Wax Trax pt. 9/EP round-up pt. 4: Sled Island, ho!
I teared up a little this morning listening to Hot Water Music. It wasn’t the first time.
Since seeing them at Warped Tour in 1999 I’ve had a deep connection with this band and the unwavering passion with which they create music. It reached a head in 2003 when they released what I consider one of my favourite albums of all-time, Caution. While fans of the band are often deeply divided between their older, more intricate and challenging records and the more immediate, hooky, perhaps even poppy Epitaph-era output I celebrate their entire catalog (that might be evident in the amount of times I have referenced them on this site in the past).
They’ve been dormant for years now, at least as far as recorded output goes. After a while on hiatus they reformed to start performing reunion shows all over the U.S. and Europe. I think they’ve stopped in Toronto or Montreal at one point, but that doesn’t really fit into my budget.
I’m still working on a means to procure a physical copy of this baby, but they also put out a very limited Record Store Day exclusive 7″ single with four live tracks recorded in Chicago at the vaunted Metro Theatre. Thank Al Gore for the internets, because it only took a couple of days for the tracks (which sound entirely digital, not like a vinyl rip at all) to hit the interweb. And I couldn’t be more excited that they have.
From the intro to the first track I was transported back to Winnipeg’s Pyramid Lounge in 2004. HWM was touring with the Bouncing Souls on the punnily-titled “True Bromance” tour (I’m pretty sure they invented that phrase) and I was frothing at the chance to finally see them again. Caution had, in the six months since its release, become one of my most beloved recordings ever. It’s urgency, emotional depth, and message of perseverance and prospering in the face of immense challenges all resonated with where I was in my life then. Seeing their furious live show only cemented that adoration. I wept just a little bit that night, possibly more than once, perched directly in front of Chuck Ragan as he and the band growled their way through a set that still stands as one of the greatest I’ve ever witnessed.
The brief collection of live cuts on this 7″ single are absolutely representative of that experience. The performances are virtually flawless, the energy is infectious, and the vocals are unrelenting. The song selection is brilliant as well. With only a few minutes to relay that experience I don’t think you could ask for more appropriate songs.
That passion is something I’m hoping to witness again. Despite the very shaky financial ground I find myself on these days, I fully intend on heading to Calgary in a couple of months to take in the Sled Island Festival. I’ll admit Sled Island hasn’t really been on my radar before but with a line up like they have booked this year I would be kicking myself for years to come if I missed it. And it isn’t because personal favourites like Austin Lucas, Les Savy Fav, the Thermals, Fucked Up, Ted Leo, the Bronx (and Mariachi el Bronx), Why?, Greg MacPherson, Nomeansno, Northcote, Bison BC, Chuck Ragan, and more are included. It’s because fucking Hot Water Music is one of the headliners.
So it should be the summer of road trips and sweet jams, hopefully for this reason and many more. Feel free to donate gas money!
Buy every fucking thing you see here: No Idea Records’ HWM site. In honour of Record Store Day no digital links will be provided. That works, right?
