing a cover of the first song he ever performed live, "Steak For Chicken" by The Moldy Peaches. Their 'now' turned into a hilarious performance art piece, after Chris claimed guitars were done, and technology was the future. First he pulled out his phone to get Siri to play the sick beat they made, then once that failed, he went to the tablet... which was out of power. And finally just went to the laptop for some (acceptable) backing tracks and brought out the other two band members in their DJ personas, on "synth" and "instagram video". No text description can live up to the performance, but the song itself was ridiculously catchy.


After the intermission, the second half began with CAST, a really interesting and unique performance by the jazzy drum & vocal duo, with Ben Brown on drums, who were accompanied by a tap dancer.

Tonye Aganaba returned to the stage next, taking the concept to heart with her first song being how she felt about love then -- raw and unbridled emotions -- and her now being how she more currently felt, her amazingly impressive voice silencing the hall.

Going to the very extremes of "then and now" Wide Mouth Mason singer Shaun Verreault -- like a few others during the night -- played the very first song he ever performed in front of people, Black Crowes' "She Talks to Angels" while his 'now' was the most 'now' he could have gotten, a brand new song which he had just finished writing while at the show itself, as he silenced the hall with his effortless and amazing guitar playing.

And finally, after one more short break to set up her gear, the night came to a close with Chersea. The singer/songwriter/looper went back to the very first song she wrote on a loop station, a gorgeous a capella song called "Classy" that showed off her own incredible voice, and her new was also the newest song she had in her arsenal, an upbeat and high energy dancy song.


Like the first two iterations, the night was fun and eclectic, zipping through genres with stories about why each performer chose the songs they did. It's always interesting hearing the change in artists over time, or seeing some of the influences of their work, and I hop it'll be back again for a fourth year.

Mint Records Ridiculously Early X-Mas Party @ The Biltmore -- 12/03/10

Last night was my third year running attending the Mint Records Ridiculously Early X-Mas party. I was one of the first 75 people in, meaning I got a free prize! My draw ended up being a prize pack that consisted of... a girls M shirt and underpants. So I was able to trade it for another one, a box of giant pocky! And since they are always sponsored by pocky, for some reason, there was free packages of pocky sticks all around the room.

Like every year, they crammed a good number of bands into several hours, each playing short(ish) sets, so for the sake of not writing an essay (and my sanity), I'll try to only do a few lines for each set.

Laura Barrett: The only act on the bill not on Mint Records, she started off alone with a kalimba instrumental, "to get us used to it" and played a few songs with only the kalimba before a couple more came out to back her up on & off. She had a great stage presence, and though I had only heard a few of her songs before, I quite liked her set -- even if a few of the songs got a little repetitive, with just a kalimba. I would really like to see her again, and wonder what she would sound like with a full backing band.

Geoff Berner: Was just himself and an accordion. He was a little offputting at first, but once you realised what he was doing, his songs did grow on you; it helped that a lot of them were funny, or had stories woven around them. While a couple were a bit... less good than others, there were a couple that were pretty hilarious Ambiguous Lyrics and Half German Girlfriens sticking out. His last song, too, which was a duet with Carolyn Mark.

Kellarissa: Had seen at last years party, and while I only vaguely remember her set, I do not remember disliking it this much. I am normally a fan of looping, but that didn't help when the vocals were occasionally atonal yelling and the synth was kind of piercing.

fanshaw: Was one of the acts I was really looking forward to, and transitioned the show from acts which were a bit more low key to the more high energy ones. The first song was just Olivia Fetherstonhaughalone, but her full band (which included Shane Turner) came out right after. She mentioned it was their last show in a while, I think to write new material, so they were just up there to have fun. The set was quite good, and aside from her own songs, they ended with a pair of covers; "Love Hurts" and Cohen's "Passing Through"

Carolyn Mark: The other act I was really looking forward to came out and really kicked the energy into high gear. I've only seen her at the last couple Mint parties, and I really liked her. She has a bit of a country twang, but excellent voice to back it up, and the rest of her band were pretty great as well. I really hope I don't have to wait until next years party before seeing her live again.

Hot Panda: I've seen them at a few Mint related events, and while I have liked their sets in the past, I was never really able to get into them too much. However, maybe it was the new material, but I enjoyed their set a heck of a lot better this time around. The band is so enthusiastic on stage and just creates an infectious atmosphere. They also covered Mr Grinch, which, come on, is awesome.

