Over the Top Fest

This weekend I took in the Over the Top Festival. From start to finish, I saw: Ghost Bees, Timber Timbre, The Ghost is Dancing, Clues, Woods (in-store), Bayonets, Tune-Yards, Think About Life, Oh No Forest Fires, Five Blank Pages, Tiny Masters of Today, The Guest Bedroom, The Budos Band, and Green Go. I could conceivably have seen a few more acts, and I suspect some people did. Still, that’s a lot of music.

The Ghost Bees/Timber Timbre lineup – I missed headliner Baby Dee – is one I’ve noticed before, but I had never seen them play together. Both bands were great Thursday night. Timber Timbre guitarist/vocalist Taylor Kirk’s got a new band backing him up these days, including the wonderful Mika Posen on violin, Shawn Clarke on baritone saxophone, and Simon Trottier on lap steel. The live performance has a different vibe than the record. Perhaps less moving for me, but still impressive. Timber Timbre recently signed with the indie superlabel, Arts & Crafts, so lots more people will get to hear the record.

Ghost Bees is composed of twins Romy and Sari Lightman, who both sing and play guitar and mandolin, respectively. Their weird folk songs are beautiful and deeply satisfying. I can’t imagine how an audience could not fall in love with them. Their unique chemistry on stage – or, on chairs on the floor, in this case – is very appealing to take in. They’ve added the talented percussionist Maya Postepski to their lineup the last couple times I’ve seen them perform. She worked better with them this time around, but I’m not completely sold yet on her place in the band. (No slight intended to Maya, who adds so much to Bruce Peninsula and Katie Stelmanis’ band.) Ghost Bees and Timber Timbre are currently on tour, so check them out in your town if you have a chance. You won’t regret it.

After Timber Timbre’s set, I headed to Sneaky Dee’s to catch The Ghost Is Dancing. These local popsters were just back from touring their great new record, Battles On. Their set was much tighter than I remember them being the first time I took in a show. High energy, as expected, and not just because Oh No Forest Fires’ frontman Rajiv Thavanathan was playing guitar for them. During the set some of the band members shed layers. A few songs in, vocalist/keyboard player Lesley Davies exclaimed to no one in particular that it was so hot on stage. She shortly took her dress off, and reappeared in her underwear. Ha!

The band that I was most keen on seeing Thursday night was Clues, a new band out of Montreal headed up by Alden Penner of the now-defunct Unicorns. The band was preceded, unexpectedly, by a well-dressed, bizarre pan flute and vocal/duo called Jerusalem In My Heart (thanks Chris). Clues therefore started pretty late, and rather than build up anticipation, the weirdo mini opening set was kinda lost on the crowd. It was cool and all, but this is not what we came to hear. I’m pretty sure one lone guy in the middle-left of the dance floor started to slowly clap during one long song, as if to signal to those around him that he’d had enough. Rude, but not shocking given the context. I don’t think the band noticed.

But then we got Clues. I had spent some time with (part of) their self-titled album, and was curious to see it performed. The five-piece was a curious mixture of down-to-earth and hipster-pretentious, and they took a smidge too much time between songs switching up their instruments. If they hadn’t let the energy levels drop every few minutes, it would have been a significantly more exciting set. Sure, a handful of songs came across as rather same-sounding, but their percussion-heavy, slightly off-the-wall pop tunes were cool. In the end a little too cool for me, but I can imagine this band really tearing the roof off a place. (P.S.: Clues, play a show with Born Ruffians if you really want to win me over.)

The next evening I got an early start to things, checking out Woods’ in-store performance at Soundscapes. This Brooklyn-based folk-pop trio sing into bullet mics which distort their voices to give the band a slightly other-worldly sound. It’s always a real treat to see a band in this beautiful record store, and Friday was no different. I hung around for a time afterward, chatting with friends, browsing, and waiting for other friends to arrive so we could go for dinner.

Dinner went longer than anticipated, and I therefore got a late start to my show-going Friday night. I missed out on great opening (and closing) acts at WhipperSnapper and The Music Gallery, but no worries. I made it out to the Polish Combatants Hall in plenty time for the ridiculous, punky Bayonets, bashing out 1-minute tunes preceded by zany song introductions. Memorable mostly for the brevity and energy of their set, I feel no need to see this band again, but I can think of lots of occasions where they’d go over well. Entertaining. Next up was Tune-Yards, the solo project of Sister Suvi front-woman, Merrill Garbus. As one of the few people in the crowd with some foreknowledge of her, I was stoked. She did not disappoint, looping robust tribal vocals, skippy electric mandolin, and uncomplicated drum hits. The crowd-the ones with an ear for the interesting-was buzzing during and after her set. She’s doing something that no one else I know of is doing, and doing it really well.

