Date of show: June 8, 2013
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo
To celebrate their 10-year anniversary, Toronto record label Arts & Crafts threw a day-long party at Fort York & Garrison Common. A family-friendly event, they took advantage of the green space offered by the location with a play area that included both a bouncy castle and hula hoops. Before ultimately culminating in a Broken Social Scene reunion, the day was filled with excellent food, a special edition beer, and just enough moments of sunshine to enjoy the 10 hours of running back and forth between the main and second stages, revelling in the talent that makes up the Arts & Crafts roster. A sense of earnest and real community displayed throughout the entire day, the festival was a true celebration of friendship, music, Toronto, and the little record label that brought us all together. We can only hope that it becomes an annual tradition!
Gold & Youth (Fort York Stage)
The day started early with Vancouver’s Gold & Youth. Dressed in black against the grey sky, the four-piece offered a dizzying array of heavy, reverb-laden synthy dance vibes. The dreamy female vocals of Louise Burns paired with the deep register of Matthew Lyall’s almost Joy Division-esque vocals was enough to put you in a trance. They finished their set with single “Time to Kill,” which best highlighted the contrast between the two voices. With their debut album Beyond Wilderness just recently released, this was a chance for the band to catch the attention of the early festival-goers – and catch mine they did!
Still Life Still (Garrison Common Stage)
The sun started to shine as Toronto’s Still Life Still took to the stage. Their set featured primarily – long overdue – new material, including their most recent single, “Burial Suit.” Having experienced some traumatic events over the past few years, the overly vulgar and sensual party sound the band was previously known for has disappeared. In its place, they’ve upped their pop-rock appeal with a heightened sense of maturity. The CD release party for the band’s first album Girls Come Too was actually the first show I attended as an official Toronto resident back in 2009. Having lost track of them in the years since it was a special moment for me to see them again on a large stage. Still just as energetic as I remembered, I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next when their sophomore album drops later this summer.
The Darcys (Fort York Stage)
A large amount of cheers erupted when Toronto darlings The Darcys took the stage. Beginning with “Don’t Bleed Me,” the heavy hitting experimental art rockers exerted a force that took a hold of you. Always a favourite, “Shaking Down the Old Bones” began with shadowy tendrils of guitar and keys before positively exploding with the lyrical demand to “stop thinking like a millionaire.” Though the absolute pinnacle may have been the fact that they threw in a little bit of Constantines’ “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)” into their set. With a new record on its way – their third release on Arts & Crafts – the band also played a couple of new tracks, which the audience eagerly took in and demanded more.
Jason Collett (Garrison Common Stage)
There is just something about Jason Collett and summer that go so well together and that feeling was in the air throughout his set – especially during songs like “Fire” from my personal favourite summer soundtrack, Idols of Exile. With a backing band that included Neil Quin (Zeus) on guitar, Jay McCarrol (The Golden Dogs) on keys and Taylor Knox (The Golden Dogs, Rich Aucoin, etc) on drums, newer material like “I Wanna Rob A Bank” from latest album Reckon stood out as being much more electric than most of Collett’s older material.
Mentioning how good it is “to be in Toronto on good days,” Collett indicated that the day was about to get better, as he welcomed special guest Amy Millan for “Hangover Days.” As if this moment could be topped, Collett was then joined by the full cast of Zeus for “Charlyn, Angel of Kensington,” which the politically-minded Collett sent out to Kensington in an anti-Walmart stance.
Cold Specks (Fort York Stage)
Al Spx aka Cold Specks has the kind of voice than can fill an outdoor field – and beyond. There is a full-bodied deathly haunting quality to her blend of southern gospel and “doom soul.” It was on full display on this occasion, beginning with “All Flesh is Grass,” and extending into songs like “Hector” from her 2012 Polaris Prize shortlisted album I Predict a Graceful Expulsion. Even singing a capella at times, the strength within her didn’t waver. Her set was both breathtakingly stunning and simply humbling to witness.
