the damage is done
Hello from Calgary.
I decided that I'm going to do all the recap stuff for Sled Island on the fly, and I'll just upload some photos when I get home, so if you're killing time at work today (*high five, Neil), this one is for you.
After 11 hours of driving and zero sleep the night before, we picked up our passes, checked in, and ripped back to the Pumphouse Theatre as fast as we could for the Yo La Tengo "Freewheelin' Retrospective Q&A."
I like YLT quite a bit, but I'm not a die hard fan. Last night's show (that they've been doing on and off for awhile), was a treat though. The band took questions from the crowd (and even turned the rather boring ones into entertaining anecdotes) and then performed songs that tied in to their answers.
Highlights included a wild version of "For the Turnstiles" where Ira laid some echo-y distortion on his acoustic and whipped out a noisy solo that would've made Neil proud, "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House," "Mr. Tough," and also an awesome version of "Damage" ("we don't play this one very often").
I also can't stress how fun the Q&A part of the evening was, and I'm usually a bit lukewarm on those types of things.
If you have the slightest interest in the band and can see them do this show, definitely do it.
From YLT, we headed over to Broken City and caught Women. Maybe it was the hometown audience, but they were even better than at Hoko's. I can't say enough good things about this band. Check out their album as soon as you can.
We stuck around at Broken City and gave Basketball a little hometown love. Cam (ex-Hot Loins, Music Waste, Vic Square) lent them a hand on percussion. I know I rave about them all the time, but the Calgary crowd was loving them, and when we were leaving I overheard a guy say "see, that's why Vancouver's music scene is so much better than ours."
We tried to see Crookers at Hi-Fi, but it was slammed, so I caught Elliot Brood (who was ok) and then a bit of Okkervil River at the Legion before completely crashing.
Not a bad first night.
Today: mystery bands>BSS>Deerhunter>the RZA>WIRE(!!!)
Oh, and while I usually don't list Seattle shows (other than festival), Matt won't let me get away without letting you know that the Jesus and fuckin' Mary Chain are in Seattle (at the Showbox) on July 16th.
If I can somehow swing MBV this summer, it'll make all my post-punk dreams come true.
I have to go drink some rye or eat beef or something Albertan now.
Labels: basketball, elliott brood, okkervil river, sled island, women, yo la tengo
3 Comments:
Here as well... Just home from the Clips, who put on a great show at the Underground -- after a day at the mainstage (yo la tengo, tegan & sarah, chixdiggit, broken social scene...)
last night was some more vancouver love at the science center with portico, octoberman, young & sexy -- and then who all the calgarians were there to see: Chad VanGaalen
overall im lovin the festival, and loving the organizer's liberal, laid back attitude...
more to come eventually over at beyondrobson.com
though my photos suck -- their one slip was not giving me an extra pass for a photographer...
meetup Quinn? email me
By 
, at
1:01 a.m.
can anyone tell me: at the Ladyhawk/Cons show at Richards on Thursday night, what was the song that Ladyhawk finished the set with? it was a killer metal song with Ryan the drummer on guitar? what song was that?
thanks
By , at
9:25 a.m.
on that "see why vancouver's music scene is so much bette" comment you overheard: this is typical Calgary bullshit and is one of the worst things about living here. In the midst of a superb festival that's happening IN CALGARY and that should make us all optimistic and joyful about the burgeoning arts scene here, some self-hating douchebag (who will, I guarantee, be moving to Montreal or Vancouver soon) has to put a negative spin on it. Nothing is good enough, ever.
Thanks for the coverage but these comments are like a disease here. We have this outstanding cultural smorgasbord now, one getting better all the time, and we get shit for lacking culture, still. Unbelievable how deluded people are and how aggressively they can be blind to change and the good.
By , at
4:34 p.m.
