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Recap: Over the Top Festival 2009

May 27th, 2009 | By: admin

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

Tags: all ages, over the top fest
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Let’s Chat: Michael Rubenfeld

May 19th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Book of Judith

The Singing Lamb: How did The Book of Judith come about?

Michael Rubenfeld: In 2005, a good friend of mine who was working as a personal assistant to a woman named Judith Snow, who was a quadriplegic woman; he came up to me and asked me if I knew of anyone would be interested in making love to her. And I said, no. I didn’t; but what a question. It was an amazing question. And I suggested that we turn it into theatre, because that’s what I do, I’m a theatre guy. Usually if a question is good enough and it sits with me for a long enough time, I’d want to explore it through a piece of theatre. So he went back to Judith and Judith said that she wanted to meet me and that’s sort of where it began. We did a first version of the show for the Rhubarb Festival at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and in that production, Judith came on stage naked and we dressed her because one of the things that Judith says people have a difficult time dealing with was her appearance. So we brought her onstage and gave them the opportunity to stare without feeling guilty about staring and we dressed her onstage. Then from there, we got some funding for the play and the version we have now is the current incarnation so it’s about four years in the making.

What was your first impression of Judith?

That she wasn’t as strange as I’d thought she’d be. When I was given permission to just spend time with her, and after about five minutes, I forgot that she was disabled. But I was also fascinated. I was like, “Wow, you look amazing.” She can only move her head, her body doesn’t move but very quickly, it stopped being about her appearance and about her. She’s a very wise woman, she’s almost 60, and she’s got a master’s degree. She’s very, very intelligent and she travels the world advocating for disabilities. I was just kind of blown away by the way she was. And I felt quite stupid that I wanted to just do something as basic as a play about her sex life because she was so much more than her sex life. But of course my brain went to that; I think it’s common of people. Do you even have sex? How do you have sex? Sex is so much on everyone’s brains that it’s an interesting question to attach to someone who’s a quadriplegic.

What was the audience’s reception of the early versions of the play?

It was all over the place. A lot of discomfort; it made a lot of people uncomfortable but it quickly turned into comfort, I think. I think lot of people were quite moved. Some people were pissed off. So it was all over the place, which is what we wanted. It was pretty extreme for some people and for some people it was just like ‘okay’. We thought it was a great beginning.

Why do it in a tent?

We decided to do it in a tent because we didn’t want to do it in a theatre; we were very clear on that. It felt like it needed to exist beyond just being a play and our first thought was to do it in a church because we’re taking a very biblical angle to the show and we call the play the Book of Judith, which is taken from the actual book of Judith. We really wanted it to be a ceremony, we wanted it to feel traditional so our first thought was to do it in the church. We were actually going to do it in the Music Gallery but it felt like there were just too many complications; it was getting complicated to find the right church and so we thought, what do people do when you can’t find a church?

You get a tent!

You pitch a tent; exactly! You build your own church. So that’s why.

How is the Book of Judith different from anything else you’ve worked on?

Well we have a 16-person choir in the show and Andrew Penner has composed music for this choir; for me and the choir. And the choir is made up of members from the disabled community and members from the non-disabled community. The show essentially is a sermon that I’m giving as myself so I’m playing myself in this show. I’ve never done that before and the piece is really about how Judith changed my life and how I would then like to change other people’s lives with Judith’s message. Judith is an advocate so what she has to say applies to everyone in that choir who’s onstage who are there as a choir but also there as a representative of a culture that is foreign to a lot of people in the non-disabled community. I just feel like the show is really about something and it’s really hard to do something about things and not have it be sacramental. I think the show has something really important to say and I’m saying it; but it’s not my words, the words are like a gift to me. It’s also quite a spectacle, it’s a show! It doesn’t even feel like a play. There’s a woman in the choir named Alex Bulmer; she’s the choir leader and she’s a blind woman who’s come in from England to do the show. And she says that she forgets that she’s in a play; she thinks that it’s just this thing that we’re doing. So it really feels like a church.

How did the collaboration between you and Andrew Penner (Sunparlour Players) come about?

Andrew’s an old friend of mine; we used to do theatre together. And we’ve always been good friends and when he started with the Sunparlour Players – I knew him before, when he was just playing on his own – and I’ve seen him turn into the genius that he is and we’ve always maintained this conversation, this creative and artistic dialogue about the work that I create, the work that he creates and there’s a mutual admiration. I’m just in love with his music and his band and we’ve been wanting to work together but we couldn’t quite figure out the right thing. And while we were writing the play, myself and Sarah Stanely who’s the director of the play and the co-creator, when we realized that it was going to be a musical and we wanted it to exist in a tent and have a gospel and a feeling of faith to the music, my first thought was that it had to be Andrew because he’s such a preacher! The music is out of this world; it’s great.

So is this your first time working together?

This is our first time working creatively together. We’ve acted on stage together; we were in The Tempest together! But this is our first time making something together.

How was it to see him create this music and work with you?

