Some Documents of Recent Performances

Photo by Carly Waito

Hey gang,

Someone recorded Rebecca and I playing “Bumble Bee” at the Toronto Island show last month and posted it on his blog, Mechanical Forest Sound. It sounds like a soundboard recording. A little bit shabby, and Rebecca’s cello is thin and almost inaudible, but it’s an interesting document of this intimate show. Check it out. You can also check out his review of the show.

There’s also a video floating around that someone shot of us playing at Pop Montreal last October. It depicts us gleefully butchering a brand-new song from the new record called “I’m a Medium.” It’s pretty dark but luckily there are a lot of camera flashes. Here it is:

Also, we might be playing a pretty cool show here in Montreal in early December. I’ll let you know once it’s confirmed.

ALL CAPS! Re-Cap: Toronto Island was Rather Magical

I have to say, I was surprised this weekend with just how enjoyable and whimsical the ALL CAPS! Island Show was. Rebecca and I had a good set. The crowd was receptive and pleasant and there were a number of Thunder Bay ex-pats in the crowd which made it special for me.

The rest of the day was also really great. This was my first time on Toronto Island, and I didn’t realize how lovely the place was. We took a walk on the beach and I found a number of treasures, including bones, feathers, rocks, a bottle cap, shells, and fragments of old dishes.

The most exciting finds were the two shards of old ceramic plates that had been worn over time like smooth beach rocks, but still had their stamps on them. The one with the cross printed on it was from the children’s hospital. Click here to see my excavated loot up close.

The show itself took place inside the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, a 100-year-old natural sciences school that had been rescued from demolition by an urban development organization called Artscape and turned into artist residences and studios (this was a fundraiser for them). As a side note, my friend Yuula Benivolski was doing some rad stuff there up until just recently. Check out her site to see footage of her crazy fire rituals on the beach and other artful endeavors. To get a sense of how beautiful the island is, check out Yuula’s Flickr page.

The atmosphere was very summer-campy, which I loved. There was a big warm fireplace in the big cafeteria-like room in which we performed. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos, so you’ll have to take my word for it. My sister was there and took some, so I’ll try to post them when I get my hands on them.

One highlight was seeing Snowblink perform. I had never heard them before and they were quite enjoyable. We picked up their record “Long Live,” and it’s quite nice.

Near the old school was a lighthouse. Here’s a video I took of noisy art band Ghostlight playing there.

Twas an all-around great event. Ryan, Jonny, and co. who put on this show should be very proud!

xo a