Tune-Yards touring mates Think About Life were celebrating the release of their new full-length album on Friday and so a party was in order. The last time they played in town was back in July, and that show was perhaps the best show I went to all year, in no small part because of the insanity of the crowd reaction to front-man Martin Ceasar and the crazy dance-party vibe that his backing band provides. Family is more accessible than their 2006 self-titled release, and I was expecting a rather larger crowd than showed up. Whether it was all the other great shows happening that night or the odd venue, the place did not fill up. But those of us who were there, and especially the first few rows, had a blast. An absolute blast. I found myself on the stairs leading up the stage, both to avoid the moshing and so that I could see everything on stage and to my right. Fantastic. In a smaller, darker, more packed room it would have been amazing. Maybe next time. I ended the set on stage with the band and about 20 other dancing fools. Afterward, I had to wait until the sweat dried before I could leave the building. (Eye Weekly’s got a pretty-spot on review of this show here.)

By the time I got home at 5:20am or so Saturday morning-Friday’s TAL show led to dancing, which led to Ronnie’s, which led to a backyard bonfire in Kensington Market – I felt like Over the Top had done right by me. And so with one more night to go, and with no other obligations, I decided to plan it right and make the most of my wristband. (I first had to get my sunglasses fixed and see about replacing a broken bike pedal: casualties of Friday night’s festivities.) That night I saw 6 bands at 4 different venues.

My first venue was the Mod Club, a place I’d never seen a band before, and of which I had bad memories from being forced to go dancing there once, a long time ago. My apprehensions were instantly put aside when I got in the place and realized it was rather smaller than I remembered, with a nice, big stage complete with awesome lighting-almost to the point of being ridiculous and cheesy, but somehow not-and pretty good sound. I caught Oh No Forest Fires, who bounded around with abandon. Even the bass player, the most subdued of the bunch, managed to knock down a guitar amp. The kids at the front were amazed and probably inspired to start their own spazzy rock bands. I’m not in love with this band’s music, but I do quite like it, and I am always entertained by their live shows. So much fun. And incredibly tight considering how much jumping around they do. This is definitely a band worth looking into. It would be great to see them play on a much bigger stage to a much bigger crowd. They are most certainly up to it.

The next band I saw is one that won’t ever grace a stage again. The Mod Club show was the final one for Five Blank Pages. I missed the very end, but the parts of the set I did see – from the very front row, and then from further back in the room where the sound was much better – were a great way to end a solid 7-year run. The band performed their lovely Canadiana pop-rock songs accompanied by some musical friends on backing vocals, extra guitars, cello, violin, and trombone. For more on this band, check out my review of their most recent EP.

Just down the street at the WhipperSnapper art gallery there was a rather smaller crowd taking in rather younger, rockier bands than FBP. I arrived while the headliners, the New York-based Tiny Masters of Today, were setting up. And they were indeed tiny: lead by 15- and 13-year old siblings, with a drummer who couldn’t have been much older, these kids really impressed me. Sure, the girl’s not much of a singer (yet) and had to hand her bass over to her brother when it needed a quick tune-up, but they were legitimately good. I would expect more of adults, but what a treat to see these youngsters perform. The festival was all-ages, but except for one kid whose age I know, I suspect everyone in the audience was older than the band members. Their punky, garage-rock sound got repetitive toward the end, but I was so charmed by their musical ability and stage presence to mind too much.

My second show of the night over, I biked on over to Sneaky Dee’s expecting to spend a few minutes hanging out before dashing off again. Instead, The Guest Bedroom had just started playing, and wow – what a great set. I stayed for most of it, figuring the much-hyped Budos Band would start a little later than scheduled. When I think of their set, doom pop is the first and only description that comes to mind. Sandi Falconer’s vocals were strong and crisp, the tone was very dark, but the music was still kinda catchy. Odd, and extremely well done. This band would make for a good counterpoint to Oh No Forest Fires’ happier, less experimental vibe.

