Canadian Music Fest night 2!

I hate when I’m running late.  After scrambling to get out of work in a timely manner, I am 10 minutes into my highway drive when I realize I’ve left pass and keys at the office. Fast forward 15 minutes and I’m finally on my way to the CMW festivities. Tonight I’m headed to The Opera House where CBC Radio 3 is broadcasting live all the performances of the night.

I arrived at The Opera House in time to catch the last few songs in Cadence Weapon’s set.  The crowd is still, watching the performers spit out lyrics and beats. Everything feels very neutral and I have a hard time grasping what I’ve just walked in on.  Cadence Weapon himself is quite subdued behind the mic during his performance. Something feels disjointed. It doesn’t feel like he’s made a big connection. But again, I’m late. It could be that his performance style had the room in a trance, and I’m just the one who’s not getting it.

Walking into a set half way through is like walking into a murder mystery. You’re not sure who’s good or bad, or exactly what events lead to where you are now so you just have to take it as it comes and try to make sense out of it.  While playing his last song of the night “We Move Away” there is a shift.  The audience is more energized and finally dancing around. He has come alive as well smiling and moving about, encouraging everyone to move.

 

The remnants of that performance left me unsure of what to expect next.

The second Hollerado take the stage, the atmosphere totally changes. The energy is on a quick rise and everyone is ready to play. From the very first strum, the crowd is dancing and singing. I see nothing but smiles as I look around the room. It’s quite a contagious feeling. All the players are present and engaged and push all of their enthusiasm upon us while playing hits like Juliet and Americanarama. I always appreciated a band who interact with one another as well as they do with the audience.

Front man Menno Versteeg tells us a very cute anecdote about their first drunken CMW experience and they share a new song with us called Shanghai, which everyone seems to be digging. They play their set with a huge amount of enthusiasm. So much so that guitarist Nixon Boyd’s fingers are actually bleeding all over his guitar by the end of the set (which is pretty hardcore if you ask me.) They end the set with a sing-a-long and a rendition of ‘Do the Doot Da Doot Doo’  and everyone’s into it. It feels like their set ends far too quickly.

 

I am now officially totally pumped up to see Land of Talk.

 

Land of Talk have a much more intimate feel on stage than the previous performers.  They sneak up on you and draw you in. I grow quiet and still as the first chords of Swift Coin are played. I feel warmth. One thing is quite obvious from the get-go. Elizabeth Powell is quite a perfectionist. I watch her grimace when she doesn’t like a note she’s hit, and her face is constantly calculating- for the first few songs anyways. About three songs in she starts to loosen up and I watch as her smiley more playful nature comes out. When playing ‘The Hate I Won’t Commit’ is when I found her the most emotive. She sang it with such conviction and strength.

Land of Talk showcase a lot from their latest album Clock and Cipher and pull out a few older tracks, even taking an audience request for Summer Special (a favourite song of mine). Elizabeth Powell’s vocals are very soft, and throughout the performance the audience is mostly just quiet and listening. Everyone always quiets down to hear what the soft-spoken ones have to say.

Her voice feels almost angelic; light, airy, and beautiful – just like her lyrics and just like her.