This week’s worth of posts are likely all going to focus exclusively on the CMW shows I made it to last week. It’ll probably be easiest if I break the various concerts up into separate entries, otherwise things could get out of hand very quickly. That said, I might as well start with a bang by digging in to Thursday’s Chart showcase at the Horseshoe.

I spent the earlier part of the evening at Criminal Records checking out The Burning Hell and Jenny Omnichord (a video of which is posted here) and subsequently met friends for a quick bite. This unfortunately meant that I missed out on Immaculate Machine kicking things off at the Horseshoe, but I was fortuitous enough to show up just in time for Dog Day (who was on my must-see hit list anyway).

I’d heard some underwhelming reviews of Dog Day’s live presence (Chromewaves used the terms “less than scintillating” ), but I was determined not to let this overwhelm my enthusiasm for seeing the band, as their recorded output (both the fantastic Night Group LP and their prior EP, Thank You) is excellent. That said, I could see where the venerable Mr. Yang was coming from, as the Halifax band seemed slightly reserved on stage. Granted, this could have been due to the larger than normal horde of photographers, both amateur (ie, me) and otherwise, making up the first few rows of the audience.

In fact, as I unsheathed my own camera I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by a lack of photographic enthusiasm in face of all the clicking shutters littering the pit. I’m always a bit trepidatious when bringing out the ol’ D80 at shows for fear of losing that reciprocal bond between audience and band in favour of a few blog-able shots. Such concerns were amplified ten-fold on this occasion, as it seemed as though everyone in the first three rows was packing photographic heat. That said, I grabbed a few quick pics and resolved to give Dog Day my utmost attention. Of course, the irony wasn’t lost on me when keyboardist, Crystal Thili, brought out her own point-and-shoot and collected photos of those avidly taking pictures of her.

All told, while somewhat shy, no one can accuse Dog Day of not being able to kick out the jams. Not to mention that they wield some undeniably fantastic tunes in their arsenal, which is ultimately why we were all there to see them in the first place.

Dog Day - Career Suicide

Katie Stelmanis was up next, but unfortunately her performance happened to coincide with my attempts to convince a friend to not to head elsewhere, so I wasn’t paying close attention to the all-female band on stage. That said, it was impossible to escape Stelmanis’ booming vocal delivery.

Projecting with gravitas, Stelmanis and co. immediately set an epic mood fit to be the soundtrack for the most royal of funeral pyres. It was definitely a striking contrast to both Dog Day and Plants & Animals (who would follow shortly after). However, the booming set of pipes backed by slightly somber atmospherics could not be denied, especially during her powerful take on “Natural Woman,” which closed out the set.

Katie Stelmanis - Natural Woman

As for Plants & Animals, saying that I had been looking forward to seeing them would definitely be a no-brainer. After all, having already fawned over their latest release, Parc Avenue, I was intrigued to see how well this Montreal 3-piece could translate that album’s lush sound live. Of course, I was not disappointed in the least.

Setting up in a configuration that saw bass, drums and guitar side-by-side at the front of the stage, Plants & Animals immediately dove into creating as dense and full a sound as I’ve ever heard 3 people combine to achieve. Sticking mainly to tracks from Parc Avenue, it was also evident straight-off that I was not the only big fan of the album, as audience members sang in unison to shout-along tracks like “Bye Bye Bye” or the final third of “Faerie Dance.” This familiarity with new songs had the already giddy band smiling throughout their energetic set, and my subsequent description of the show left my aforementioned friend kicking herself for not sticking around.

Plants & Animals - Faerie Dance

It was after midnight when The Acorn hit the stage and my brain was already on sensory overload from all the great music I’d seen. My friend had also just come back from the prior commitment that had forced her to miss Plants & Animals (an atrocity for which she was repeatedly chided) and we were both jazzed to see Rolf Klausener and co. deliver the goods.

I’d previously only seen The Acorn during an in-store in advance of their last Toronto gig, a fact I’d made known to Rolf during a brief pre-set conversation. Seeming jovial and excited to perform, he amicably remarked that this would be much more fun. Of course, I didn’t have to take his word for it, as the band energetically delivered choice cuts from Glory Hope Mountain with a fervour and passion that an in-store is just incapable of containing. Needless to say, the Ottawa band has yet to disappoint me.

The Acorn - Crooked Legs

It was at this point that my tenure at the Horseshoe ended for the evening, as, while tempted to stick around for the Sunparlour Players—a band that I know to be phenomenal live—I ultimately chose to make a dash for the Cameron House to see The Superfantastics. I’ll get to this show tomorrow, as this has been enough of an info dump for one day. Suffice to say that I wasn’t left regretting my decision.