A friend of mine on Friday night had urged me to check out New York’s Budos Band at the Polish Combatants Hall the next day. Their Afro-funk sound seemed like a good bet, and certainly something I wouldn’t get a chance to hear live again anytime soon. I arrived late, but the show was running even later, so I had time to chat with the few people in the audience I recognized. There was a large crowd out for this one, and it seemed to me like the venue was not far off it’s 350-person capacity. There was a great deal of excitement in the air, at least up near the front, and some of us were getting a little peeved about the by now very late start to things. But then the front lights were mercifully turned off and the band – a 9-piece this Saturday night-took to the stage. As soon as they did, the dancing started. I had a pretty fun time boogie-ing down surrounded by strangers, but had to watch the clock. Technical difficulties annoyed me even more: the band had to stop playing for a while so their sax player could repair his instrument. I guess there was nothing to do done about it, though perhaps next time the band will know to bring along some repair tools just in case rather than having to rely on the venue having what they needed. A fun set, but let’s just say that I wouldn’t have been happy if I’d paid the $18 cover at the door, or had gone out of my way to pick up $15 advance tickets. I left at 12:50am, about an hour into the band’s interrupted set, so I could catch one last band.

I ended my Over the Top experience with one of my favourite live acts, Green Go. Although my feet were hurting and I’d already done a lot of dancing, there’s no way I can avoid busting a move to this electro-pop band out of Guelph. These guys (and gal) are brilliant. It’s too bad the crowd was rather thin and that there wasn’t much enthusiasm beyond the front row. But for me, it was awesome. And, just because I’m crazy, I ended the night with one more hour of late-night (2-3am) dancing at the Boat. Thank you, Over the Top Festival. See you next year.

For more Over the Top Fest info,
Website: http://www.overthetopfest.com/2009/

For more of Jennifer Polk’s work,
Blog: http://historyjen.blogspot.com/
Weekly Podcast: http://www.zygiella.com/index.html?id=200

Tonka & Puma/Daps Duo

This article was originally written for April 6th, 2009.

***

“I want to see if the 19 and under crowd can rock harder than the 19 plus crowd,” said Alanna Stuart, vocalist of Toronto reggae/soul duo Bonjay. It’s Bonjay’s first all-ages performance at Toronto’s Rolly’s Garage on a windy Saturday afternoon and people varying from young girls accompanied by delighted parents to hung-over university students were dancing and cheering them on.

The venue, approximately the size of a high-school classroom, is neatly decorated with whimsical lights and hanging pieces of recycled paper, indicating prices of snacks as the bands that day played one after the other under a garage door ceiling. Headliners Bonjay, made up of Stuart and DJ Pho blast song after song at the eager crowd, even catching the attention of the odd passerby outside on the streets. “I’ve never seen Pho this excited about a show ever!”

Headliners Bonjay, along with bands, The Pixelators, The Whitsundays, Boxes & Bags, and Kat Burns (of Forest City Lovers) made up the line-up for the second installment of the Daps All-Ages Concert Series. Created by Daniel Lee and April Aliermo (of Toronto indie-pop band, Hooded Fang), who call themselves Daps Duo, the pair began this series in January 2009 and hold bi-monthly all-ages shows at Rolly’s Garage.

Frantically running around the tiny space, running the merchandise, doing DJ sets between bands, talking to the sound man and even making grilled cheese sandwiches and serving freshly-made lemonade to the attendees were Lee and Aliermo. It may sound hectic, but they ran the whole show with a smile on their face and bundled in jackets and scarves to keep warm.

“I missed it when Lee’s Palace would put on all-ages shows for $5.00 and/or a can of food, and you’d get a bunch of great bands,” said Lee. “You’d be able to catch Treble Charger or someone like that in the afternoon; and I just think there’s a lack of all-ages shows now in Toronto.”

Music venues in Toronto such as Lee’s Palace, the Drake Hotel, El Mocambo, and the Legendary Horseshoe rarely hold all-ages shows today as many under-aged teens refer to them as the “19+ venues.” And with approximately 61% of the show listings on Rotate This’ website listed as 19+ and 43% of those being held at said venues, it’s slim pickings for those “who can’t shop at the LCBO,” as Stuart told the crowd.

For those who organize afternoon spectacles of music for people of all ages, it comes at a cost and a hardworking DIY-ethic.

“We pay for everything ourselves,” said Lee. “We’re fortunate to get such great bands too because we don’t pay them much; we propose to split the door money and if they agree, it’s great.”