Well it’s a gift in some ways because I play myself in the show and it’s me telling my story with music. So essentially, it’s a musical that comes from me and so it’s been amazing because he’s really worked in a way that it’s very much his music and a lot of his words but it really feels like he’s written for me to sing; and so it’s kind of like a dream come true. It’s exactly what I wanted and he’s just so talented; he kind of blows me away. And he’s humble within it all; his relationship to his own pride and ego is inspiring too and I think it connects to why his music is so great. It’s bigger than him, bigger than us, beyond him; and so he’s been perfect.

How did the inclusion of Over the Top happen?

I knew that because of the music element, I really wanted to find a way to include the music community for the show because I thought that it would be something exiting for the music community. But I’m not tapped into the music community and Eric Warner was recommended to me from Evan Newman who works at Outside Music and is Andrew’s manager and he recommended Eric and we hired him to do publicity for the show and that was when the idea to come into Over the Top came. He always has a theatre element to Over the Top and he came and saw a reading of the play with the music and he fell madly in love with it and said let’s do this.

How do you feel about the festival being all ages and open to everyone?

I think it’s necessary. When something can be universal I think that the more people something can reach, the more inclusive it becomes. And I think it’s amazing; I think it’s perfect, it’s great to connect the Book of Judith because the Book of Judith is very much about what Judith has to say about inclusion and so the fact that it’s connected to a festival that is inclusionary makes a lot of sense; a really great match.

Is there anything that you’re looking forward to this week?

I’m looking forward to seeing Sebastien Grainger; I really like his album.

It’s a really good album!

I’m looking forward to Think About Life, I’ve never seen them!

I’ve never seen them either; I may be there too!

Yeah, I think they may be playing Summerworks too.

Awesome! Finally, how do you hope people would come out of this play feeling?

Changed, whatever that means. I think some people are not going to like it; it may piss some people off because it’s pretty provocative but I hope that people are moved. But more importantly, I hope that it inspires people to think differently about disabilities.

That sounds great. And if you were a singing animal, what would you be?

I think I’d be an ape!

Why?

They just seem so jovial and so pleased to be whatever they are, but they’re also kind of brutish. And they’re like, “No, I’m going to do whatever I want; I’m going to scratch my balls right here – and sing about it!”

The Book of Judith runs from May 19th to 31st at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health grounds at 1001 Queen St. West as part of the Over the Top Festival. Tickets are $20.

Tags: book of judith, interview, michael rubenfeld, over the top fest, play
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News Update!

April 28th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Lioness

Hectic doesn’t even begin to describe this week, especially this Thursday. April 30th is shaping up to be one of the most heart-wrenching nights of the month, due to the multitude of great shows in town. The following is a list of the shows going down that night:

John Doe & The Sadies @ Sonic Boom (FREE, 7:00 pm)
Green Go (CD release), The Magic, Everything All The Time, OPOPO DJs @ Wrongbar ($5.00, 9:00 pm)
The Dears, Lioness @ Mod Club ($20.00, 7:00 pm)
Immaculate Machine, Will Currie & The Country French, The Elwins, DJ Shit La Merde @ The Drake ($10.00, 8:00 pm)
The Weather Station (CD release), Isla Craig & Muskox, Snowblink, Weird Weather, Lisa Bozikovic @ Tranzac – Main Hall ($8.00, 8:00 pm)
Megan Hamilton, Eric Welton @ Tranzac – Southern Cross Lounge (PWYC, 10:00 pm)
Flowers of Hell, Beta Cloud, General Chaos Visuals @ The Renaissance Cafe ($6.00, 8:00 pm)
B’MO Crazy, The Lovely Killbots, and La Casa Muerte @ The Boat ($5.00, 9:00 pm)

See? We’re screwed. Personally, I’m going for three shows – John Doe & The Sadies, The Dears and Green Go. This is going to take some intense commuting skills/luck and impeccable timing. I’ll report back on Friday with the results. All of these shows are incredible and if given the chance, I say you definitely go and check out whoever you missed when they return to town.

Flowers of Hell, for example, will be back at the Horseshoe on May 19th. Green Go will also return shortly, as part of the Over the Top Fest, taking place from May 21-24. We’ll keep you updated on a date/location.

Other Show Announcements:
VNV Nation, War Tapes, Sam @ The Phoenix (July 14th, $29.50, 19+)
Francis and the Lights @ The Drake (May 13th – 15th, $10.00, 19+, please note: the May 13th show is free)
Lightning Dust (opening for Bonnie Prince Billy) @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre (May 14th, $25.00, ALL AGES)
Isis, Tombs @ The Phoenix (June 7th, $17.50, ALL AGES)
Passion Pit, Harlem Shakes @ Lee’s (June 16th, $12.00, 19+)
Obits @ Lee’s (July 23rd, $12.00, 19+)
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band @ The Horseshoe (June 2nd, FREE, 19+ – as part of Free Tuesday New Music Night)
Telekenesis, An Horse @ Horseshoe (June 10th, $10.50, 19+)
Alejandro Escovedo, Joseph Arthur @ Trinity St. Pauls (June 16th, $27.00, ALL AGES)
Dog Day @ Lee’s (May 28th, 19+)
Malajube @ Lee’s (June 12th, 19+)
Eagles of Death Metal @ Kool Haus (August 2nd, $27.50)

In festival update news, it is confirmed that The Rural Alberta Advantage and The So So Glos will also be part of this year’s NXNE festivities; not on the same bill necessarily though.

Arts & Crafts have officially announced their NXNE Showcases at Courthouse. Here is their schedule:

Wednesday, June 17th
(Broken Social Scene Book Launch)
Apostle of Hustle
Jason Collett
The Happiness Project
Years

Thursday, June 18th
The Most Serene Republic
Still Life Still
Timbre Timbre
Zeus

In addition to the book launch at Courthouse, it is said that there is a “special in-store performance at the Fred Perry retail location at 964 Queen St. W.” Fred Perry will be sponsoring the NXNE showcases.

French band, Radio Radio will be playing a free show at Harbourfront this summer as part of the Franco-Fete 2009 Fest (June 19-21).

Similarly, Jenn Grant will be playing a free show at Habourfront as well, as part of the Canadian Voices Fest (July 17-26).

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

Tags: arts and crafts records, flowers of hell, free, green go, in store, jenn grant, nxne, over the top fest, radio radio
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All-Ages Shows On the Rise?

April 27th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

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.

Tags: all ages, daps, eric warner, over the top fest, rollys garage
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Don’t Worry, Be Happy

April 17th, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

Mastodon

This post was originally written for April 17th, 2009

Sunshine and temperatures in the mid-teens? Could it be spring at last? Here’s some news!

After recent, massive lineup announcements for festivals including Osheaga, Over The Top and Olympic Island, there has been a lot of rumors as to who might appear at the 15th annual North by Northeast Music & Film Festival Conference (NXNE), which takes place June 17-21. Thanks to this little story from NOW, we know several acts confirmed, including Black Lips, Fake Blood, HEALTH, King Khan & BBQ Show, No Age andMatt & Kim. The Singing Lamb can also confirm that Halifax’s Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees and Calgary’sWoodpigeon. We of course will be covering the festival, and look for some special announcements from us in the upcoming weeks about NXNE and other events this summer.

For those of you with tickets to the sold-out The National show on May 21st at the Kool Haus – only 35 days! – opening for the band will be Brooklyn’s Colin Stetson. An avant-garde multi-instrumentalist – but most notably as a baritone saxophonist, I discovered today that Stetson has a remarkable musical resume, which includes touring alongside Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre and recording with the likes of Tom Waits and TV On The Radio. He recently released a mostly experimental jazz album, entitled New History Warfare Vol. 1, that you can listen to songs from on Stetson’s website or his MySpace.

Atlanta heavy metal band Mastodon know a thing or two about concept albums, and their fourth full-length Crack The Skye, tackles “art aesthetics of Tsarist Russia, astral travel, out of body experiences and Stephen Hawking’s theories on wormholes”. A combination of metal riffs, prog rock, average song lengths over five minutes and the crushing vocals of Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds, this album will knock you flat on your ass and not stop to apologize. Alas, I hadn’t noticed that these guys are going to be at The Opera House on May 5th and the show is now sold-out, but this album is still one of the best I’ve heard this year.

If you want to catch Apostle of Hustle in a more intimate venue, the band will be playing an all-ages show at The Music Gallery on May 29th. This of course will all be a warmup for the band’s July appearance at the Olympic Island Festival. The band’s third full-length album Eats Darkness is scheduled to drop May 19th.

Scottish garage-poppers 1990s will be at The Horseshoe Tavern on June 3rd. Check out the band here where you can listen to songs off their upcoming sophomore album, Kicks.

The Decemberists are coming to Toronto! Oregon’s favourite orchestral folk-rockers will be coming to the Kool Haus on August 3rd in support of their new album The Hazards of Love. Opening for The Decemberists will be Cincinnati’s Heartless Bastards – tickets are on-sale now, but don’t expect them to last that long. Colin Meloy and his merry gang of men and women will also be on The Colbert Report April 27th.

Is there anything that Justin Timberlake can’t do? Front one of the biggest boy bands of the 90s? Check. Have a respected solo career? Check. Date pre-crazy Britney? Been there, done that. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro? Check…wait, what? JT will be joining rapper Lupe Fiasco and singer Kenna in this trek up Africa’s highest mountain, in order to raise awareness for the world water shortage. Read the full story here.

By way of apology for missing the 15th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s tragic death, here is Winter Gloves covering Nirvana’s iconic “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Rest in peace Kurt, you will never be forgotten.

Before I return to (not) studying for my two exams next week, I thought I leave you with “8 Songs Not to Shag To” – I’d advise checking it out before you plan your next sexual escapades (thanks to Radio Exile for this one).

Cheers,
Max

Tags: 1990s, apostle of hustle, decemberists, mastodon, nxne, olympic island fest, osheaga, over the top fest, the national, winter gloves
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Over The Top Fest!

April 12th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

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!