TURF 2014 started strong out of the blocks on Friday

Lucius

The Toronto Urban Roots Fest showed a lot of promise in its inaugural year and followed it up with a bigger and better event in 2014.

A third and smaller stage was added to Toronto's Fort York location this year, and that's where I found myself sitting on a hill at 4:50 p.m. on July 4 to see Lucius, a Brooklyn, N.Y. band fronted by two sweetly harmonizing blonde women in matching yellow mini-dresses. The indie pop quintet had an interesting look and songs that sounded familiar yet different enough from each other to keep your attention from wandering. Guitars, drums and keyboards were augmented by additional percussion on some songs in a 40-minute set that included "How Loud Your Heart Gets," "Wildewoman" and my favourite, "Turn It Around," which closed things off and incorporated some of Whitney Houston's  "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." If you like Rilo Kiley, you'll probably enjoy Lucius.

Willie Nile

Willie Nile has been making music for 40 years but has never received the acclaim he deserves for his rock and roll, and that wasn't likely to change judging by the exodus before he began his 55-minute set. Guitar, bass and drums played by black-clad musicians younger than Nile brought added life to his singing and playing in a performance that opened with "This Is Our Time" and also included "Heaven Help The Lonely," "Holy War," "Give Me Tomorrow," and covers of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" and The Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died" before finishing strong with another original, "One Guitar."

The Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers have been one of my favourite live bands since I first saw them more than a decade ago, and they've now become friends, so that's added incentive to see them as much as possible. That wouldn't be difficult since the Chicago-based group was booked for three shows of their own and a fourth playing songs by Jon Langford along with a Welsh choir, and the goal was to avoid duplication.

The quintet began its south stage set at 7:20 p.m. and zipped through a performance that provided its usual share of roots, punk, rock and roll and humour -- with lead vocals shared by guitarists Langford and Dean Schlabowske as well as mandolin player Tracey Dear. "Fox River," "Walking On Hell's Roof Looking At The Flowers," "Do What I Say," "Red Brick Wall," "Plenty Tough, Union Made," "Do You Think About Me?," "Blink of and Eye" and covers of "I Fought The Law," "Small Faces' "All or Nothing," George Jones' "White Lightning" (with Jo Walston joining the band on harmonies), Johnny Cash's "Big River" and Bo Diddley's "Hey Bo Diddley" were all part of the fun.

Deer Tick

The south stage audience grew considerably for Deer Tick, a solid roots rock band I'd liked but never seen in person. Now I'm glad I have. They're talented players that form a tight unit and lead singer John McCauley's raw delivery suits the material well. The Rhode Island quintet had people in its hands from the beginning and didn't let up as it played "Main Street," "Houston, TX" and "Mr. Sticks" among others. The group also played "Shitty Music Festival," which certainly didn't apply to TURF, but was still good to hear.

Beirut

Beirut is another group that I've enjoyed only on record until I finally eased myself over from the south to the much larger east stage for its 9:30 p.m. slot. Zach Condon's project was unlike anything else I saw on day one,  full of horns and accordion and fusing Balkan folk with baroque indie pop to create a distinct sound that more than made up for a lack of magnetic stage presence. "Elephant Gun" and "Scenic World" were highlights.

I caught a couple of songs from Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears from afar, and his crew sounded as soulful and tight as ever. This is definitely a band to catch if you haven't before.

Club shows at Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern awere also part of TURF, and a cab got us up to Bloor Street to that first venue to see the last couple of songs by Andrew Jackson Jihad -- which I'd previously seen open for Frank Turner. But with festivals like this, it can sometimes be pretty difficult to see all of everything you want to and I'm sure there will be other opportunities.

Hollerado

But we certainly got our money's worth with Hollerado, the only Canadian band I saw on Friday, and which was expanded from the usual four-piece lineup on occasion by three female backing singers. We've come to expect confetti canyons at Hollerado shows, which add to the party atmosphere that their music and good-natured approach to their fans engender, and several were fired off during the course of the gig. "Fresno Chunk (Digging With You)," "Juliette," "Fake Drugs," "Americanarama" and covers of The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction," Violent Femmes' "Blister In The Sun," Blink 182's "Dammit" and Neil Young's night-closing "Rockin' in the Free World" drew deservedly fervent responses from those in the packed club.

SXSW 2013 day six: Alejandro Escovedo and pals put on a party

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The final day of the South by Southwest Music Festival didn’t get off to a great start, as my Mixed Media Mongrels softball team had an influx of new and inexperienced players and we got smoked badly and were eliminated from the SXSW tournament after the first game. Luckily, there was lots of free and delicious barbecue from Ruby's to eat at the diamonds afterward and Alejandro Escovedo’s non-SXSW-affiliated show at The Continental Club provided a lot more thrills through Sunday night.

After licking my wounds and relaxing around the condo having a beer and watching Sixteen Candles, I trudged down South Congress Avenue and had a margarita at Guero’s outdoor garden stage while watching a local vintage boogie band getting couples up on the dancefloor.

I crossed the street to the Continental at 6:30 p.m., arriving in time to hear the last couple of songs from Rosie Flores — including one in which Kelly Hogan and other women sang back-up. Best of all, I found a seat. Standing at this show for 10 hours last year after a week of SXSW club-hopping almost did my legs and feet in, so the chair near the back of the intimate, 200-person capacity club was a godsend.

Mighty Stef, an Irish rock-and-roll quartet that’s better than its name, followed shortly thereafter. The audience sang along to “We Want Blood,” but there were no St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans like I’m sure must have been happening at other bars around the city. But colourful Halifax bar owner and former mayoral candidate Victor Syperek cut a dashing figure walking around the club in a top hat with feathers sticking out of the band.

I’d seen Willie Nile a couple of times before, but his 7:15 p.m. set was definitely the most incendiary I’d witnessed. The singer/songwriter/guitarist and his band opened in a big way with “House of a Thousand Guitars” and kept things pumping through a set that also included “Holy War,” “American Ride,” “One Guitar” (with Escovedo and two women singing harmonies) and a ripping cover of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died” that had much of the room (including me) singing along.

I’ve seen Bobby Bare Jr. a few times in the past, but tonight I got to witness his namesake father, who was one of the biggest names in country music in the 1960s and ‘70s. He looks and sounds great for a 77-year-old, as he sang and played electric guitar in front of a five-piece band that included Jr. on backing vocals. He opened the set with his classic 1963 hit “Detroit City” that induced another sing-along. “Ride Me Down Easy” and a cover of “Tom Dooley” led to Escovedo’s “I Was Drunk,” with the night’s host walking out to share vocals. “Boll Weevil” and “John Hardy” carried the set through to a fine conclusion with Bare's 1974 chart-topper, “Marie Laveau.”

Austin sextet Pong was eclectic and amused me for a while, but I wasn’t sad to see its time on stage come to an end.

I’d first heard Barfield, "The Tyrant of Texas Funk" at Escovedo’s Continental showcase at last year’s SXSW and was pleasantly surprised. Mike Barfield has some interesting dance moves and his band definitely brings some rocking funk, including on one song that incorporated The Clash’s “Magnificent Seven.”

I’m not sure if Gordie Johnson and his bandmates in the reformed Big Sugar spend more time in Austin or Toronto these days. But the group, which got back together in 2010 and released an album a year later, reached back into its catalogue of Canadian hits and opened with 1996’s “Diggin’ A Hole” and ended with 1999’s “Turn The Lights On,” which included some of The English Beat’s “Rough Rider” in the middle. There’s a reggae vibe to more of the material now, not unlike what was found on 2000’s Alkaline side project album, and recent addition Friendlyness does a lot of toasting in addition to his keyboard duties. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

Kurt Bloch and Peter Buck

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey, along with Fastbacks guitarist Kurt Bloch, had been circulating around the club through much of the evening, but the time finally came for them to take the stage together for a 25-minute set heavy on songs from Buck’s self-titled debut from last year. Robyn Hitchcock was standing beside me when the band launched into “Monkey Mask,” and then a go-go dancer came out for “Give Me Back My Wig.”

The crowd got a particular thrill, and a chance to join in, when Mills sang the R.E.M. classic “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville.” A few more rocking and raucous power pop songs followed before things came to an end the same way they do on Buck's album with “I’m Alive.” Buck wasn’t a vocal contributor to R.E.M. and he’s hardly a pure singer, but his rough-hewn growl is suited to the primitive-sounding material he dished out with a large dash of attitude during this performance.

I hadn’t really heard from or thought much of Atlanta’s Drivin N Cryin in 20 years, and didn’t know it was still together, but the quartet’s performance was a revelation and rocked much harder than I was expected. The group is now issuing a six-song EP every 90 days and included a song about “Hot Wheels out of control” from its latest one that seemed as strong as its past material. Given who was in the room, the band’s R.E.M. tribute song was perfectly timed and Mills and McCaughey showed their appreciation from the bar.

Buck joined the group for “10 Million B.C.” from his album and stuck around for Drivin N Cryin’s “Straight to Hell,” with Mills also coming out to add harmonies on the 40-minute set’s final number.

Escovedo had been coming on stage in his snakeskin jacket and ascot to introduce each band throughout the night, but the Continental’s owner did the honour for True Believers — a rocking roots band which he said first played that stage exactly 30 years earlier and changed the Austin music scene forever — which was formed by Alejandro, his guitarist brother Javier, guitarist Jon Dee Graham, drummer Kevin Foley and bassist Denny DeGorio. True Believers have reunited and this performance would be the last of several it did during SXSW.

True Believers

The Escovedo brothers and Graham traded off on lead vocals throughout the 40-minute set, which I enjoyed but could see really meant a lot more to the locals in the crowd who seemed to worship the group. “Rebel Kind” resonated most with me until the last song, a cover of Velvet Underground’s “Foggy Notion” that was injected with accelerant. That wasn’t enough for the audience, however, which included Fleshtones/The Split Squad singer/guitarist Keith Streng. It demanded and got an encore, for which True Believers sounded even louder.

The $20 cover charge was a small price to pay for such great music but, even better, it was all donated to The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C., a multicultural, non-profit civil association dedicated to developing and administering scholarship, educational, medical and environmental programs for the benefit of children and their families in Todos Santos, Mexico. Buck is a big supporter of the organization, and holds an annual music festival in support of it, and he walked through the audience with a bucket to collect additional donations as True Believers played.

It was almost 2 a.m. and time to make my final walk back up South Congress to our condo. It had been another great week in Austin, and I never spent a penny on food throughout the music festival, which made it even better.

Thanks to everyone who I spent time with in one way or another. Let’s do it again.