Zeus (Garrison Common Stage)
The summery classic rock feel of Zeus has the ability to heat things up while also leaving you feeling delightfully chilled out – the bubbles effortlessly coasting through the sky during their set helped out as well. A team of multi-instrumentalists, the four piece spent their set taking turns on keys, guitar, lead vocals, and subsequently winning the collective heart of the audience. “You Gotta Teller” was one of the grittier rock songs on their setlist while “I Know” possessed an easy “fall in love” quality to it.
Describing a common hometown theme to the day, they ended their set with the exclamation that “We’re Zeus, we live near you!” Hopefully this means we’ll see a lot more of them over the course of the summer.
Hayden (Garrison Common Stage)
Taking a breather from the bands to meander through the food trucks, we were back at the Garrison Common Stage in time for Hayden. Having been around the business for the better part of the past twenty years – and noted by Neil Quin to be one of his heroes – the singer played songs from his most recent effort, Us Alone. Seemingly everywhere at Field Trip, Jay McCarrol (guitar) and Taylor Knox (drums) were once again found in Hayden’s backing band.
Though lovely, much of his material carries a sleepy melancholy feel. The harmonica on “Almost Everything” however gave this slightly more upbeat track a folky Neil Young tone. Beginning the set on keys, he picked up the guitar part way through and dialled things up a few notches. Highlights of the latter part of his set included “Rainy Saturday” and “Blurry Nights,” for which Lou Canon, who lends guest vocals to the track on the record, joined him on stage.
Ra Ra Riot (Fort York Stage)
The lone American band on the bill, the energy felt for New York’s Ra Ra Riot was no less spirited. A little bit Vampire Weekend and a little bit Passion Pit, the band’s energy was highly contagious. Still underscored by violin and electric cello, their sound has lost some of its baroque heaviness in favour of lighter synthy pop tones. While the sunshiney new material from massively danceable Beta Love had the crowd going, it was still tracks like “Too Dramatic” (The Orchard) and “Too Too Fast“ (The Rhumb Line) that generated the most excited response.
Bloc Party (Garrison Common Stage)
Large crowds had congregated at the main stage by the time billowing smoke and deep bass lines introduced U.K’s Bloc Party. They began their set on more of a low-key slightly drowsy note with “So Here We Are” before really getting into things. Perhaps bolstered by the accent of frontman Kele Okereke in his banter, the group garnered the greatest crowd response that I had seen for a band all day – even a couple of the security guards were singing along! Proclaiming that “this one’s for the girls,” Okereke sang a short snippet of Rihanna’s “Hopeless Place” before launching into the party-heavy “Flux.” And despite their new unreleased song that they debuted being called “Montreal,” this one too got a heck of a round of cheers.
They ended with my personal favourite from Silent Alarm, “This Modern Love.” Combined with the sunshine, their set was infinitely more enjoyable this time around compared to standing in the pouring rain at Osheaga last year!
Timber Timbre (Fort York Stage)
Three-piece Timber Timbre were up next. Having not released anything since 2011’s Creep On Creepin’ On, it had been quite some time since I’d had the pleasure of seeing them live. Very few people can rival the depth of frontman Taylor Kirk’s voice, which is accentuated by the looping tones provided by Simon Trottier (guitar) and Mika Posen (violin). Especially on songs like “Magic Arrow” and “Black Water,” there was something slightly badass and old-time western-like to the bluesy twang in their sound. Beyond chilling, the band put a solemn damper on the tone of the day – but in a good way.
Stars (Garrison Common Stage)
Raising their glasses to the attentive crowd declaring that “this is a celebration of you,” Stars fired things up even as the air began to cool down. The chemistry and interaction between bandleaders Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan is always entertaining to behold, and beyond that, Stars are a band that makes you feel good about life. Despite its “fuck ups,” they love the city and their fans and this feeling extends to lift your mood and grasps hold of your heart.
