06-27-2018, 08:48 AM
They did a great job of making it a community event -- we stayed in a hotel downtown, and the $$ brought into the city was not trivial based on chatting with people at the hotel and the venue. The flea market in the afternoon was really a great idea, and the band were all there mingling and talking with fans and vendors.
For the rest of the music:
Ellevator -- I'd listened to them in advance, reminded me of a earlier Metric. Good of the Arkells to start helping them get in front of a larger audience.
Bishop Briggs -- I'd sort of lumped her in with Lorde. Had listened to the debut album a few times, thought it was generally OK with some standout tracks. Live, she was really good. Unlike Lorde, or at least the one time I saw Lorde, had really good stage presence. She was having fun up there, and her enthusiasm flowed out to the audience. I went in sort of indifferent, left impressed and a fan.
Cold War Kids -- talk about going in indifferent, I knew little about these guys other than they'd been around awhile and are from California. They were phenomenal. Will have to dig deeper into their discography.
More on the Arkells -- older songs with the brass section kick butt. The Boss is Coming, would love a live version of that with the backup section. I was a bit surprised they did not work in a few new songs, as they apparently have an album done and ready for a fall release, but it was a solid set list. I mentioned the crowd vibe, they also really draw across a wide spectrum -- my 12 year old digs them, I look like an chubby lumberjack and dig them, there were teens, stoners, middle aged to older, frat bros and girls. Finally, Max has maybe taken the mantle as the best frontman in Canada -- he works the crowd, comes across as very gracious and appreciative, at time dances with abandon, and uses the stage to spread a message.
It will be interesting to see if they try and turn this into a more regular event. Yearly seems overly ambitious, but every two or three years as a kickoff to the summer would be a possibility. I'm sure the city would be in full support based on the economic influx this looked to generate. They're doing for Hamilton what The Hip did for Kingston in their earlier days, and just based on seeing them around the flea market they're proud to be part of the city and taking the opportunity to support social causes.
For the rest of the music:
Ellevator -- I'd listened to them in advance, reminded me of a earlier Metric. Good of the Arkells to start helping them get in front of a larger audience.
Bishop Briggs -- I'd sort of lumped her in with Lorde. Had listened to the debut album a few times, thought it was generally OK with some standout tracks. Live, she was really good. Unlike Lorde, or at least the one time I saw Lorde, had really good stage presence. She was having fun up there, and her enthusiasm flowed out to the audience. I went in sort of indifferent, left impressed and a fan.
Cold War Kids -- talk about going in indifferent, I knew little about these guys other than they'd been around awhile and are from California. They were phenomenal. Will have to dig deeper into their discography.
More on the Arkells -- older songs with the brass section kick butt. The Boss is Coming, would love a live version of that with the backup section. I was a bit surprised they did not work in a few new songs, as they apparently have an album done and ready for a fall release, but it was a solid set list. I mentioned the crowd vibe, they also really draw across a wide spectrum -- my 12 year old digs them, I look like an chubby lumberjack and dig them, there were teens, stoners, middle aged to older, frat bros and girls. Finally, Max has maybe taken the mantle as the best frontman in Canada -- he works the crowd, comes across as very gracious and appreciative, at time dances with abandon, and uses the stage to spread a message.
It will be interesting to see if they try and turn this into a more regular event. Yearly seems overly ambitious, but every two or three years as a kickoff to the summer would be a possibility. I'm sure the city would be in full support based on the economic influx this looked to generate. They're doing for Hamilton what The Hip did for Kingston in their earlier days, and just based on seeing them around the flea market they're proud to be part of the city and taking the opportunity to support social causes.