Sunday, August 30, 2015

Fantasy island

I skipped Friday night's Albert Island shenanigans, but was front and centre for Saturday; my sister's family was visiting from out west and they're big Austra fans so naturally we all went off together to check out that show, along with a side helping of other greatness, starting with Ottawa Pipahauntas (a.k.a. Sam from Organ Eyes, though I've seen a lot more of her solo stuff of late).

Pippahauntas at Albert Island

The warehouse is a very nice space.

Pippahauntas at Albert Island

The shouty bit!

Pippahauntas at Albert Island

Then it was time to check out the outdoor stage - also a very nice venue, with a bit of built-in reverb thanks to the stone buildings one either side. Tamara Lindeman, a.k.a. The Weather Station, started her set off with a solo tune before bringing on her band (Ben Whitely, Adrian Cook and Ian Kehoe).

Weather Station at Albert Island

Solo action!

Weather Station at Albert Island

Ian hits!

Weather Station at Albert Island

Adrian works the steel.

Weather Station at Albert Island

Tamara sings, Ben handles the low end.

Weather Station at Albert Island

Bonus Ben!

Weather Station at Albert Island

The view from the right.

Weather Station at Albert Island

The whole lot!

Weather Station at Albert Island

Weatherly action!

Weather Station at Albert Island

Rhythm section action!

Weather Station at Albert Island

Petra Glynt really blew me away when she played the Dom during Megaphono, and I've tried to see her every chance I get since (well, once at the Ottawa Explosion, anyway). She sounded absolutely killer during this set.

Petra Glynt at Albert island

Alexandra sings!

Petra Glynt at Albert island

Alexandra hits!

Petra Glynt at Albert island

She puts on a great show.

Petra Glynt at Albert island

Kazoo action!

Petra Glynt at Albert island

And so on!

Petra Glynt at Albert island

Fest creative director Rolf Klausener introduces Hayden.

Hayden at Albert Island

I find Hayden pleasant to listen to, but I can't say he really hooked me.

Hayden at Albert Island

Close-up action!

Hayden at Albert Island

Singalong action!

Hayden at Albert Island

Bonnie Doonster and all-around arts heavyweight Lesley Marshall (who's also the festival's arts curator) introduce U.S. Girls.

Lesley Marshall at Albert Island

She was certainly looking stylish. This is the first time I've seen her perform as U.S. Girls with Amanda Crist on backing vocals (they also perform together in Darlene Shrugg).

U.S. Girls at Albert Island

Meg gets a grip.

U.S. Girls at Albert Island

Singalong action!


U.S. Girls at Albert Island

Extra Amanda!

U.S. Girls at Albert Island

Bonus Meg!

U.S. Girls at Albert Island

Then, back inside for some hip hop from art collective Kings College. But first, a little House of Paint chit-chat (another late summer festival, coming Sept. 9-13) and introduction action.

KingsCollege at Albert Island

Henchman Frank, Gsaint, alongside producers archie and TBSW, form the nucleus of the group. I believe this is Henchman Frank let me know if I'm wrong.

KingsCollege at Albert Island

I'm pretty damn sure this is Gsaint.

KingsCollege at Albert Island

TSBW? archie? I know not.

KingsCollege at Albert Island

Collegiate action!

KingsCollege at Albert Island

Gripping action!

KingsCollege at Albert Island

However, on to Austra, the real reason I was there that night. I've seen her twice before (at Bluesfest and at Ritual) and was impressed both times. For this show the group was down to a quartet. Here's some introduction by Rolf and Lesley.

Rolf Klausener and Lesley Marshall at Albert Island

And here's Katie and Dorian.

Austra at Albert Island

Maya sings! (She also has a new solo EP out, Princess Century.)

Austra at Albert Island

Dorian gets in some bass time.

Austra at Albert Island

Ryan works the keys.

Austra at Albert Island

Extra Katie!

Austra at Albert Island

More Ryan!

Austra at Albert Island

Katie on keys.

Austra at Albert Island

Closeup action!

Austra at Albert Island

Maya sings some more!

Austra at Albert Island

A fine evening out with the folks.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Signal to noise

Summer is headed into its final stretch, and that means festival season is winding down - but at least it's going out with a bang instead of a whimper, with some pretty sharp lineups at of CityFolk and last week's Arboretum. I caught a couple of nights at the Rolf Klausener-curated fest, starting with an evening at St. Alban's, featuring Montreal's Organ Mood, Ottawa's Flying Horses and headlined by Julianna Barwick. St. Alban's was perfect for these acts (sometimes too perfect, when its acoustics made every pin drop behind me audible during the quiet parts). Organ Mood were the first group up. The duo combine music, some instruments of their own design, a lot of audience participation and some overhead projectors. Unfortunately they were also positioned just behind me, where the lighting was so dire the chances of a decent photograph were zero. That said, we'll start things off with Laurie Brown, whose show The Signal co-presented the night.

Laurie Brown at St. Alban's

Overhead action with Mathieu Jacques!

Organ Mood at St. Alban's

This is what was appearing on the silver screen.

Organ Mood at St. Alban's

A very grainy Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux provides the music.

Organ Mood at St. Alban's

An audience member uses one of the band-designed instruments to add some rhythm. Another audience member used a modified doppler to project the sound of her heartbeat, which was pretty cool.

Organ Mood at St. Alban's

Next up, Flying Horses provided some instrumental sounds while grainy black-and-white images that (I'm guessing) showed off Iceland's stark landscapes played overhead. Raphael Weinroth-Brown on cello and JF Beauchamp on trumpet.

Flying Hórses at St. Alban's

Jade Bergeron winds things up.

Flying Hórses at St. Alban's

Organ action!

Flying Hórses at St. Alban's

The whole lot take their bows.

Flying Hórses at St. Alban's

Julianna Barwick tied the night up in a bow with some lovely looped sounds.

Julianna Barwick at St. Alban's

As you can see, I didn't take all that many photos ....