The best of 2017’s Canadian Music Week Festival

This was my 27th Canadian Music Week Festival, and I thought the 2016 edition was the best in several years. While this year’s event didn’t quite measure up to that level, I still managed to see 31 acts over five nights. Here were my 10 favourites:

Ferraro
Saturday, 2 a.m. at The Cameron House
Ferraro’s Losing Sleep was my ninth favourite album of 2016 and I’ve seen this Toronto-based, brother-fronted band more than any other over the past year. Their ’50s and ’60s-influenced pop songs are full of ear worms and their whip-smart cover choices reflect their love and knowledge of vintage music that’s rare in young musicians. I have a great time at every Ferraro show I attend.

Ferraro

The Velveteins
Thursday, 1 a.m. at Cherry Cola’s Rock ’n’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge
A Hot Second With The Velveteins was one of my favourite EPs of 2016, and the Edmonton trio lived up to my high expectations on stage. There are some throwbacks to ‘50s doo-wop and ‘60s pop, but the hook-filled songs carry a harder and more rock-oriented edge. A closing cover of Bad Company’s “I Feel Like Making Love” didn’t really fit with what came before it, but it still worked.

The Velveteins

KOLARS
Tuesday, 11 p.m. at The Rivoli
This husband and wife duo features Rob Kolar on guitar and lead vocals and Lauren Brown wearing tap shoes while standing on top of a bass drum and pounding on three other drums. It was danceable but still raw and minimalist as it mixed glam, indie and art rock ingredients that made for a very tasty meal. I had a good conversation with the Los Angeles musicians and artist manager/former Canadian Idol judge Jake Gold in The Rivoli’s front bar at the end of the night. Kolar and Brown were very nice and even bought me a beer, which I swear had no bearing on this high ranking.

KOLARS

KOLARS

Bueller
Friday, 11 p.m. at The Silver Dollar
This Toronto quartet has male and female lead singers and a sound that mixes bratty, nasally vocals with large dashes of power pop and garage, punk and indie rock. It’s eclectic, but the common denominator through most songs is the presence of immediate hooks. I would like to hear a longer set.

Bueller

Casper Skulls
Saturday, 11 p.m. at Lee’s Palace
If I hear elements of Wire, The Fall, Joy Division and The Streets in your set, I’m almost assured of liking you. That was the case with this Toronto band that has a lot of British post-punk influences in its music. It was loud, dynamic and in your face.

Casper Skulls

Punchline 13
Thursday, midnight at Bovine Sex Club
I first became aware of Punchline 13 when the pop-punk group entertained me at the Bovine for last year’s CMW. If Simple Plan was able to make it big (which I predicted very early in its career), I’m not sure why this Montreal quintet is languishing in relative obscurity.
Sly Rawk is a great frontman.

Punchline 13

Punchline 13

 
Early Hours
Wednesday, 1 a.m. at Nightowl and Friday, 1 a.m. at The Cameron House
This very young South African band has a knack for writing smart and catchy indie pop songs that are delivered in an upbeat and energetic manner. There’s an element of highlife in a few songs that helps set the group apart, since it’s something you don’t often hear in Canada. I liked the band enough that I saw it twice and spent time in engaging conversations with the four members and manager Sarah Jane Nicholson, a tireless promoter who was dancing, taking photos from the stage and making new friends at each show. Early Hours gets bonus points for covering David Bowie’s “Heroes” and Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side,” selections which belie the group’s youth.

Early Hours

Early Hours

Twist
Saturday, 9 p.m. at Lee’s Palace
I enjoyed an earlier incarnation of Twist during the North By Northeast Music Festival in 2015, and the Laura Hermiston-fronted Toronto quartet has improved since then. You can hear the pop heart beating within the dense body of guitars and a rumbling bass that I could feel in my stool near the stage. With Hermiston’s dreamy vocals floating over the top, it makes for an experience drenched in moody but not depressing atmospherics.

Twist

Twist

Devin Cuddy Band
Friday, 2 a.m. at The Cameron House
The son of Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy has made a name for himself in recent years as a piano-playing country rock artist. There were large doses of both those styles on display at this late night set that included a mix of Cuddy originals and classic covers, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart.”

Devin Cuddy Band

Dentist
Wednesday, 10:45 p.m. at Monarch Tavern
This Asbury Park, N.J. quartet played several CMW sets and I’m quite happy I caught this one. Singer/guitarist Emily Bornemann’s ethereal vocals present an effective counterpoint to the band's melodic but fuzzed-out sounds of punk, surf and indie rock. I was reminded of The Pixies a couple of times during the set.

Dentist

Dentist

NXNE off to great start on Wednesday

The opening night of the North by Northeast Music Festival was so good that I'm afraid it will only go downhill from here.

Twist

My night began at The Garrison with Twist, a four-piece band fronted by BB Guns' singer/guitarist Laura Hermiston. Don't expect the more garage rock-oriented material of her other band, but a larger and more expansive rock sound with atmospheric moments and occasional tinges of psychedelia. Effects are used and things get loud. While I wish Hermiston had a stronger voice, the blend of different elements was quite effective and left me impressed. 

Wreckless Eric

The night's guest of honour was no doubt Wreckless Eric, a 61-year-old, self-described "bubblegum with dementia" artist from England who apparently hadn't played Toronto since 1979. I was lucky to see him in Austin several years ago, but for most of the people I knew in the too-small crowd, this solo performance was their first time.

I consider Amy Rigby's husband's early albums for Stiff Records near classics and was hoping to hear lots of songs from them, but the man born Eric Goulden focused on more recent and unfamiliar-to-me repertoire. The lyrics and between-song banter were very reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock, which can never be a negative in my book. The underrated wordsmith ended the set with his signature song, the much-covered "(I'd Go the) Whole Wide World," which had the whole wide crowd singing along. 

Blaire Alise & The Bombshells

I left with a big smile on my face and that didn't leave when I arrived at the Bovine Sex Club to see Blaire Alise & The Bombshells. The trio's combination of '50s pop and garage rock, presented with an old school girl group feel and a modern edge, hit the spot perfectly. It makes sense that the band is from Detroit, a city close enough that welcomed return visits should be in order.

Les Chausettes

I really wanted to stay for the entire set, but another similar group was playing its only set of the festival down the street in The Cameron House's back room and I wanted to see a bit of it as well. Les Chausettes also combine elements of '60s surf and garage rock with girl group pop, but include male/female lead vocals and harmonies. The band wasn't as polished or proficient as Blaire Alise & The Bombshells and I didn't like it as much, but it was still enjoyable and I'd like to see more than the 20 minutes I caught.

Johnson Crook, a roots rock band not affiliated with NXNE, was in the front bar and provided a great intermission soundtrack during the changeover in the back.

LuxDeluxe

Young Massachusetts quintet LuxDeluxe ended my night and was the most eclectic band of it. One song was indie rock with a vague Guess Who influence, some incorporated reggae, ska and wore rhythmic elements, while others were more straight-up rockers. But all of them were good, except perhaps one in which three keyboards were used. This was another act that deserved a bigger crowd than the 25 folks it had at the beginning, and which dwindled as things went on.