Hooded Fang

9. Hooded Fang @ Cafe Dekcuf (Ottawa) Friday, January 23

Even though Rural Albert Advantage were the headliners at this show, Hooded Fang completely ran off with my heart about thirty seconds into their set. Between the male/female harmonies, the unpretentious inter-switching of instruments and the copious amounts of good cheer that they spread around the room, I was sold. And judging by the bouncing, shimmying attendees around me, I’d say everyone else caught the Fang fever.

8. Rah Rah @ Cafe Dekcuf (Ottawa) Friday, May 15

The second the band hit the stage, I felt like I’d been saved from the brink of musical disparity. I had assured my friends that this would be an excellent show, and felt incredibly guilty for making them endure THREE opening bands that were either flat out awful or dreadfully mediocre. But when Rah Rah got going, I (and hopefully my friends) felt  re-invigorated, forgetting the earlier musical blunders. The band was just so into it and so excited to be there, making their Going Steady material come alive. And of course you can’t talk about Rah Rah without mentioning the throaty beauty of Erin Passmore’s rich, soulful vocals, which the crowd were hootin’ and hollerin’ for, much to her bashful chagrin.

7. Spiral Beach @ The Mansion (Kingston, ON) Tuesday, April 28

This show was particularly special due to the fact that the opening band flaked, meaning that Spiral Beach stepped in to fill the void. That’s right. Two back-to-back sets of Spiral Beach: the first a stripped down, folksy affair, and the second being the regularly scheduled program of raucous, cow-punk-circus-in-space rockers. It was a Tuesday so the audience was a little sparse, but this only added to the especially intimate atmosphere of the evening.

6. Most Serene Republic @ Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ottawa) Saturday, November 14

I knew that MSR would have no problems living up to my high expectations, even before a single note was played: the show began with Adrian Jewett leading the crowd in a spirited chant of “Rufio! Rufio!” (ala Hook), followed by the necessary crowing. From there on, the night was a blur of Jewett’s psychedelic dance moves, Emma Ditchburns clear, jazzy voice ringing out above everything, down-on-the-floor trumpet solos, and the sound guy’s compliance when the band requested that the ignored disco ball be put to use for a freak out dance party during an all-or-nothing performance of “Don’t Hold Back, Feel a Little Longer.”

Spiral Beach

5. Spiral Beach @ Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ottawa) Friday, October 30

So it might seem a little excessive to have two Spiral Beach shows in the same list, but if you’ve ever seen these guys live you’ll understand that this isn’t really excessive at all. Since the first time I saw the band play at the Wolfe Island Music Festival back in 2007, these humbling-ly young musician types have only managed to knock my socks off with increasingly greater force. As per usual, they induced me into complete, grooving, musical submission, such that I didn’t even mind the vaguely patronizing “Isn’t she cute” smirks that I kept getting from a middle-aged lady. Whatever, lady. This is Spiral Beach. Smirk away.

4. Lykke Li @ Phoenix (Toronto) Friday, February 6

Although the long wait time before she hit the stage was totally uncalled for, this petite Swedish powerhaüs delivered. She danced like a freak but was so confident in her freakitude that I could only wish that I, too, had the ability to twitch around like that and look cool doing it. Her backing band played a huge role in offering up really dynamic takes on material from the breakout Youth Novels, and complied during her respectable little rapping detours.

3. Ben Kweller @ Mod Club (Toronto) Sunday, February 22

I have had a long love affair with Ben Kweller. I think I was twelve when I first heard his live cover of “Drug Buddy” (by the Lemonheads), and have spent the past eight years in regular cycles of obsession over what has come to be a pretty extensive and varied music catalogue for someone so young. Given my long-term relationship with Kweller, he has been in the top three on my concert bucket list for a while, so it goes without saying that I was a little manically over-excited the night of the show. In the moments before he sidled up onstage, my stomach was executing some impressive gymnastics, but upon finally seeing that muppet face of his and hearing his voice in person, all Southern drawl and take-him-home-to-mom charm, I felt like a little part of me had been made complete. He’s an instantly likeable kind of guy, humble and personable with a natural storytelling ability and easy humour. Ben and his backing band hit a few of my old favourites (“Family Tree”, “On My Way” and “The Rules”), but approached them with the countrified sound of his latest album. Going into the show, I wasn’t really sure about the twangy of his newest release Changing Horses, but I left convinced of its merit and ever more enamoured with my favourite little Texan.

2. Frightened Rabbit @ Horseshow Tavern (Toronto) Wednesday, July 22

First in-person band interview: backstage, pre-show with front man Scott Hutchinson. First free journalistic beer as a result of said interview. (I kept the bottle cap). Ridiculously welcoming and enthusiastic crowd.  Explosive, equally enthusiastic performance from the band. Lots of torso-twisting dance moves. Lots of sing-a-longs. Lots of oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-I’m-here moments. I’ve been wanting to see Frightened Rabbit live ever since my first spin of Midnight Organ Fight, and it’s really nice to know that when so many bands are absolute shit live, there are still musicians out there not only making amazing records, but elevating their studio recordings by giving sincere, passionate live performances.

Fleet Foxes

1. Fleet Foxes @ Metropolis (Montreal) Monday, August 3

The musical skill packed into each of these band members is all at once inspiring and capable of knocking any aspiring musician down a couple of pegs. I have never heard a band who can perform live THIS flawlessly. They so perfectly executed the signature, intricate harmonies that make up the FF soundscape, leading me to believe that Fleet Foxes are physically incapable of singing or playing a bad note. Ever. The atmosphere in the venue switched between silent awe during each song, and an onslaught of appreciative noise-making as the last note faded out. But I felt like I should be doing more than just cheering my loudest at the end of each song. I felt like I should’ve been constructing some sort of Fleet Foxes shrine in the middle of the sardine-packed crowd.

Aside from seeing Final Fantasy play in a church a couple years back, I’ve never experienced such transcendence at the hands of live music. And I think this is the ultimate for live shows, those times when you let go of everything but the music and are able to enter into a state that’s probably something like an out-of-body experience. The band seemed continually bowled over by the audience’s adoring response, and the night ended with three fist-clenched bouts of thank yous from lead singer Robin Pecknold as he proclaimed that it was the best show they’d ever played. Now I know it’s naive to think that this hasn’t been said before to other crowds, but I’m choosing to take stock in this statement given the mutual, almost sappy appreciation that was blatantly exchanged between audience and band. As the Fleet Foxers made their way off stage, they could be seen embracing each other and shaking their heads at each other, seemingly disbelieving and overwhelmed by the crowd’s response.

We were pretty overwhelmed, too.

-Alie