The Evaporators: While I am not really sure their music is something I would listen to on a regular basis, they are fun as hell to watch, thanks to Nardwuar. He was running around the stage, into the audience, crowd surfing multiple times -- even with his keyboard. He also had most of the people in front singing along, admitting they were "Addicted to Cheese". For the last song, Kyprios made a surprise appearance for "I Don't Need My Friends", and the two of them ran through the crowd, making sure everyone in the room got crouched down, to jump right back up, before being carried off by the fans.

While I think I have liked past years lineups better, once things got going a bit, it was a fantastic show. There are still maybe a little too many bands playing; even though the seven bands all played shorter sets, the show did drag on a couple times, and went until just about 2am. But that said, I am still very much looking forward to next years event.

Mint Records Ridiculously Early X-Mas Party @ The Biltmore -- 12/04/09

Last night was Mint Records annual Ridiculously Early X-Mas Party and my second year going. I think I liked the overall lineup a little better last year, but it was definitely a better venue this time. And, I managed to be one of the first 75 people in, so got a free gift! $20 gift certificates for Black Dog Video (any relation to Red Cat Records?). Though they had some other cool gifts, like $50 for Zulu Records, gift packs, giant pocky sticks and more. And best of all, free pocky sticks!
Like other years, they had a whole host of bands playing, and they somehow fit in eight bands in their 7-or-so-hour window. They all got about 30-40 minutes and the show, surprisingly, ran more or less on time! I'll try to only say a few lines about each set, so as not to go on forever, so here we go!

Aunts & Uncles: As a band, I really liked them... up until the lead singer started in. The music was really nice and almost symphonic -- they included a cello & violin, among others -- but the lead singer was really nasal-y, and a little whiny. Though, as it went on he either got better, or I just got used to it... but it was still quite the contrast.

Kathryn Calder: She was one of the two main acts I wanted to see, being a fan of Immaculate Machine (and New Pornos, of course). It was her first show with the backing band she had collected, and her first show playing guitar as well as keyboard, but it didn't show at all. It was a pretty good set, and got me excited for whatever solo material she plans to release.

Fanshaw: Mint's newest acquisition put on a pretty darn good set. With an almost jazzy or lounge feel to them, they kind of reminded me of a more minimalistic Jane Vain & The Dark Matter. I really dug them, and as I understand there is an album out in February with a CD release party at the Railway on Feb 4th. I think I might just have to check that out.

Kellarissa: Comprised solely (I think) of Larissa Loyva, formerly of The Choir Practice and p:ano. The set seemed a little shorter than the rest, and almost seemed to end abruptly, but she was pretty good. It also seemed really... subtle. Like, no one realized when she started, and there seemed to be more chatter during her set than all others. But with haunting vocals and looping -- which I am always intrigued by -- and I wouldn't mind hearing/seeing more, but it's nothing that I am going to rush out and get.

Hot Panda: I have seem them a few times before, even at last years Mint party, and while they're certainly not bad, I've just never been able to get into them all that much. They just don't do anything for me. That being said, they do have a great energy on stage and they still do put on an enjoyable live show.

Vancougar: I feel like I could copy & paste what I said about Hot Panda here, and it would be just as apt. I do like their song Obvious, but some of the stuff is a little.... same-y. But, much like hot Panda, they too put on a pretty damn good live show, and while I don't think I would go to a show just to see them, I have enjoyed seeing them the last couple years for the Mint X-Mas party.

Carolyn Mark: The second of the two acts I wanted to see. I've liked Mark for a while, but for whatever reason have never really picked anything of hers up; usually just hearing her on CBCR3. Her set, however, changed my mind for sure. Her voice is quite amazing, up there with Neko Case (which is appropriate, since the two of them put out an album under The Corn Sisters). The highlight of the set was definitely when all the members (save drummer, of course) put their instruments behind their head to play... even they keyboardist.

The Pack A.D.: Capped off the night and flat out admitted that since they were the last ones, they had the longest time to drink. And were, to put it generously, a little tipsy. Though, of all the bands to play, they would probably be the least conspicuous when drunk. Not to mean that as an insult, but they already have a pretty loose and raw style anyway. When I saw them earlier in the year opening for Pink Mountaintops, I said "boy, do they know how to put on a fucking rock show", and that was the same for tonight. They rocked out pretty damn hard, and had some hilarious banter between songs... mostly revolving around and due to alcohol.

Even though eight bands in one night did seem to drag on a couple times, it was still a great night of music and I can't wait for next years party. And it was pretty cool to meet some other R3 listeners, or people I only knew via the interwebs, at the show!