Set up to disguise their meaning, but still light up the room.

The Sackville Music Hall was built in 1914-15, after a fire destroyed the original Victorian structure a couple of years prior. It was given the name of the Imperial Theatre, a name that stuck until 2004, when it was changed to differentiate from the theatre of the same name in Saint John.

The Music Hall sits hidden away on the upper level of Bridge Street, between apartments and above various shops. The entrance is unmarked, aside from a bulletin board and a bright yellow door, and even some people who have lived in Sackville all their lives, people I spoke with, had no idea this beautiful place exists.

The ceiling is falling in and the paint is peeling, and half of the entryway staircase is blocked off because it is broken and unstable, but every now and then there will be a concert, or an artistic presentation of some sort in there. In recent memory it has showcased concerts by Jenn Grant, Shotgun Jimmie, and the CFL Sessions, all in that beautiful musty space, the side door looking out over Main Street and pouring the music out across the town.

The latest installment of these shows was, on the 24th of July, just before the OK.Quoi?! arts festival kicked off, The Got to Get Got, one of my favourite bands from around these parts. I know I've raved about them on my blog before, but let me just get a little bit more out. The Got to Get Got, at one show I saw, were jokingly described as "Making the Band with Mark Mullane". Mark, formerly of North of America, is mostly responsible for bringing these people together, some from other established bands (The Just Barelys, Tomcat Combat, etc) and other folks to flesh it out. The sound, altogether, is beautiful. Mark and Eleanor King trade off vocals, and the instrumentation... holy mackerel. It is such a beautiful experience.

In any case! The show on the 24th was half concert and half practice session. Paul Henderson, formerly drummer for Shotgun & Jaybird and one of the chief Sappyfest organisers, was skateboarding around the floor of the music hall (wooden and chairless), while things were set up, and we sat on the floor. Cookies were shared, and the band began to play.

For a practice, and not having played together as a full band for a number of weeks, the band sounded phenomenal. At times it felt as though they would bring down more of the ceiling with the guitars, but these were balanced out, as always, by the downright beautiful string arrangements and remainder of the instrumentation. With "Peyton & Perry", I think, you get the best of both worlds, both live and on the record, with both Mark and Eleanor trading off on a gentle, strings-and-keys based half of the song, before the full band opens up about halfway through, making it impossible not to smile and sing along.

A highlight of the live show, though, is "Rare Rain" and, with the skies opened up just outside the door, fitting. The drumline to the song is fleshed out, Eleanor taking one of the toms from the kit and pounding out that main line. The energy level is so high, they all look like they're having such a wonderful time, and that rubs off on the crowd. There is a pair dancing around the music hall, from one end to the other, having the time of their lives. Everyone was, really. It was such a beautiful moment in concert-going. The perfect band for the perfect space and the perfect crowd. Oh, Sackville!

CW


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Amelioration and recovery, forever.

Now, I think I should admit before I go on: The Got To Get Got are one of my favourite bands at the moment. Not just out of East Coast bands, but all told. And I absolutely love this album.

Back in 2005, I was in Halifax for the Pop Explosion. Underage, I heard about this All Ages show Ted Leo was doing at the Pavillion, so of course I wanted to check it out. This was the first and last time I saw North of America. Quasi-defunct at the time, they had just played a few dates with Ted Leo and were closing off the mini-tour, going back into this state of non-existence. Little did I know that even then, Mark Mullane had the beginnings of The Got To Get Got underway and now, four years later, we hear their first full-length offering: Sahalee.

I hate to compare these guys to North of America--so I won't. There's not that much to compare, anyway, as The Got to Get Got is a different beast altogether. These guys were a bi-coastal collective (now based entirely in Halifax) complete with violin, cello, and xylophone and Sahalee is one of the most deliciously rocking records I've heard in a long while. Before I'd gotten my ears to it, my expectations were, I have to say, mighty high, but Mark & co. did not disappoint.

I've had "Rattle Off" stuck in my head since the first time I heard it, months upon months ago, and it remains one of the best tracks on the album. However! I wouldn't call it a stand-out track, just because so many more of the tunes are just as quality. "Rattle Off" uses both Mark and Eleanor's vocals to the greatest extent, with solid, well-written lyrics and the instrumentation is so beautifully layered, even live, that it makes excellent use everybody in the band.

"Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife" reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. It's bouncing indie rock tune about, well, "rolling around in our graves". You can't not smile (and, according to some, can't not dance) when you're listening to this track. This one I'd heard a couple of weeks before the album, too. Straight up, an ace rock song.

And speaking of ace rock songs, "Crosses" is the kind of song that gets a crowd going, no matter if you know the song or not. It has great hooks, driving guitar and violin, and it just sucks you in and gets you moving. Gorgeous, fist-pumping, fast-dancing, sing-along rock'n'roll music is "Crosses". And, for that matter, most of the second half of the album. There is not a bad track in the bunch.

"War of Letters" especially is in the same vein as "Crosses"--oh, just listening to this album through makes me hungry for a live show, makes me hungry for a rock'n'roll dance party. That's what this whole album is, that's the only way I can describe it. A rock'n'roll dance party that'll have you smiling the whole way through. I mean, come on, there's a xylophone. Who won't smile at a xylophone?

They do slow it down a bit with "Peyton & Perry", but the tone isn't lost at all. Maybe even better use is made of the non-standard rock band instruments, at the expense of Brad's guitar, until about two-and-a-half minutes in, when one of the most singularly beautiful moments on the album occurs, until the end of the track. Fight on, fight on, fight on.

It's just struck me, while listening to "Some Loud Thunder Clap..." that TGTGG kind of make me think of what would happen if Mark Mullane had been in The Unicorns. Especially with "Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife", there's that same apparently dark subject matter treated with a smile. ("If the coffin's rockin', don't come a-knockin'!") Not all the way through, of course, but they maintain the ability to do that. There is no low point to the album. It's just absolutely gold from beginning to end.

Rating: 9.5/10
Release: 14 July 2009


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An East Coast Extravaganza! Really!

Now, last night there was a free show on the Boardwalk in uptown Saint John, in a celebration of the stroke of midnight on the 1st of July. (Me, I don't buy into this whole Canada Day celebration, but! Music is music!) Most of the lineup, too, was unremarkable, but two names on those posters had me awfully excited: The Got to Get Got and Joel Plaskett Emergency. The last few times I'd seen Joel play, it had been either solo or, most recently on his tour backing "Three", a rather interesting mostly-acoustic setup--but back with the Emergency, this had me excited. TGTGG sealed the deal. Oh, and it was free.

I missed most of the first act, Laurie Jones, but what I did hear was good enough. I liked her voice, I suppose. That's what you get when you start a show at 5:30, I guess.

Greg MacPherson, out of Winnipeg, has some ties to the Maritimes but I'm not entirely sure what they are. I think his wife may be from around these parts, but I'm not sure. Don't quote me on that. His set happened to happen at the same time as I was eating dinner, but I ate on the patio by the stage--Oh!

I should mention that this was at the waterfront in Saint John, on the Market Square Boardwalk, where we have a little stage built. It was an all-ages haven growing up in Saint John, and these days I can partake in the fare of one of the many pubs across from the stage--I think there are four!--and have a beer while the band plays.

In any case, during Greg's set I was sitting on the patio with a friend, having dinner. The sky looked slightly ominous. I rather liked his voice but his music left something to be lacking. Maybe if I had paid slightly more attention to the set it would have been more enjoyable--but I didn't hate it! And, as I said, I did rather enjoy his voice.

But really, what I was waiting for was Mark Mullane and The Got to Get Got. After Greg's set I finished my beer and headed up to the stage, as they were setting up. No Brad LaHead, as he is on tour with "his other band" (presumably Tomcat Combat, though I didn't know he was still in the band) so they played a one-guitar set. It still sounded absolutely ace. These guys know how to bring the rock, and get people moving. During the previous sets, very few people were standing at the stage and no one was moving. For this set, I'd guess about forty people were standing, and they really made us feel welcome--throwing CDs and t-shirts into the audience. It was a great experience, I'd say.

TGTGG did a really interesting one-guitar rendition of their song "Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife", which you might know as a pretty rockin' ditty. They didn't slow it down, but rather they changed up the instrumentation, relying more on the cello and violin to drive the song. Even missing a member, there were still six people up there on stage, there was still a mighty full band. They even got everybody to yell along with the build-up in "Rattle Off", and it just turned into a wild cobblestone-and-brick dance party.

I might also note that they had pre-release copies of their new album, "Sahalee" available for sale, and played most of the tracks from that album (they opened, for instance, with "Bethpage Black" and I recall "Rare Rain" being a particularly rad performance--they didn't leave us longer-term fans hanging, though: they played "Tenerife" from their EP). A friend of mine bought one--but as a poor umemployed university student I couldn't shell out the $20, and just bought the $8 7" single. Which is on white vinyl. And is fantastic. Hunt one down--I hear they're in stores in Halifax.

The David Myles Band was up next--we had gone for a walk between sets and missed the start of his, but that was surely not a problem. He played an excruciatingly long set. At first, I was really enjoying his stuff. A dozen or so songs in, when he had begun to rely on new and obscure Bob Dylan covers (such as "Things Have Changed") it became tedious. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. He played probably for about 90 minutes. I will say this: he looked like he was having a fantastic time--the grin never left his face, which was nice--and the girl playing the electric piano was some kind of talented.

By this point it was dark, and the space in front of the stage was absolutely packed. There were definitely upwards of 200 people, and even that is probably an estimate on the low end of things. There were a lot of comings and goings during David's set, and then the next band started setting up the equipment. A friend of mine said to me, 'Joel Plaskett, handpicked by Paul McCartney to open his only Canadian tour date, still sets up his own gear'. I like that in a musician, but I don't think I'd trust other people handling my gear, anyway. Along with Dave and Chris (the Emergency), Joel was joined onstage by Rose Cousins, and someone who I consider a legend, but no one I've talked to has heard of.

Peter Elkas was once a Montrealer, but has made a new home for himself in Halifax. His old band, Local Rabbits, likewise made the move. This man come from away has made a real name for himself as a musician of the Maritimes over the last fifteen-or-so years, now engaged in a solo career and, it seems, as a member of Joel Plaskett's touring band. He acted as a multi-instrumentalist, handling the keys, the second guitar, and the harmonica.

They opened the set with, interestingly enough, the first Joel Plaskett song I'd ever heard, back in '03: "Work Out Fine". The set as a whole was a neat fusion of rocking out and folking out, as one might put it, and they covered material from all across his solo career. The usual suspects--"Fashionable People", "Nowhere With You", "Love This Town"... they were all represented, but so were some songs that I haven't heard live in years. I don't think I've seen Joel play "Come On, Teacher" since 2006.

The whole thing was just such a wonderful experience. Joel is a great entertainer, he knows how to make the crowd happy, and he's just got this awfully quirky stage persona. He always seems a bit awkward, to me, which is nice. It got a bit surreal when he and Rose did a duet on "Happen Now", just the two of them and their acoustic guitars--midway through the song, the skies opened up and it started to rain. Not a heavy rain, but a steady one. A refreshing rain. This took us to midnight, Joel counting us down with a broken clock... and then the show went on!

Like I said, it was a fantastic show, and it was great to see Joel rocking out again. Between the venue, the material, the weather--just everything, it made for one of my favourite Joel Plaskett concerts, anyway. I only wish I had pictures. Oh well, someone will supply me with them, I'm sure! And then they'll appear on this blog.

But for now, farewell!

CW


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Wake up on time; there's no one around.

Wow. It has come to my attention that I've never really talked about The Got To Get Got in any sort of length on this blog. I have previously on the radio show, but never on the blog. How very very strange. I must remedy this situation immediatement.

In 2005, I went to my first Halifax Pop Explosion. I had just turned 17 and was restricted to the All Ages shows. Luckily for me there was a show, at the Pavillion (which some of you may know) headlined by Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, featuring bands like Halifax's Sharp Like Knives (billed as "five wicked dance parties each with the strength of ten wicked dance parties"! how could I say no?), Toronto's Femme Generation, and a post-breakup North of America come back to showcase their wares. And, holy mackerel, this was one of the best concerts my young self had been to. And Mark Mullane and North of America were a highlight, I bought their album and have treasured it since. It's a beautiful possession.

Fastforward a few years. North of America shows are few and far between--I'm not even sure when the last one was, and the band is effectively broken up. Mark has been working this new project, The Got to Get Got since about 2006 as a cross-country venture, with chapters in Halifax and Vancouver (though I understand most of them are now based in Halifax). In 2007, they put out effectively a split EP between the two chapters of the band, which is absolutely fantastic. Contact me if you want to hear more than just what I post, but "Blood Test" is on their myspace.

Anyway, now it's 2009, and they've been touring like wild. They played in Sackville and in Saint John in April (but I missed both shows, because I was so disorganised and never in town at the right time! Boo to me) and have a number of shows coming up in Halifax, Saint John, Ontario and Quebec to both hype up and support their new album, Sahalee, being released in mid-July. Check out that myspace link and see if they'll be in your area. It's not a show you ever ever ever want to miss. I've missed them twice. I'm kicking myself for it--so hard. So, enjoy their music, and maybe I'll even do a retro review of North of America's last album, sometime.

The Got To Get Got - Rattle Off
The Got To Get Got - No One Riots in Winter


As a side-note, many of the photographs on the band's myspace [and all of the photos used in this post] are of the band in places I love. All the more reason to call them awesome.

Also, please note that Adam Kierstead (the mustachioed man in the last photo) is not a member of the band, merely something of a god to the Saint John music scene. Thank you, and good night.

Canada Day Countdown

We have another concert on the horizon!

For the past few years, on the 30th of June, down at the boardwalk overlooking Saint John Harbour, there's been an all afternoon, evening, and night of music, and in the past we've seen some big names in East Coast music. In 2006, The Trews and the Tom Fun Orchestra did their things; 2007 saw Wintersleep, Two Hours Traffic, and Jimmy Swift; and in 2008 brought in In-Flight Safety and Hey Rosetta!

Well, it's that time of year again, and this time around we're seeing one of the biggest names in East Coast music, Mr Joel Plaskett himself, advertised as playing with the Emergency. He's just wrapped up a very different tour, which I caught back in April, where he played with his father, Ana Egge, and Rose Cousins. The Joel Plaskett Emergency, though, is a rock band in the truest sense, and though the show in April was the best Joel Plaskett show I've ever seen, I'm really looking forward to him bringing back the rock.

I'm almost more excited, though, about The Got To Get Got. They played in Sackville for Last Class Bash--a show that I missed due to being in Saint John to see Snailhouse. TGTGG are set to release next month my most anticipated album in a good long while. Their debut EP is absolute gold, and the new tracks I've heard are better still. TGTGG are ex-North of America (who I caught at the HPX in 2005, and loved every minute) Mark Mullane and a huge assortment of others, based both out of Halifax and Vancouver. I am beyond excited for their set.

The other acts, I know nothing about, but hopefully they don't disappoint. If you're over 19, and want to catch a great evening of music, head on down to the Boardwalk for an outdoor extravaganza in the heart of the city. There will be beer.