It is also kept in mind that the bands playing at Rolly’s that afternoon were fairly voluntary and kind to the idea of splitting the door profits. “Bigger” bands normally don’t do this as managers require a set fee; yet another hurdle in the financial track.

“We just hope to break even,” said Lee. “We just broke even last time and had enough money to pay for all the bands. Making a profit is the thing; these shows just need to get out to more people.”

Attendance is a crucial element to the equation as it determines the profit. As mentioned by Lee, press and “getting the word out there” is vital to the success of events. Thanks to technology such as Facebook event postings though, and event listings in local papers such as NOW and Eye Weekly play largely into grabbing attention. As the pair stated in a recent Facebook status, “Daps All-Ages at Rolly’s Garage, tomorrow 12:30 gets an arrow in the NOW!” And as we draw the curve back around, we arrive at finances again.

“It’s all about the financial liability,” said event promoter/record label owner, Eric Warner. “There are so many variables to putting together an all-ages show.”

At the age of 25, Eric Warner, in addition to being an event promoter, owner of his own record label (We Are Busy Bodies) and actively a part of the Toronto independent music scene since the age of 15, is also the creator of the Over the Top Festival in Toronto. Over the Top is an annual all-ages music and arts festival, entering its eighth year this May and this year will hold 15 concerts, among other events such as film and theatre productions and workshops for kids.

“I do feel like Over the Top is a nice alternative to NXNE and Canadian Music Fest, which are both heavily based on 19+ shows in bars. I appreciate what they do, but I just wanted to do my own thing,” said Warner. “This year, we’re even planning a show on a bus; I like alternative venues like that. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I really wanted to do a show on a boat but that was too costly.”

“With all-ages shows, we’ll always run into issues like extra security and extra barriers like that,” said Warner. “It’s unfortunate that the Horseshoe and Lee’s don’t do as many all-ages shows anymore but again, it’s the financial aspect. It’s a gamble sometimes but you just have to hope for the best.”

With the Over the Top Festival, Warner’s aim is to “open up opportunities for people of all ages” and “give them the chance of discovery.”

“I know how it feels to be frustrated that your favourite band comes in town and it’s 19+,” explains Warner. “You’re faced with either getting a fake-ID or stay hopeful and just wait till they come back and hope that you’re of age by then.”

As Warner said, “There’s always all-ages show in Toronto of a wide range of genres. Could there be more? Certainly.”

Announcements for this year’s Over the Top line-up (taking place May 21st – 24th) will be made this week. As for Daps Duo’s all-ages series, the next installment is slated for June 20th, at Rolly’s Garage as per usual. Many other all-ages listings can be found at local independent record stores. But with the recent economic turmoil, will this affect all-ages shows?

“Regardless of what’s going on in the economy, we’d be putting on these shows,” said Lee. “We love doing this and the decline of all-ages shows began way before economic problems. We just need to continue doing what we do and getting the word out.”

***

The line up for the Over the Top Festival has been announced and you can read more about it on their website here.

For more about the Daps All Ages Series, check out their Facebook group.

Clues

It’s that year again, kids! The all-ages music and arts festival, Over the Top will be back this year from May 21-24! Via Stillepost, these are the current lineup announcements:

May 21:
Merbow w. Growing & METZ @ Polish Combatants Hall
Clues w. Special Guests @ Sneaky Dee’s
Baby Dee w. Timber Timbre & Ghost Bees @ 67 Nassau

May 22:
Mecca Normal – “How Art & Music Can Change the World” @ 67 Nassau
Think About Life w. Tuneyards & Bayonets @ Polish Combatants Hall
Ulysses & The Siren, The Narrative, Cool Dad & Guests @ Sneaky Dee’s
MV+EE, WOODS + Special Guest @ Whippersnapper Gallery

May 23:
Five Blank Pages (Final Show) w. Oh No Forest Fires & Boys Who Say No @ The Mod Club
Budos Band w. Word People, Kae Sun & DJ John Kong @ Polish Combatants Hall
Tiny Masters of Today w. Windom Earle & The Superstitions @ Whippersnapper Gallery
Shellshag, Fiasco & Special Guests @ Sneaky Dee’s

May 24:
Concert on a Transit Bus, BBQ and Acoustic Concert

If you’re not excited by the concert on a bus concept, you’ve been to one too many shows on a boat or something. The Singing Lamb will of course be covering the event (as we will cover this year’s NXNE as well) and we will update you on the festival as more bands and events are announced in the upcoming weeks!