From the infusion of new material off The North, the band took things back to their first Arts & Crafts release with the long-time fan favourite “Elevator Love Letter” that had everyone singing along. Other highlights of their set included Campbell’s melodica interlude on “The North” and the dancey disco feel of “We Don’t Want Your Body.” Ending by urging the audience to “stick around for a young singer named Leslie Feist, she’s good – and a local band named Broken Social Scene,” they saved the poptastic “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It” to close things out.
Dan Mangan (Fort York Stage)
Headlining the festivities on the Fort York Stage was Vancouver’s Dan Mangan. From the first strains of opening song “Road Regrets” the band engaged the audience in a raucous sing-along led by guitarist Gord Grdina. The plucky violin on “About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All” to the elated instrumentals on “Post-War Blues” demonstrated the high level of cohesion in the band as one fluid unit. With his gravely rasp, Mangan was so genuine in both his banter and the conviction with which he poured into his songs. He offered a story about having his mind blown by his first encounter with Broken Social Scene, now happy to be able to call them friends and labelmates.
Heady with love for Mangan, the crowd swayed and sang along to “Robots.” Mangan put down his guitar to conduct the choir of voices in the audience, earning a multitude of cheers as he neared the edge of the stage. They ended with “Rows of Houses,” during which Grdina proved just what an animal he can be on guitar. Mangan has been keeping it quiet since the birth of his son – plus working on songs for his next album – and it was lovely to have the chance to see him again.
Feist (Garrison Common Stage)
The crowd then migrated to the Garrison Common Stage to finish out the night. Performing songs from her 2012 Polaris Prize winning Metals backed by a band that included Charles Spearin as well as AroarA (Andrew Whiteman, Ariel Engle) and Snowblink (Daniela Gesundheit, Dan Goldman), Feist was mesmerizing as always, her presence expertly commanding the immense audience.
Taking a time machine back to 2000-something, songs like “Mushaboom,” “My Moon My Man,” “I Feel It All,” “1 2 3 4” livened the more expansive somber atmosphere provided by her new material. But I have to say, the intricately woven “Graveyard” felt like it had the power to actually bring the dead back to life. One of the most memorable parts of her set however was Feist’s command for everyone to “do a Kevin Drew! Put your hand to your heart, let’s feel the pulse of Toronto!,” declaring the city – her hometown – to be the best place to be in the summer. And at that moment, it was.
Broken Social Scene (Garrison Common Stage)
Playing a one-night-only reunion show was the band of the hour, Broken Social Scene. To commemorate the event, they played the album that started it all, 2003’s You Forgot It In People – the first release on the Arts & Crafts label – from start to finish. Despite the distinct lack of Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw in the lineup, the set felt more like a celebratory family reunion than a band reunion, bringing out original members such as John Crossingham (Raising the Fawn) and Bill Priddle (Treble Charger) as well as an impressive horn section and a three-piece of backing female vocalists.
Broken Social Scene emerged at a time when the music atmosphere was changing, and You Forgot It In People was a life-altering album for many a person, giving us something to believe in. There were obvious bits of nostalgia seeing it performed live in whole for the first time ever, but mostly we were all filled with a sublime sense of utter happiness and love. A trio of ladies took over Haines’ role on “Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl,” and following “Cause = Time,” next song “Late Nineties Bedroom Rock For the Missionaries” was sent out to the recently deceased Chris Levoir (The Mark Inside). They also proclaimed their love for producer Dave Neufeld and Arts & Crafts leader Jeff Remedios on multiple occasions.
Following the album’s conclusion, the band continued on with “Superconnected,” “7/4 (shoreline)” and “Fire-Eye’d Boy.” The ultimate surprise was the appearance of Shaw in the sidelines of the stage at the start of “Jimmy and the Photo Call,” for whom the song was actually written. They also found time to voice their views on the current state of City Hall before professing they were done for 2013, but promising that they would always be our band – I couldn’t have said it better myself, and we as a city wouldn’t have it any other way.
buying shots for bands 
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