Sled Island 2017 Recap
by Christine Leonard
Sled Island 2017 Day One Recap
June 21st, 2017
Les Filles De Illighadad – King Eddy
It was standing room only at the King Eddy, adjacent to the National Music Centre, last night with an abundance of attendees putting the hallowed venue at capacity by 10pm. Already drained from a few hours of Sledding, a good number of guests at the Day 1 event opted to camp out on the floor in front of the stage, backpacks and legs akimbo. Unflustered by this miming of the Prince’s Island tarpies, the lovely and demure Les Filles de Illighadad methodically built their Saharan atmosphere one melodic incantation at a time.
Couched in the age-old tradition of women’s ritual healing songs, the West African troupe layered Alamnou Akrouni’s compelling Tuareg vocal refrains with the airy chords of Fatou Seidi Ghali’s ishumar acoustic guitars. The repetitive simplicity of the lyrical structures and polytonal harmonies cast a hypnotic yet lively spell that eventually prompted even the weariest of hand-clappers to rise to their feet. This elevated reverie permitted the rest of the crowd to move in, as electric guitars introduced a heightened energy to the room. Honouring the uniqueness and authenticity of these highly-focused performers, Calgary’s Home of the Blues was soon pulsating to the beat of a very different drum. The Sahel sounds of Talamnou Akrouni’s tende drum, with its throaty, worry-dulling throb, was improvised in the most inventive way: by replacing the large wooden mortar and wetted goatskin with what appeared to be a halved basketball floating in a tub of water. So, you think you’re pretty DIY, punk? You ain’t got nothing on these talented ladies of Tahoua.
Maria Takeuchi – Commonwealth (Main Floor)
A close encounter with a utopian future, Sled Island Day 1 had a late-night set by Maria Takeuchi (aka ÉMU aka Maria Japyellow) that released a cascade of light and sound that spread through Commonwealth like the mercurial white rabbits of Izumo. Twisting dials and crooning softly into her microphone, the multi-instrumentalist, who makes her home in Brooklyn, New York having moved from small-town Japan, fused modal loops and quavering beats while imaginary birds chirped from their metallic branches. Perched before a screen of shapeshifting animated faces and fronted by a sinuous chrome mannequin, Takeuchi’s inward-gazing creations conjured the multifaceted gateway god, Janus. Surreal yet intuitively laid-out, her delicate, feathery vocalizations combined with the careful tending of her digital dreamscapes made for a Zen-like yet visually Blade Runner-esque listening experience.
Sled Island 2017 Day Two Recap
June 22nd, 2017
Nosferatu with Shooting Guns Live Score – Globe Cinema
The waning light of day couldn’t deter the creatures of the night from attending the not-to-be-missed film screening and musical performance at the Globe Cinema on Thursday. Shooting Guns of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan did an exemplary job of adding a live soundtrack to the 1922 German horror classic, Nosferatu. Director F.W. Murnau himself would have marveled at the emotive intensity and attention to detail the six-piece (normally seven-piece) band, known for their sprawling stoner rock instrumentals, lavished on his retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula yarn. The psych-rock troupe has already finessed the soundtracks to both Wolfcop movies, so the fact that they were recording the soundtrack for Wolfcop II while rehearsing this mind-blowing live score serves to exemplify their dedication to elevating art for art’s sake.
Gongs, flutes, synths and strings supported every nuanced facial expression and creaking ship mast to the point that the audience was tempted to forget they had a live orchestra in front of them. The crowning terror of Max Schreck’s Count Orlok was given grim eminence by goosebump-raising crescendos that conveyed a very authentic sense dread and fear that movie-goers of the ‘20s would have felt, but not had the benefit of hearing. That immense pleasure was reserved for Sled Island attendees, thank you very much! Moving through the 90-minute silent film, with a commendable appreciation of the time and place in which it was created, Shooting Guns breathed new life into a celluloid corpse and conjured an immortal piece of artwork.
Sheenah Ko, Eschatons, Saxsyndrum, Same/Same, Black Thunder, Woodhawk, Chron Goblin – Palomino (Main Floor/Downstairs)
Our first question for Chron Goblin was “why was your set only four and a half minutes long?” Or, so it would seem as the downtown smokehouse’s patio doors were thrown open and the usual cellar-dwellers were invited to perform above ground. Unfortunately, this wasn’t high enough. So, they tossed up a wall of lysergic visual projections to bring an amped-up ‘Rad Games in your own backyard’ flair to the affair. Was this what Desertfest fans were treated to in the UK last month? Chronic X is coming in hot with new songs, agent orange exploding jungles, BMX riders, neon paintball splatters, sci-fi vivisection and an incendiary towheaded singer. Oh, my. This was not your neighborhood garden variety Chron Goblin show, after all. No, this was Chron Goblin on steroids, or perhaps hyped-up on guitar-rock goofballs, and ready to slap their “Every day I’m Grinding” bumper sticker across your smiling face. A recuperative energy drink in sonic form, the increasingly-accomplished foursome treated their hometown crowd to an explosive show while revealing the hidden potential of a well-loved venue. My second question for Chron Goblin would be “Why can I still see this show every time I blink?”
Sled Island 2017 Day Three Recap
June 23rd, 2017
Steal Shit Do Drugs, Deathsticks – Tubby Dog
A little rain and a whole lotta punk-rock were the perfect condiments for a late-night snack attack at Tubby Dog on Sled Island’s Friday. Things got pretty dog-gone crazy as Seattle’s reckless youth, Steal Shit Do Drugs, unleashed a barrage of fiery numbers that turned up the heat and emptied every seat. Brought to his knees by the intensity of the moment, tortured vocalist Kennedy Carda lived up to the band’s name by crashing through a battery of brusque, but stylish, smash-and-grab numbers; ensnaring the sweat and shower dampened audience’s affections in the process. Intermission called for onion rings the size of bagels and a post-show interrogation of the lead singer which may have involved the purchase of an Elvis T-shirt.
Next up at Tubb’s All-Ages Garage & Grill, the two-piece Deathsticks brought their bad influence to the venue’s arcade glow in quick order. A bash and pop entity of another kind, the outfit’s straight forward approach to blasting out powerful guitar-drum duet dirges was both enthusiastic and confident. A much-appreciated kick in the adrenaline glad, their spunky energy provided the acute hit of peer-pressure needed to push Sledders on into the depths of the evening. And the XL cuppa cola didn’t hurt either! Thanks, Peterborough Padawans, you’ve made us want to go home and think about our lives. Eventually.
Wilt, Wolves in the Throne Room – Dickens Pub
Sled Island’s inhabitants were primed and ready for another dose of heavy metal and that’s exactly what they received when Winnipeg’s Wilt took to the stage at Dickens on Friday night. Bathed in a bilious green light the Manitoban metalheads unleashed a monstrous yet technically excellent set that filled the room with palpable tension. Ball-of-your-feet riffs that rose and fell like acidic tidal waves washed over the crowd setting tympanic membranes and arteries aflutter. Moving monoliths and minds with their melding of fantastical and futuristic mores, Wilt exhibited an extraordinary sense of balance as they navigated through shadowy sonic forests without losing sight of the mountains looming on the horizon.
On the topic of communing with nature, elemental wizards Wolves in the Throne Room brought a little piece of Olympia, Washington to Sled Island. And then set it on fire. You know you’re in for a metal show that’s a slightly out of the ordinary when the performer’s pregame ritual involves 20 minutes of smudging the space with sage and cedar smoke. Mmmmm… you can really taste the earth!
That unfreshening accomplished, the deluxe version of the normally three-wolf pack, slowly eased into their organic doom ablutions. Accompanied by an additional guitarist, Peregrine Somerville (Sadhaka), and keyboardist, Brittany McConnell (Wolf Serpent), Wolves in the Throne Room’s already massive sound effectively expanded three-fold, enveloping the packed house in a cloud of artful aggression. A tapestry of tear-jerkingly beautiful reveries and throat-ripping onslaughts, their long and wandering songs pulled influences from throughout the heavy metal canon and bent them to their collective will. A flurry of flying fur and howling alpha-male vocals, the scope and scale of their reach would undoubtedly leave any would-be usurper no alternative but to turn tail and run.
Sled Island 2017 Day Four Recap
June 24th, 2017
FOONYAP, ANAMAI, Thor & Friends – Studio Bell (Performance Hall)
The National Music Centre gave weary Sledders a soft place to land on Saturday night as Calgary’s last empress, FOONYAP, held court in the impressive Studio Bell Performance Hall with its rich wood paneling, royal blue upholstery and unmistakable new car smell. Do you hear that? It’s the world’s tiniest violin and FOONYAP is playing it just for you! Holding the audience’s rapt attention, the meticulous soloist accompanied herself on violin and mando-guitar, layering tones and tempos using loops and samples she cleverly recorded on the spot. Vocals that echoed traditional Chinese opera and then shifted to coquettish French poetry lent a quavering beauty to an esoteric and minimalist pre-swan song.
The second act of the evening was the Torontonian two-piece ANAMAI. Made up of Anna Mayberry (HSY) and David Psutka (Egyptrixx), ANAMAI kept the lights down low as their rumble and reverb filled shoegaze soundscapes rolled across the floor like so much mist and fog. The wetness of the room’s acoustics, as FOONYAP put it, effectively captured and amplified the nautical qualities of duo’s lovelorn laments. Captain Mayberry’s guitar took on the role of bass as Psutka’s watery rhythms rode her wake through unexpected melodies and nonlinear lyrical structures that followed their own starry charts.
Proof that Sled Island really is the Lady Byng trophy winner of festivals, Saturday’s nicest concert, Thor & Friends, attracted some of Sled’s heaviest hitters to attend. A mixed-bag of pass holders and pack samplers arrived throughout the night in anticipation of Thor Harris’ return to the Island. Known for his percussive contributions to Swans and Ben Frost, the multi-instrumentalist welcomed some eight “friends” to join him for a polyphonic spree. Settling gratefully into the theatre’s padded seats, the crowd, who’d aged a decade since Tuesday, enjoyed a pleasantly light and airy marimba and xylophone set that was entirely on point for the interpretive museum’s environment.
Furry shoulder-to-shoulder, a fedora-topped Thor encouraged his band members to join him in an exercise in visual, if not musical diversity. At times Thor switched to the clarinet as the rag-tag ensemble functioned through a series of similar-sounding Plinko symphonies, which benefitted mightily from the addition of strings by FOONYAP and stand-up bassist Aaron. There was also a stunning interpretive dancer in a reductive hospital gown, for those who required a kinetic translation. The rest of the ensemble included a French horn player and two unamplified individuals, who’s contributions were entirely lost in the subterfuge of bow swings and Korged-up key strikes. Backed by a bucolic video montage of fields and forests, birds and bees, Thor & Friends worked up a happy-go-plucky nine-person hum that rose through the NMC’s nine interlocking towers like a warm summer breeze.
by Christine Leonard