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

All Caps!

Contrary to popular belief, not all pre-teens are head over heels for the Jonas Brothers or Fall Out Boy. (That is also the last time you will see those two names mentioned on this site…ever) In fact, all I’ve done for years was sit around a lunch table, surrounded by fellow frustrated underagers, complaining about the plethora of 19+ shows in town and how we long for the day Jason Collett or The Rural Alberta Advantage would play another all-ages show. It’s understandable, all ages shows can’t always be done. But we may as well be stealing delicious, musical candy from babies – and by babies, I just mean anyone under 19. For those who are still coping with this frustration, here’s a little guide of all-ages venues and events in Toronto. Hope this helps.

The Venues

The Music Gallery
Most shows at the Music Gallery (197 John St.) are all-ages. As Toronto’s Centre for Creative Music since 1976, this music venue has hosted great shows recently by The Dears and Basia Bulat. It’s location at St. George the Martyr Church provides a unique, unconventional atmosphere and the beautiful stained-glass windows makes for amazing back drops.

The Whippersnapper Gallery
This art space is quite the hot spot for all-ages shows. Located in the heart of Little Italy (587A College St.), this venue may be hard to spot on the outside, but the staircase covered with its name and the loud and fun checkered floor leave a bigger impression in your mind than the Kool Haus ever will. The Whippersnapper is small in capacity size, but has packed loads of fun from past performers such as Two Hours Traffic, Matt and Kim and Spiral Beach.

Harbourfront
Harbourfront consistently hosts some of the best (mostly FREE) shows throughout the summer. With the lovely lake on one side and a great outdoor stage on the other, what can go wrong? (besides potential drowning if you were to fall into the lake…) This past summer alone held free, all-ages show by Crystal Castles, Ladytron, Woodhands, Basia Bulat and Plants and Animals. So why worry about getting into a dark, 19+ show in a bar when you can go out and enjoy the fresh air (yes, it exists) by the lake!

Other Venues:
Massey Hall
Air canada Centre
Rogers Centre
Ricoh Coliseum
Molson Amphitheatre
Danforth Music Hall
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Church of the Redeemer
St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
Rolly’s Garage
Yonge-Dundas Square
Nathan Philips Square

In-Stores (All-ages AND free!):
Soundscapes
Criminal Records
Sonic Boom

Occasional All-Ages Shows:
Sound Academy
Kool Haus
Tranzac Club
Opera House
Mod Club
Phoenix
Reverb/Kathedral/Holy Joe’s

The Events

Over the Top Festival
This phenomenal all-ages festival is now seven years old, entering its eigth in 2009 and was created by Toronto, Music-man-extraordinaire, Eric Warner. This film and music festival takes place in various venues around Toronto, and has hosted shows by acts such as Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal), Matt and Kim, Silver Apples, and Woodhands. This is basically any underager’s dream. Thank you, Eric Warner. Thank you.

All Caps
Brought to you by Ryan McLaren, All Caps is a monthly all-ages concert series that is an all-day funfest of bands. Taking place both indoors and outdoors, All Caps is a fantastic place to tune into new bands and discover and share the wonderfully diverse arts community in the city. A common venue used for All Caps shows is the aforementioned Whippersnapper Gallery and the concert series in general has included performances from Hooded Fang, Brides, Huckleberry Friends, The Rural Alberta Advantage and Bruce Peninsula.

Daps All-Ages Shows
Brand new and created by the wonderful folks of Daps Duo, the Daps All-Ages Shows is a new series in all-ages concerts in Toronto. Recently celebrating their successful, first show featuring The Bicylces, Tonka & Puma and Oh No Forest Fires (and many more), Daps clearly have a bright future in all-ages events. If the gods of Toronto work in our favour, will there even be a Daps-Singing Lamb all-ages funfest? Stay tuned.

Well I hoped this helped someone; I definitely would’ve liked to have known about these venues and shows way earlier. See, there are options out there! So stop moping around about the latest Wavelength show or even the upcoming Canadian Music Week festivities! Go to an in-store! Go experience the Whippersnapper Gallery (Boys Who Say No are having an EP release show at the end of the month there – GO)! If I was able to rack up 30+ shows in one underaged year, you can too!

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody