Thursday, July 4, 2013
In it’s first year, the Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF) did a lot of things right: from the free water refills, to the independent food trucks, laidback atmosphere, and the solid lineup of acts from all over, a great weekend was had at Fort York & Garrison Common. We’re looking forward to next year already!
The Barr Brothers (West Stage, 6:00PM)
Beginning the night was Montreal’s The Barr Brothers. Led by brothers Brad (guitar, vocals) and Andrew Barr (drums, vocals), the quartet also featured Sarah Page (harp) and Andres Vial (keys, bass). With their softly reverbed vocals and authentic DIY down-to-earth feel – including a bicycle wheel cymbal! – it was quickly apparent that the band was a great choice to kick off the first day of the first TURF as they embodied so many of the qualities of the overall festival.
Playing songs from their 2011 self-titled debut album, the gentleness of “Old Mythologies” embarked on something more grand, due in part to the resounding harmonica and the prowess of classically trained Page on the harp. In comparison, they showed off their diversity by introducing a new song, which had more of a dark and dirty Western sound to it. Huddling around one single mic for a round of group vocals at one point was definitely also a highlight.
They ended their set with the rousing single “Beggar in the Morning.” The thumping kick drum and twangy harmonica elevated the song out from the shadows of the backing track of nature sounds and ensured the audience remembered their set. We’d been meaning to see this band for quite some time now and were not disappointed with what we saw.
Camera Obscura (East Stage, 6:50PM)
Coming onto the stage to the tune of some orchestral intro music, Glasgow’s Camera Obscura were a breath of fresh and fun summer pop. Led by frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell, the seven-piece started their set with “Do It Again” from their recently released album Desire Lines. With the sun beating down, guitarist Kenny McKeeve indicated in a can’t-be-beat accent that “We don’t normally all wear sunglasses on stage. We’re not that pretentious, but we’re not used to this – we’re British!” Despite their claimed lack of experience with the sunshine, their dreamy keys and hazy 80’s feel were an ideal complement to the weather.
Not only focusing on new material, the longtime band reached far back in their discography as well, with the loudest round of cheers erupting from the audience when the organ’s trill signified the start of “Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken” from 2006’s Let’s Get Out of This Country. The free-floating swaying nature of their set continued on until finally culminating in a tremendous trumpeting ode to close out “Razzle Dazzle Rose.”
Joel Plaskett Emergency (West Stage, 8:00PM)
Jeff Cohen of Collective Concerts came out prior to Joel Plaskett hitting the stage to welcome everyone to the festival, citing that this event was just one in a string of outdoor shows each weekend this summer in Toronto. He then called out sports announcer and music fan, Dave Hodge to introduce the band with the declaration that “This is the best time you can have in Canadian music because this is your favourite band, this is my favourite band!”
He wasn’t lying or over exaggerating. If you’ve seen Plaskett live, you already know that your every care floats away while he’s on stage, like magic. Perhaps it is in part the massive grin on his face the entire time he is playing, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who can more easily unite a crowd in a collective sense of utter happiness than the lanky proud Nova Scotian. While he is supremely humble in his banter, the band came out a-rocking with “Down at the Khyber” before sending out “Through and Through and Through” to the cancelled Sled Island festival. By the time the spoken vocals in third song “Extraordinary” came along, he had nearly everyone taking part.
Chris Pennell (bass) and Dave Marsh (drums) of the Emergency band left the stage as Plaskett played a couple of solo acoustic numbers. He expressed his love for playing outdoors before launching into two songs that were meant to be experienced outside: “The Cabot Trail” and “Harbour Boys.” Against the dying light of the day, the band returned for “Rollin Rollin Rollin.” Plaskett made jabs at Mayor Rob Ford during “Work Out Fine” before ending his set with the bouncy “Nowhere With You” and electrifying, unofficial Song of Summer 2012 “Lightning Bolt.” As always, it was a set so lovely lovely lovely, that it must be repeated three times.
She & Him (East Stage, 9:30PM)
Headlining the first night of the festival was She & Him, the bouncy folk project featuring the sombre twang of M. Ward and cuteness overload of Zooey Deschanel. Just as adorkable in person as she is on The New Girl, Deschanel came bounding out to the opening chords of first song “I Was Made For You.” Their set continued to be filled with old time love songs backed with a retro big band sound.
Unfortunately the duo’s “no photo” policy had security working overtime to ensure that cameras and phones were not taken out throughout the entirety of their set, putting a definitively sour damper on the atmosphere. While the restriction was meant to help the audience enjoy the performance “in 3D,” a repercussion of it was increased attention on the fact that the duo’s sound, and in particular, Deschanel’s vocals, didn’t necessarily translate live that well. Playing ukulele, tambourine, and piano, she did however prove herself as a fine multi-instrumentalist.
The set did have some high points though. With just of the two of them, “You Really Got a Hold On Me” was a near-perfect moment of a duet, which was rivalled only by Deschanel’s invitation for backup singers Abigail and Lily Chapin of The Chapin Sisters to join her in a rendition of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” Thanking the audience for the nice time, Ward and Deschanel encouraged a singalong for last song “In the Sun.” Making us wait for an encore, the two finally re-emerged for a couple more tunes before taking a final bow.
It’s sure to be a performance that those in attendance won’t soon forget, just in this case, perhaps not all for the best of reasons. | CD
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