Friday, July 5, 2013
Jeff Cohen of Collective Concerts welcomed showgoers to the second night of the festival, with the proclamation of “We survived rain, noise complaints, and no camera policies last night” and were back again for round two. Thanking the city for letting “us punk rockers” use the beautiful space that was Fort York & Garrison Common, he ushered in the first band of the night.
JD McPherson (West Stage, 6:00PM)
Oklahoma’s JD McPherson kicked things off for the second night of the festival. Despite the dreary weather and early hour, there was a fairly decent sized crowd out already to see the opening act. Behind McPherson were an upright bass and saxophone, in addition to the typical keys and drums. Having released Signs and Signifiers in the spring of 2012, the band sold out the Horseshoe last October, and it was pretty quickly evident why. Not necessarily what you would immediately expect to come out of the deep south, the band’s version of jazzy blues and funk bordered on both good old fashioned sock-hop and rockabilly. Between the deeply groovy “Country Boy” and their cover of Bo Diddley’s “You Don’t Love Me (You Don’t Care),” it was pretty hard to at least not tap your toes along to it.
Getting real low in the bass, the band really dug their heels into the last few songs, to finish off a set that was perfect to kick up your heels to and highly entertaining to watch.
Justin Townes Earle (East Stage, 7:00PM)
Somewhat of a troubadour in the folk-Americana scene, Tennessee’s Justin Townes Earle was up next. The crowd still a bit thin at this point, there were some long-time fans in attendance, who showed their appreciation for Earle by singing along to each and every song, starting with the up tempo “Baby’s Got a Bad Idea.”
Citing that “every good country song should be a good blues song,” Earle’s brand of Americana blended sorrowful pedal steel with greasy country blues. Many of his songs, such as “Mama’s Eyes,” referenced his father and mother. Juxtaposed with his downtrodden, parent issue-laden tunes was some laugh-out-loud humorous banter that kept the mood of the audience light. His set also included a new song, which will be the title track on his next album, as well as the edgy gospel-esque “Harlem River Blues.” He finished with the twangy “Can’t Hardly Wait,” originally by The Replacements, which appeared on his 2009 album Midnight at the Movies.
Fitz and the Tantrums (West Stage, 8:10PM)
Pulling the night out of the rootsy Americana groove was LA band Fitz and the Tantrums, who had the stage lit up with pink wires and a glowing heart from the cover of their new album. The crowd was already clapping as bandleaders Michael Fitzpatrick (vocals) and Noelle Scaggs (vocals) took the stage for “Keepin Our Eyes Out” from their most recent album, More Than Just a Dream, and the energy didn’t seem to let up – the two made sure about that.
Fitzpatrick and Scaggs could at first glance appear to be an unlikely pair. But the chemistry between them was astounding, and you couldn’t help but be joyously swept up in their unparalleled explosive energy and enthusiasm – that is of course when you weren’t staring in disbelief at Scaggs’ ability to lithely move her body to the beats. With mounds of heart and soul, and massive saxophone from James King to boot, they collectively owned the audience, especially on songs like “Breakin’ the Chains of Love.” They even seemed to have an effect on the weather; after having looked a bit iffy for a while, the clouds parted and the sun reemerged.
Emphasizing that she needed to “see every hand clapping along to the kick drum” Scaggs even threw in a cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” The can’t-help-but-dance feel to their set continued on with new single, “Out Of My League,” the best from their new record, before finally ending with the saxophone-heavy “Moneygrabber.”
Arkells (East Stage, 9:30PM)
Closing things out was blue-collar rock-and-rollers Arkells. Having consistently earned an ever-growing fanbase – especially since the release of their last record Michigan Left – the Hamilton band proved they were worthy to have secured top spot as the night’s headliner. Someone beside me likened seeing Arkells for the first time to the life-altering act of seeing Star Wars for the first time. While I might not necessarily go that far, despite having personally now seen the band over two dozen times, like every other show, I can say that this one was once again like seeing them for the very first time.
While rocking set opener “Whistleblower” had the young crowd in a frenzy, it was the breezy “hey hey hey’s” in second song “Ballad of Hugo Chavez” that really set the tone for the set. The summer dance party vibe was heightened even more so with the campfire and Tragically Hip references in “Kiss Cam.” This energy spilled over into the keyboard flourishes from Anthony Carone on “Pullin’ Punches” and finger-snaps, hand-claps, and sing-alongs on “Where U Goin.” Still remembering where they’ve come from, frontman Max Kerman mentioned a memory of their first Toronto show way-back-when at The Silver Dollar, where they played to only booker Dan Burke and an empty room before taking the Go Train home to the Snooty Fox in Westdale, Hamilton. The thunderous crowd response to “John Lennon” seems to indicate that they’ve come along way from those days.
As a special treat, the band ended the night with their now-famed motown revue. Making the transition, Kerman changed into a white jacket and they were joined by members of Dwayne Gretzky, including Tyler Kyte and Nick Rose. Opting to let loose a little bit, we left the VIP section to dance and sing the rest of the night away in the heart of the crowd to classic hits like “Up Tight (Everything’s Alright)”, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “I Want You Back.” Bringing up nostalgic memories of the perfect Osheaga night, Arkells reminded the massive audience why their motown sets used to be the city’s best kept secret, and now deserve the self-imposed title of “Eighth Wonder of the World.” | CD
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