the only proof he needed for the existence of god was music
I’m going to preface this entry by mentioning that I recently wrote a piece for the Toronto Star about some upcoming festivals in southern Ontario that you can go see this summer if you wanted to get out of Toronto. I was just there last week for the Neko Case show at Massey Hall (I was gonna review it and then I had interviews and stuff to do, so I didn’t, but she was brilliant, obviously.) and she said she was glad she could make it to town for the biannual garbage strike. What I’m trying to say is: Toronto smells. It’s not their fault, but really, if you can leave that behind for a weekend, why wouldn’t you?
One of the festivals I mentioned in the article is Hillside in Guelph and it starts Friday. One of the commenters on my story rightly points out that you cannot call this festival “little.” And I did not. So there. The commenter also says it is now nearly impossible to get tickets. This is true. But it is also true that I said there are Friday passes left. And if you wanted to, you could buy some. Like, say, if you went to TicketPro, you would find tickets for Friday. AND Sunday! Man, look how nice I am!
I decided that this week, I would pick a handful of groups that I love who are performing at Hillside and write a bunch of entries about them for this poooooooor commenter who tragically could not plan ahead or get his ass online to buy tickets when they went on sale and apparently could not be bothered to click a link where tickets for two days are still available. You can’t tell, but I’m crying a single tear for this commenter.
ANYWAY! Hillside is famous for its community spirit, commitment to environmentalism and ability to pick unknown bands right before they make it big. There are a few groups on the roster this year that I think are poised to blow up huge and I thought, why not talk about them here while I’m figuring out what to see when?
Leading off is Regina’s Library Voices, one of my favourite discoveries from last year.
Yes. This photo is accurate. There are ten members of this group writing clever lyrics, soaring harmonies and creating a whirling dervish of sound. Library Voices made a six-song EP - Hunting Ghosts and other Collected Shorts - that is filled with hooky pop music that alternately yells its greatness from the rooftops and whispers its witty bon mots in your ear. But there’s always an urgency to it, like: “Listen! Listen! Please listen! Oh! Get this part… hear that? Yeah! We are on the same page! The best part is coming up… man! So awesome! Right?” Like they croon on the title track, “time is of the essence.”
At first, the only song I liked on Hunting Ghosts was the single, “Step Off the Map and Float,” but the more I listened, the more I heard. God. That sounds so lame, but it’s true. I don’t get people who claim that indie music is inaccessible. That is so fucking lazy and untrue. For instance, “Love in the Age of Absurdity” has a wailing guitar solo and a woo-woo-woo chorus of which Weezer would be jealous.
And how - HOW? - can you not love a band that extensively references Kurt Vonnegut in its lyrics? On “Things We Stole From Vonnegut’s Grave,” jaunty guitar riffs meet handclaps meet lush harmonies meet the shouted chorus of “And so it goes, and so it goes.” This equals big fun. We are who we pretend to be, so we must be careful who we pretend to be, indeed. The title of this post is what Vonnegut requested for his epitaph if, God forbid, he should die. One cannot presume to know what Vonnegut would have thought of a band incorporating his words into their lyrics, but I guess he might be amused. And so it goes.
And they continue to grow, musically. The dynamics on their new song, “Drinking Games” (which you can stream on their myspace because I don’t have it), are amazing. It’s like the goddamn Beach Boys I’m picking up so many good vibrations from this shit!
I can’t wait to see them live. It’s my experience that most collectives are great live. There’s more that can go wrong, sure, but the energy is always infectious and I’ve never had a bad experience with seeing groups that have more than seven members. Library Voices play Saturday, which is the one day of the festival that is sold out at all points of sale, so it’s a good thing you’re here!
The group joins Rah Rah, the Polymaths and Goldenmile in the growing category of great groups from the Reeg getting some much deserved buzz. They’re all on Young Soul Records, which hasn’t got a very up-to-date website, but maybe that’s because they’re busy signing more great groups. The Queen City should brag long and loud about these talents. Maybe then they wouldn’t all move away and I would no longer have to hear jerks from Winnipeg rag on the city as a talentless void. As if Winnipeg didn’t suck too. But I promise, Ontario, if you catch Library Voices on tour in Ontario in July, you will not be sorry. Here’s some tour dates, so you have no excuses!
July 21 - Toronto, On - @ Horseshoe Tavern
July 22 - Hamilton, On - @ The Casbah
July 23 - Windsor, On - @ Blind Dog
July 24 - Peterborough, On - @ Montreal House w/ The Burning Hell (Oh man, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!)
July 25-26 - Guelph, On - Hillside Festival
July 28 - Toronto, On - @ Horseshoe Tavern
July 29 - London, On - @ Call The Office w/ Songs From A Room
July 31 - Thunder Bay, On @ Apollo
You can read about their tour adventures on their blog, and buy their stuff on zunior, sonic unyon and iTunes.
Library Voices - Step Off the Map and Float: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Library Voices - Things We Stole From Vonnegut's Grave: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Library Voices - Love in the Age of Absurdity: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
