May 5, 2013 | 0 Comments

CMW Night 1: An Early Show at The Dakota Tavern and The Indie Machine Showcase

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Trent Severn – 8pm @ The Dakota Tavern

I started off my CMW with Trent Severn. Starting off with “Snowy Soul,” I was instantly impressed with the harmonies of Dayna Manning (guitar, banjo), Emm Gryner (bass) and Laura C. Bates (fiddle). However, I think what impressed me most was their songwriting. The ladies have a knack for painting beautiful imagery of Canada with their lyrics, such as with “Muskoka Bound,” but they are also able to reflect on human history, such as with “Truscott.” I also enjoyed the little hockey references they inserted into some of their songs.

One of the highlights of the set was when Jeremy Fisher joined the ladies on stage, but the whole set was a lot of fun. Trent Severn obviously have a lot of fun on stage, which is evident by the grins they share with each other throughout the set, and this couldn’t help but make me smile as I watched their set. I’m pleased with my choice of seeing Trent Severn to kick of the festival. | CL

Jeremy Fisher – 9pm @ The Dakota Tavern

After Trent Severn, Jeremy Fisher took the stage, starting off with “Cigarette.” There is something so endearing about watching Fisher on stage, as he somehow grabs the attention of everyone in the room with just his voice and a guitar. After Trent Severn brought Fisher on stage with them, Fisher called upon Trent Severn to join them for a harmony-filled “I Lost My Baby.”

Working through a few albums, Fisher tried to play favourites from each of his albums, including his latest Mint Juleps. A particular highlight of the 10-song set was when someone in the crowd yelled for “Left Behind” and Fisher obliged. Fisher had inserted a question mark into the set, leaving it open to decide as the set went along. He used this opportunity to make a lucky fan pretty happy, but Fisher actually asked for requests on Twitter earlier that day and he did play “Sula” for another lucky fan. What a guy! And the best part of this early show at the Dakota Tavern is that Jeremy Fisher and Trent Severn teamed up to do it again the next night! | CL

Cousin – 9pm @ The Annex Live (The Indie Machine)

Niagara Falls band Cousin started the showcase off. They joked about whether everyone in the crowd knew they were there for a Cousin show rather than to see East Coasters Cousins. With an easy and laid-back indie rock style amplified with electrifying guitars, their set focused on tracks from last year’s self-titled release like “Jawbreakah” and “Young Liars.” As an added bonus, the band did throw in a new tune called “Road Mess.”

While the shared vocals between guitarists Giulio Rocco and Taylor Page were off at times throughout their set, they chose to just have fun with it, mentioning it was their first show since the last time they played the same venue a few months ago. The band invited up friend Jackson Fishauf to join in on vocals for “Chump.” Despite the early hour, their set took a quick turn for “late-night drunken singalong” debauchery as a result before they concluded with a pretty rocking cover of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” You could’ve sworn it was at least 20 degrees hotter outside than it actually was. They ended by thanking everyone for coming out early and for choosing them over Rihanna at the ACC. I don’t know about you, but it was a pretty simple choice for me. | CD

JP Maurice – 10pm @ The Annex Live (The Indie Machine)

Vancouver’s JP Maurice is the project of singer Jean-Paul Maurice. On this occasion he was flanked by a bassist and drummer. They began with the darkly layered folk track “Game Changer.” While the passionate vocals of Maurice were a strong point in their set, they seemed to truly come alive in the brief instrumental interludes within some of the songs. Alt-rock single “Get Mad” had an undeniable Maroon 5-esque sexy quality to it. A surprising addition to their set, the band then took it back to 90s hip hop with a cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity.” Still knowing all of the words, rapping along was a solid highlight of the night. From here they transitioned into the pretty pop song “Nothing Like a Good Feeling” from 2011’s Songs in Sea, which could easily fit right in on a light-rock/top 40 mainstream radio station before closing out their set on a more rocking note.

Expressing his gratitude to those that came out for their set, Maurice also welcomed anyone in the audience to send in videos from the night to be added to their tour documentary. You can look for his next album The Arborist coming out later this Spring. | CD

41st and Home – 11pm @ The Annex Live (The Indie Machine)

In Toronto for only their second time was Vancouver five-piece 41st and Home. Delayed by technical difficulties, when their set finally began I found myself quickly enamoured with Thom Kolb (vocals, guitar), George Knuff (bass), Patrick Fiore (keys, vocals), Sejal Lal (violin, vocals), and Garth Covernton (drums). Playing a lively brand of orchestral-pop folk, the drums provided by Covernton were surprisingly louder than expected. Mixed in were the tinkling of keys, the trembling of strings, and some gorgeous swelling three-part vocals. The band’s sound seemed to build as their set progressed, growing organically from the ground up. While the collective instrumental spirit of the ensemble was reminiscent of Toronto’s Broken Social Scene, there was an earthy West Coast flavour to their sound that made me yearn to be back in the heart of Stanley Park at dusk.

With some slower songs interspersed in their setlist, they ramped up the pace to finish. Forced to unfortunately play a shortened set, I wish I could have seen more. You can check out their album Raised by Wolves on Bandcamp. I would highly recommend that you do! | CD

The Danger Bees – 12am @ The Annex Live (The Indie Machine)

Welcoming the growing audience to the “one night of CMW where people aren’t hung over from the night before,” frontman David Macmichael and the rest of The Danger Bees had people dancing right away. Originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, part of the charm of the local band is the self-deprecating humour expressed through the lyrics on songs like “Good Year” and “Why Won’t You Listen.” Luckily Macmichael was more dynamic and less depressing than remembered from the last time we saw the band. Having an almost Weezer-like quality, Macmichael introduced “The Bed Song” as being about his $2000 bed rather than about a girl.

Towards the end of their set, a friend of the band and a musician herself, Mary Stewart joined Macmichael on stage for a low-key duet. Prior to ending their set with one last song, the two first attempted an awkward rendition of “Happy Birthday” by request for someone in the crowd. Welcoming new band members, Macmichael noted they had actually only jammed as a band for one hour the previous night, something I wouldn’t have guessed as they looked right at home with the material. | CD